Bekka seemed destined for the bandit life. She was born in the Tassimar Reach to a human father and an orc mother who both could not hold a steady employment aside from being hired for odd jobs by the local mafia. At least the pair had passed on their skills to her before meeting their end during a job gone bad when she reached her thirteenth year. It was a painful loss, but by then, Bekka had already known it was a typical end in the rogue-ruled outland.
Naturally, Bekka quickly ended up following her late parents' profession; it was the only way for her to survive, after all. Nonetheless, the girl had no desire to end up with their same grisly fate. So, once she had saved up enough coin, she got the hells out of Tassimar and made her way east. Word was spreading around that the Viridian Marches were once more free pickings for those with the wit, skills, and daring to seize them, and Bekka was not alone in making the journey to those untamed lands.
The venture started off well-enough for the first few months. Through wit and skill, Bekka had managed to gather a small bandit of freelancers, and they had fun stealing and threatening the locals or travelers to gain what they needed to survive. It was a hard life, but they were free to control it. Until the Stag Lord made his presence known.
It did not take Bekka long to throw in her lot with the would-be bandit king of the Evergreen. She was there when all of the bandit groups of the Evegreen were called to his banner. Three other petty leaders like her decided that the resources the giant man held were better in their hands. The way the Stag Lord casually slaughtered them with powers out of fairy tales impaled a stake of fear in her heart. And that creepy, smelly old man he held on a chain did not even need to use his own foul power to help.
So this was how Bekka found herself becoming a lieutenant in the Stag bandits. Fortunately for her, not being to the Stag Lord's unsavory tastes, unlike some of the other more comely bandit girls, helped her avoid the newly minted bandit lord's predatory attention. Meanwhile, her competence, and a looted crate of high quality Lurindori liquor, gained her a posting far away from the terrifying man.
It was a good gig, all things considered. She got to enjoy the Evergreen's wilderness, control her own band, and the local trappers and hunters were easy pickings. Bekka hardly even had to deal with the Stag Lord; most of her contact with the main group was with his chief lieutenant Acteon. Unlike their common leader, Acteonwas a serious, disciplined man, a professional Bekka much preferred to deal with.
So, all in all, things were going well, with the only occasional fairy prank to deal with. Until word reached her of a new group of players in the region. It would not be the first time some fools tried to horn in on the Stag Lord's turf. But then she caught wind that Ravenna's group got wiped out at Onestrio's. Bekka could only wonder what kind of fools would dare to challenge a man as powerful as the Stag Lord?
Bekka was about to find that out for herself.
Upon their leader's command, the bandits of Camp Gnarlwood leaped out of their hiding spots from the bushes and shacks. Armed with bows with arrows already nocked, they rained pain upon the Company.
"You'll rue the day you crossed swords with Bekka's Blades!" shouted their leader, an urukhan woman. Her shot slammed up into Arina's gut.
"I'm already regretting it!" Arina choked out, fighting against the pain. And so will you , she immediately thought right after. The young woman jumped down from the empty shack she was investigating. Mister Angelcakes, I need you, she willed, and focused on a nearby bandit.
Always at your service, my dear, was the suave, familiar voice's reply. A red haze lifted off Arina's shoulders, and quickly snaked towards Arina's target. The rough-looking man stared in horror as the haze surrounded him, then screamed horrifically as his blood was ripped from his skin. The mist of crimson droplets snaked back to Arina who had extracted the arrow from her abdomen. the mist seeped into her wound and sealed it, ceasing her bleeding
Knowing how vulnerable his position was, Sky hurriedly backed away from the bandits. However, he had no intention of staying out of the fight. "Here's a parting gift from I to you!" yelled Sky to the urukhan woman he presumed to be Bekka herself. The sylph strained his acute mind in order to rapidly recalculate his memorized arcane formula. From an outstretched hard, he unleashed an overcharged volley of magic missiles that slammed into the bandit leader, sending her flying back.
Meanwhile, at least one arrow found its way past Argus' psionic armor, stabbing deep into his shoulder. The imposing soldier-for-hire grunted. Seems like these bandits are better trained , he evaluated. As much as he would have liked to charge into them and return the favor, he had a job to do.
Hustling forward to fill the space voided by Sky, Argus made himself a living, and very deadly, wall between his allies and the bandits charging at them. He managed to smash the ribs of one bandit, but another sliced through his armor and into his chest. That was when Argus noticed the faint, mystical sheen on their weapons.
"S@$*, they have enchanted weapons!" Argus warned the others, biting through the pain. Cethin rushed to his back, and whistled a tune of healing magic, stemming Argus' bleeding.
"Thanks!" Argus shouted. Free from worrying about his wound, the psionic soldier proceeded to smash bandit ribs with his maul.
"C'mon, you dogs! Keep it up, we can take'em!" the urakhan yelled to her people. She led the charge with a pair of sharp, short blades in her hands. However, the bandit leader's zeal would quickly be crushed.
Encouraged by Cethin's sweet lute skills (at least to his mind), the Company tore into their attackers. Sky wove spells of protection, followed rays of ice, even summoning a hound from the heavens to aid them. Meanwhile, Arina inflicted Mister Angelcake's curse upon the bandits, leeching their blood in exchange for every wound they levied upon her. And then there was Argus.
Encased in armor of psychic force, the mercenary warrior waded into the bulk of the bandits. Without having to worry about his companions, Argus could focus on his defense, and the bandits could barely make a mark on him if they somehow survived the twirling maul he wielded. His bone-breaking tornado culminated with lopping off a man's head like a golf ball.
"Oh s#!~…" Bekka muttered at the grim display of strength. Her dread grew at the screams of her minions from having their blood drained by a crimson mist. What in the Seven Hells were they fighting against?! With her bandits dropping like flies, the urukhan followed her instincts.
"We give up! Everyone drop stop, we give up!" she shouted with all her strength over the din of battle. She threw her blades to the ground and raised her empty hands in the air. Her surviving bandits quickly followed suit, all two remaining of them.
Fortunately for them, the Evergreen Company were not bloodthirsty conquerors. The adventurers remained wary, but the odds were firmly in their favor. They quickly collected the bandits' weapons, and tied them up. They were pleased to see no resistance from the bandits, and had them sit down to be interrogated. Sky first asked them if there were any other bandits in this camp.
"No, it was just us! We threw everything we had against you," Bekka hurriedly replied, then paused to think. "Well… we did have some patrolling the north part of the forest, and another group out in the plains, though… we haven't heard back from them in a while…"
Argus smirked as Bekka's eyes widened in realization. "Yeah, we took care of them. You're not very good at this banditry stuff, you know."
"Well, we never really met any opposition like you guys before," Bekka admitted. "I guess you're the new players who took out Ravenna's group?"
Arina was about to ask 'who?' before Argus nudged her, and whispered "play along".
Arina cleared her throat, and cracked her knuckles. "That's right! Our people took care of her. You're looking at the new power in the Evergreen Plains."
Bekka grunted. "Well, you kicked our asses easily enough, I'll give you that. But word of advice, you better watch out for the Stag Lord if you plan on moving into his turf."
"Thank you for the warning, but the Stag Lord will go down just as easily," Arina scoffed.
"I don't know about that, that man gives me the willies. I saw him kill over two dozen armed men with just his fists." Bekka shuddered at the memory.
"And where can we find the Stag Lord, then?" Sky asked.
Bekka hesitated for a moment. The Stag Lord will already be pretty unhappy with her for surrendering, but if he found out she gave his enemies actual aid… "Um, just for my peace of mind, what happens when I answer you?"
"You play fair, we'll treat you fair," Argus told her. He nodded his head towards Cethin who was in the process of healing even the bandits' wounds while whistling a jaunty tune. He could tell Bekka was surprised that they were extending this much care towards them. "All part of our rehabilitation program."
Bekka found herself genuinely curious about this, and asked about it. Arina explained about how they were teaching their current bandit prisoners how to live honestly by having them help with the chores, the farming and gardening, feeding the livestock, and so on. The Company provided them with a small, regular pay for their work, and while they kept them under guard, the Company kept an eye on their progress. Argus mentioned that if they proved themselves with good behavior, the reformed bandits would be granted a plot of land in the new nation.
"'Honest living', eh?" Bekka seemed intrigued with the notion, as if encountering the concept for the first time in her life.
"It's far less dangerous than getting your ass kicked out in the wild," Argus remarked.
Bekka huffed. "Well, for a long while, we were the ones kicking asses!"
"And look where it got you now."
Glancing at the headless corpse nearby, Bekka deflated. "Yeah…"
"Sorry about your friend," Argus offered.
Bekka shrugged. "Not really my friend, and we all knew the risks of our profession."
Nonetheless, the Company buried the bodies in a decent enough grave, after lifting anything of value from them first, of course. They also looted the rest of the camp. The bandits did not seem to mind, 'c'est la vie' as the lucklyn saying went. They found crates full of different types of supplies, such as furs. One crate contained a large number of bottles of green herbal liquor. Cethin claimed the liquor.
"I know a friend who'd want some," he said.
"Is that friend you?" Argus remarked with a raised eyebrow. "How about we share one with the prisoners, they seem to be having a s$*+ty day."
The prisoners greatly appreciated the offer, and they gave a toast to their fallen companions. They and Company made camp in this fortified area, and Argus cooked up a field dinner for them.
"By the way, Bekka, this seems important," Arina asked, presenting an amulet of a stag's head shaped in silver. They had taken this off of the urukhan.
"Oh, that? That marks me as one of the Stag Lord's lieutenants. Have to show that when we enter camp." Bekka explained that the Stag Lord was headquartered at an old fort southeast of their current position, on the north shore of Lake Iridescense, just west of the creepy Old Arborfane forest. The Company marked the location on their map.
Bekka went on to recount how the Evergreen Plains was broken up into different gang territories. When the Stag Lord appeared, he united them all under his rule, or wiped them out completely. One time, she saw him fire a powerful longbow and hit a target dead on over a thousand feet away, and he was stinking drunk too!
The next day, the away team escorted their new prisoners back to the trade post.
Back at said trade post, the lone survivor of Ravenna's group finally fully recovered. Another bandit taken prisoner from the group under Vico, a man named Mick, identified him as Taggart. The Company now wished to interrogate him.
Davona dragged the man out of their improvised holding cell (the trade post's shed). Since losing her grace, and still dealing with the malaise that came from its loss, the young woman was unsympathetic and harsh towards Taggart. With a shove, she pushed him into the middle of the trade post's yard.
Taggart jumped and yelped as a gunshot cracked in the air, with a bullet slamming into the ground at his feet. The malephilim bounty hunter Rishoi coolly blew the smoke from her pistol. "You better talk, or you can enjoy some broken thumbs," she told the prisoner.
"And don't expect us to waste any healing on the likes of you," Davona grumbled.
At this point, a frustrated Ayaki stepped in. This was getting out of hand, and was completely unbecoming of future lords. "Rishoi, please put your weapon away." It was technically a request, but Ayaki's tone and look made the order clear.
After getting Rishoi and Davona to stand down, Ayaki gently placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. She adopted a soft expression, one that even a human can pick up on a kitsune's face. She guided the prisoner to one of the long tables, and offered him a simple meal with water. Ayaki sat across from the bandit, and gave him a few minutes to savor his meal.
"Now, Mister Taggart, if you would be so kind as to tell us everything you know about your bandit operations," Ayaki sweetly asked.
"Or else we won't give you the antidote," Rishoi added with a grin, pointing at the man's food. Taggart dropped his spoon, looking at the plate aghast. Ayaki pinched the bridge of her snout.
"Rishoi, please cease your jesting. And you can leave us now."
"I thought you kitsunes were more fun. At least the other one is." Rishoi turned and left.
Finally able to reassure the bandit prisoner of his safety, Ayaki was able to get him to spill the beans. Unfortunately, it was not much beyond what the Company already knew. The only useful bit of information was that Ravenna had brought all of her remaining bandits with her. Only those three archers that managed to escape were all that remained of Ravenna's Raveners. Taggart also pointed out their camp on the Company's map. It was at the crossing between the North and Middle Arborfane, along the Thistledown River. Taggart knew that there were other bandit groups under the Stag Lord's command, but only Ravenna knew about them. However, Taggart did know that now with Ravenna's gone, the Stag Lord no longer had the northeast territory of the Evergreen Plains under his control.
Ayaki thanked Taggart for being so forthcoming. She then explained to him about their plans here, how they hope to rehabilitate the bandits into honest workers. Jupus added the potential rewards for working with them. Taggart agreed to come on board, mainly out of not having many good options open to him. Mick came by, and reassured him that things were not so bad here, despite being escorted by the Company's hired guards.
Davona rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I can't believe we're adding more scum to the pack."
"Look at it this way, Davona. If they work for us, they won't be bandits anymore!" Jupus suggested.
"Bah, semantics. Bunch of cowards…" Davona muttered before stomping in Rishoi's wake.
Ayaki turned to Jupus with a quizzical expression. The bounty hunter's attitude I could understand, but Miss Davona seems particularly agitated," she asked.
Jupus hummed. "There's history there, but not my place to say."
Ayaki nodded in complete understanding. She knew the feeling.
Over the next several days, Jupus directed their potential recruits to start building out a water reservoir for the trade post as part of their rehabilitation. Davona observed them closely with a hand on her sword hilt. Part of her was just begging for one of them to foul up. But much to her surprise, none did. Jupus and Ayaki were treating them respectfully, and the bandits were responding favorably. They each adhered to the Company's conditions, and worked hard.
Where were the bloodthirsty brigands? As try as she might, Davona could not see in their prisoners' eyes the same cold, merciless stares that haunt her nightmares. The same ones possessed by those who took her mother. No, much to her worry, these bandits just seemed like… well, still people willing to cut a throat for a coin, but not unreasonable if there was another way. As much as she did not wish it so, the experience thus far has given Davona much to think about.
The young woman's concerns were compounded with the return of the rest of the Company from their exploration, bringing a new group of bandits in tow. The former leader of this group, the urokhan woman introduced as Bekka, caught Davona's attention in particular. Davona could tell just by Bekka's build and the way she walked that she was a killer, but the way she talked and cooperated with the Company, and the way she kept the rest of the bandits in line with the Company's conditions, seemed very genuine. Bekka herself was impressed, and not just a bit relieved, that the Company were true to their word in their treatment of their prisoners.
Davona walked away deep in thought, and her sleep for many nights was filled with unbidden thoughts about her past and her future.
Fortunately, the return of the away team did provide some distraction. One of the first things they did was to inform Father Joram about the recovery of the Deianeiran temple in the Gnarlwood. The priest was ecstatic.
"This is wonderful!" the older priest exclaimed. "I cannot thank you all enough. My faith in the Lady of Seasons, and in you all, has never been truer. I must make my way there immediately!"
"Hold on there, father," Argus said, holding out his hand. "The temple may be cleared, but it's still a dangerous trek to it."
Father Joram visibly regained his composure. "Ah, yes, you are quite correct. I shall send a request to the main church in Rochefort for rangers and supplies. Wait, I have an idea. What do you say I employ some of your prisoners to help with the reconstruction?"
The Company looked amongst themselves, and all agreed that it could be a great part to their rehabilitation. They would wait for the Deianeiran followers to arrive to properly escort them, but Father Joram's ministrations to their spiritual health to this point had earned him respect from the prisoners, even a few converts!
Davona had her doubts, but she kept them to herself.
The Evergreen Company away team continued their exploration of the Gnarlwood. Arina caught a glimpse of something out of the ordinary amidst the foliage. She then felt a cold, but familiar presence, brush beside her cheeks. Her old friend, Mister Angelcakes, helped sharpen her eyesight, allowing her to recognize the oddity that caught her attention: the upper tip of a bow.
"Beware, ambush!" she cried out. Now alerted, the Company noticed a total of five figures hiding amidst the foliage and trees, all aiming longbows at them.
"They see us, boys! Take them down!" cried out one of the attackers.
Argus reacted first. He urged his horse forward at the nearest attacker. Just as he came up to him, the mercenary hopped off his horse, and used the momentum to slam his earthbreaker at the archer's chest. There was a sickening crunch of bone as the bandit crashed against the tree he was hiding behind.
Cethin began reciting poetry, enhanced with bardic magic, that viciously mocked their attackers which encouraged his own team. Sky conjured a snowball, and thanks to Cethin's encouragement, accurately threw it in one of the archer's face. The sylph wizard followed up with the cold by firing rays of frost at their attackers.
Arina aimed towards another attacker. She flashed out of her saddle in a crimson blur, and appeared behind her target. Her blade was already, its tip reddened with blood. The archer looked down in disbelief at her wet and reddening chest to realized that she was already stabbed.
The ambushers returned fire, hitting Arina, but missing the others. Arina briefly saw red, and called upon Mister Angelcakes. All of the archers were wracked with sudden pain from her imaginary friend's sudden embrace. The young woman then stretched her open hand out, then suddenly closed it into a fist. The ambushers screamed as a mist of minute, droplets of blood were ripped out fo them into the air. The individual strands of crimson mist then coalesced into one, then flew into Arina's wound, which then healed.
Cethin began to play riff on his lute in the direction of another ambusher. As the notes left his lute, they formed into sharp, glassy shards in the air. They shot forth at Cethin's target, shredding into his skin.
On the other side of the fight, Argus jerked back as an arrow finally slipped through his psionic armor, and hit flesh as opposed to all the others plinking off of him.
"Finally!" roared the archer.
"Nice, but you only get one," Argus rumbled as he stomped towards his attacker. He made good on his promise, and smashed his opponent's head into wet, bloody chunks.
Nearby, Arina finishes off another attacker. She initiates shattered mirror's left-hand strike, and a hundred little mirrors manifest around the bewildered archer, each mirroring Arina's rapier in her grip. When she thrusts her rapier at her opponent, so to do her reflections emerge form the phantom mirrors, impaling him from many different directions. He colappsed to the ground with a hundred bleeding holes.
"Oh gods, they're monsters!" cried out one of the remaining archers. He turned and ran, but came just in range of Argus. The towering man swung his earthbreaker in the way, and crumpled in the man's chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
The last attacked tried to flee as well, but Cethin swapped out his lute for a loaded crossbow. He fired, and the bolt pierced through the man's neck, from the back and out the front of his throat. The man tumbled into a roll, and fell still.
All of the attacked were now dead. A quick inspection of the bodies revealed a silver amulet in the shape of a stag's head. This confirmed what the team suspected, that these were more of the Stag Lord's minions.
"Well, at least these attacks allow us to thin out their numbers," Argus said. They collected anything of value from them, and disposed of the bodies, then made camp for the night.
The next morning, Argus and Sky woke up to a bizarre, and somewhat gruesome, scenario. They found themselves surrounded by the bodies of the slain bandits, with their cold, dead hands placed on inappropriate parts of themselves. The two prank victims finally gave in, and grumbly offered a small fortune to the hidden fairy pranksters. They finally seemed to have appeased them, as there were no subsequent pranks in the following days.
Almost a week of exploring the Gnarlwood past since the attack. It was mostly uneventful, except for a fight with a pair of giant mantises. Giant, carnivorous insects were a common hazard in the wild. Thankfully, well-armed adventurers like the Evergreen Company were present enough to cut their numbers down to manageable levels. The team made sure to do their part that day.
that was all the excitement in the past several days until the away team found a set of tracks. They followed them further south in the forest. They discovered that the tracks led them to an encampment of treehouses. "House" was a bit of an exaggeration, they were mostly platforms with a roof and maybe a wall or two, built ten, twenty, thirty feet up, using the trees as supports. Ladders connected them to the ground, and rope bridges connected them to each other.
All seemed quiet in the camp, and there was no movement to their approach. Arina climbed up to explore one of the treehouses, while the rest of the team spread out to investigate the camp grounds.
"Attack!" an unseen voice suddenly shouted.
Bandits emerged from their hiding spots. Some were up in the treehouses, and there was another group on the ground. The Companymade ready to fight once more.
When the away team returned to Onestrio's tradepost, they switched out party members. Arina and Cethin were itching to get out and explore some more, and they left with Argus and Sky.
At the tradepost, Ayaki and Davona spent some time looking over the prisoners currently engaged in building their new accomodations. To encourage them on their rehabilitation, Ayaki gave them a passionate speech about how their hard work will make their lives better.
"I know that this is not the type of work that you came out here for, but know this. Your decision to take this path will reward you. Together, all of you with all of us, are building a better future here for everyone here. You are taking part of building something great, and you should all feel proud of that."
The former bandits were visibly enraptured, and when they resumed their work, it was with higher spirits and enthusiasm, increasing their productivity. Davona looked in on Guido in particular, and gladly found that the young man made no further attempts of escape. Joram approached Ayaki and told her that her speech inspired him as well. He promises to help guide the prisoners on their rehabilitation. Ayaki thanks him, telling him that she was inspired by her father, and it was a way to honour him.
Out in the wilds, Sky and Argus woke up one morning to find their inventory laid out before them, rearranged in an absurd order. Arina explained to them that there were fairies following them, and that they likely did this prank on the newcomers. Sky's paranoia led him to be very concerned, but Arina reassured them that they were rfiendly, and even helped save their lives once. This relieved Sky, and he was grateful for saving his sister's life. He leaves out a potion of cure wounds for the fairies as thanks.
Sky and Argus continued to be victim of harmless pranks, like getting their water swapped out with potions of reduce person (which thankfully lasted a minute), and their spellbook and earthbreaker replaced with illusions (their items were hidden nearby). On another day, Arina and Cethin noticed signs stuck to Argus' and Sky's backs, with the former saying "I'm a big blockhead" and the latter saying "Full of hot air". Arina discreetly removed them before their noticed them. Perhaps the worst was the two waking up to droppings hitting their faces from a flock of birds passing by. It will take them some time to appease the little pranksters.
While exploring the Gnarlwood Forest, the away team found the lost Temple of the Elk that Joram had told them about. Upon entering the ruined temple now half-buried under the encroaching vegetation, the team was confronted by an enraged grizzly bear. Arina tried to greet it peacefully, but with a mighty roar, the bear charged at them immediately.
Argus met the bear head on, slamming it into its chest with his earthbreaker. This allowed the rest of the team to spread out and surround the bear. Cethin began reciting an encouraging limerick, and Sky cast grease underneath the bear. The beast slipped, allowing Argus and Arina to strike at it with deadly accuracy. The bear retaliated, ripping into Argus with its outrageous claws. With its claws sunk into Argus' torso, it pulls itself up to clamp down its maw into the man's shoulder. The giant of a man was covered in blood and looked pale, but he still stood.
Arina called upon Mister Angelcakes to envelop the bear with her pain, and executed shattered mirror's left-hand strike. She stabbed the bear once, then multiple mirrors appeared all around the beast. Within them, Arina's reflections all stabbed at the same point, the bear;s heart. Blood sprayed out, and bear bellowed out in pain. It collapsed to the ground in a pool of its own blood.
Upon its death, the grizzly let out an almost human sigh of relief. It then reverted to the shape of an old human man with a look of peace on his face, then rapidly decomposed to dust. The temple suddenly grew more vibrant as a breeze of fresh air swept through. The water in the pool was magically cleared of its algae, and healed the wounds of all who drank from it. Cethin determined that the abandoned temple of Deianeira had been purified once more by the Goddess of the Frontier, and that it can once more be used for its sacred role.
The away team made camp within the temple. When they awoke, they found that their fairy tricksters left out exotic forest fruits and sweets upon the altar of the goddess.
Back at Onestrio's, one of the guards assigned as lookout cried out, "Riders! Reiders incoming!"
Ayaki and Davona rushed up the rampart. Lorenzo told them that they were not expecting any group this large. They had their working prisoners take shelter in the supply shed, and they had the gates closed.
The new arrivals rode up into view. There were seven of them, armed and armoured. A dark skinned woman was leading them.
"Beware, this might be Vico's lieutenant, Ravenna!" Davona warned in hushed tones. She drew her sword, and Rishoi drew her revolver.
"Well, what's all this then?" the leader of the riders shouted. "Where's Onestrio?"
"Who are you, and what is your business here?" Ayaki shouted back from atop the rampart.
"My business is with Onestrio! Now bring his fat ass out here!"
Ducking out of sight, Ayaki used her kitsune powers to disguise herself as Onestrio. Jupus told the real Onestrio and his wife to hide back into their house, then he and Rishoi moved to hide nearby. As Onestrio, Ayaki opened the gates.
"So Onestrio! What's this business of closing your gates to the Stag Lord? And where is Vico?" Ravenna bellowed, then she paused. "Wait, who's that hiding over there?" Rishoi cursed as she was spotted.
"Looks like the fat trader grew a spine, boys!" Ravenna shouted as she drew her handaxes. "Let's teach'em a lesson!"
With deception no longer necessary, Davona came charging out, eager to deal pain to these outlaws. As she delivered a deep cut to Ravenna, Jupus conjured a ball of fire in one hand, and threw it at her, giving the bandit leader a nasty burn. Ravenna snarled, but her attention was taken up by the aggressive Davona.
Rishoi took aim at another bandit, and fired using variable flux. There was a crack of thunder as the electrified bullet pierced its target's gut. The malephilim mercenary continued to provide cover fire for her new companions, including shooting a sword out of one of the bandit's hands.
The bandits in the rear, armed with longbows, returned fire, and Davona was badly hit. The forward line of bandit riders began closing around her. By rushing out so forward at the enemy, Davona left herself greatly exposed to enemy attacks. Although her armour was tough, enough arrows, axes, and swords found enough gaps to make her bleed heavily. The bandit who had his sword shot out of his hands scooped it up, and swung it down upon Davona's sword arm. Although it did not cut through the armour, Davona gasped as she felt the bone break, and collapsed to the ground, passed out from the pain.
Ayaki, having dropped her guise as Onestrio, charged out to support Davona. "You dare defy the heir of Iku?" she roared out, swinging her large katana, cutting a bandit across the chest. Despite her bravado, she was put on the backfoot with the bandits' retaliation. A swing of an enemy greatsword nearly lopped off her head, but she narrowly raised her hand to deflect it. She saved her neck, but at the expense of her hand, now mangled.
Over her shoulder, Jupus fired an arrow with deadly accuracy into one of the other bandits. He then rushed ahead to join Ayaki. "Lorenzo, Vittoria! We need your help up here!" he shouted on the way, and then pulled power from nature to heal Ayaki as she battled the bandits. The two hired guards left their post guarding the prisoners, and joined the fight at the tradepost's entrance.
One of the bandits in the rear returned fire, but at Rishoi, piercing her hand with an arrow. The malephilim cursed, and switched hands on her revolver. She fired back, taking out the bandit.
Lorenzo and Vittoria now joined the melee. With a deadly swing, the experienced mercenary decapitated one of the bandits. This allowed Ayaki to fall back. With a whistle, she called her trusty steed Thunder to her. As she mounted, Joram ran over to her, and called upon Deianeira's power to heal some of her wounds.
Jupus hustled over to Rishoi's position, and betowed some nature healing of his own upon her. Reinvigorated, Rishoi fired strikes the hourglass Ravenna, hitting her in the gut, and the bandit let out a string of curses. Ayaki then charged at her upon her thundering steed, and gave the bandit leader a nasty, bleeding cut.
The curses kept spewing out of the bandit's mouth. "Don't think you can get away with defying the Stag Lord!" Ravenna spat.
"You talk a big game, but you're going to die like a dog," rishoi retorted. The malephelim charged her gun with supernatural fire, and shot the bandit. The burning bullet slammed into her chest, and Ravenna fell to the ground, unmoving.
The three remaining bandits glanced at each other once their leader went down. Having not expected this kind of resistance, and already hurt to varying degrees, they all had the same idea. As one, they turned their horses around, and galloped away from the battle as fast as possible.
The Company let them go. They were in no condition to chase after them until Joram and Jupus administered healing magic to the wounded. But one thing was for sure, today was their victory.
"We've been sleeping on the ground every night while we're traveling," Arina continued while she stretched to get rid of the creak in her back. "If we get to sleep at the trade post, I'd at least like it to be in a decent bed."
Jupus was not feeling very sympathetic to the former noblewoman. He had long since gotten use to sleeping without a bed. At least out here, there was no s$&& lying underneath him. Still…
"Well, this place is getting pretty crowded," the gnome mused. "We should start expanding. Maybe a bunkhouse? I imagine our prisoners would really appreciate having more than a pile of hay to sleep on. And Onestrio would appreciate being able to enter his storehouse without an armed escort."
"Splendid idea! Let's start getting the resources needed for this." Arina was already calculating what resources and how much of them they would need.
Davona was not impressed. She did not see the point of making these criminals feel comfortable. As far as she was concerned, they deserved less than a storehouse. Like a shallow grave. Nonetheless, her sense of camaraderie compelled her to aid her companions in their endeavour.
Cethin did not mind helping out. He was more interested in how this would change things up.
The away team returned to Onestrio's. Upon arriving, Cethin went off on his own, out of sight, especially from that other kitsune. Instead, Rob the human bartender showed up the outpost, already setting up his portable bar.
As Rob was cleaning some glasses, Onestrio walked up to his bar. "Welcome back, Rob! How about a beer?"
Rob took one look at Onestrio. The man had a slight unsteadiness in his stance. His eyes were a bit blood shot. A faint smell of alcohol was on his breath. Rob made a decision.
"I think you've already had enough, Onestrio," said the bartender. "You should take a break."
Onestrio was taken aback. He slammed his open palm down onto the bar counter. "Now listen here! What kind of bar doesn't serve drinks? And don't forget whose outpost this is!"
The barkeep took a deep breath, and then looked Onestrio straight in the eye. In his most suave voice, he told the other man, "Sir, think about it. You're the owner and caretaker of this now prosperous tradepost. But you need to keep a clear head and steady hand to keep it that way. I'd be happy to serve you a drink, free of charge, even, but only once you've shaken off the effects of your last drink."
Onestrio was still unhappy, but mollified now. The respectful tone and compliments about his life's work agreed with him. The man grunted, then walked off.
Rob thought he had gotten through to the man, but a little while later, he spotted Onestrio behind his house. From the corner of his eye, Rob saw the man uncap a flask, and drank from it deeply. Sighing, he shook his head and walked off. He came across the priest Joram, who was counseling several of the former bandits on how rewarding hard work can be.
Once he was done, the bartender approached the cleric of Deianeira. He told him about Onestrio and his drinking.
"Something's obviously troubling him," Rob told the priest.
Joram nodded. "Thank you for telling me this, and for trying to help him. I will speak with Onestrio whenever I can, and try to relieve what ails him."
Rob nodded, and hoped it would be enough. For both their sakes.
The away team had consisted of Argus, Sky, and Rashoi. They were now joined by Ayaki. All four then continued the exploration of the Gnarlwood.
That night, Ayaki got her first taste of the dangers of the wilderness. While they slept and the kitsune was on watch, all of the grass around them suddenly grew to entangle the party! An assassin vine crawled onto them, latching onto Ayaki.
No! I've heard enough stories to know where this is going to go! Ayaki panicked. The murderous plant nearly crushed kitsune ronin to death. Ayaki refused to die so early in her life. Her resolve kept her in the fight and she called out to the others. Suddenly, all of the grass and roots around them grew in length, and started writhing around them. The enlarged plantlife started entangling the Evergreen Company.
"What the Nine Hells?!" Rashoi spat out. She drew her revolver and started firing at the mass of vines.
Argus rolled out of his bedroll, breaking free of the entangling grass, and grabbed his earth breaker. He felt very naked without wearing his armor. Nonetheless, he shuffled up to the assassin vine, and started swinging his deadly maul into it.
Sky sat up in his bedroll. He was amazed at the way this killer plant moved, but that amazement was tempered by how dangerously it was mangling Ayaki. Sky knew better than to get close to it, lest he suffered the same fate as his new companion. In fact, he had something to help with that. Reaching into his pack, the sylph pulled out some alchemical grease and started applying it all over his body.
They all smashed and shot at murderous plant. However, it was Ayaki's slash with her wakizashi that delivered the killing blow. She was unceremoniously dropped to the ground as the vine died. A short while later, the plants around them returned to their normal size and behaviour.
"Damn, Ayaki, I thought you were done for!" Sky exclaimed as he rushed to provide her with some celestial healing.
"Good job, girl," Rashoi said approvingly.
The kitsune ronin could only groan. While taking care of Ayaki, Sky collected some of the assassin vine's juices into a vial. This could be useful…
The next morning, Rashoi and Argus were woken by getting slapped in the face by the two halves of the assassin vine. Severely annoyed, Rashoi threw it away in the air, and shot it. There was some faint clapping from the trees. The applause was not appreciated by the irate bounty hunter.
On the other hand, Argus awoke groggily to the slap. Looking at it, he only muttered "What is this?", then rolled over and got a bit more sleep.
Another prank was that Ayaki's and Sky's horses changed colours. Ayaki's horse was pink with red hair, and Sky's was blue with rainbow-coloured hair. Unlike the other two members of their party, Ayaki and Sky were amused. "I'm not even mad," Ayaki said. Sky even used his own magic to keep the illusion up after the feys' original enchantment faded.
Another time, Rashoi sat down, and a loud farting noise was here. "You know what, enough's enough," she said, and she started firing wildly into the trees. Tiny laughter could be heard, ending with another fart noise in Rasho's direction.
"Rude," Ayaki muttered at Rashoi.
Several days later, the Evergreen Company encountered a naturally made shelter of fallen trees and branches. Within it was a beast of extraordinary proportions. It emerged from its lair, revealing itself to be an enormously large bristleboar, covered in scars. The beast huffed and snorted ferociously, stamping its hooves in the ground as its bloodshot eyes stared daggers at the party.
"This must be Tuskgutter," Rashoi said.
Sky immediately cast a spell. Tuskgutter squealed and snorted as he slipped onto the grease coated ground beneath his hooves. Ayaki and Argus charged forth on horseback towards the down beast.
Rashoi fired her pistol, but missed horribly. "Damn it! C'mon Rashoi! Get your head in the game!" the malephilim muttered to herself angrily.
Ayaki's katana swung true, and sliced deeply into the beast's side. Tuskgutter roared in pain. Argus lifted his earth breaker over the beast, but the boar swirled around and gored Argus' horse. The housecarl slammed into the hard earth as he fell, but narrowly dodged his horse' falling corpse.
As Rashoi continued firing, Sky summoned a celestial eagle over Tuskgutter. Although the bird did little damage against the boar's thick hide, it served as a useful distraction. Enough so that Argus could get back up on his feet and slam his maul into boar!
Argus and Tuskgutter tussled fiercely with each other. Ayaki saw an opening. She swung her katana again, and sliced through the boar's gut. Tuskgutter reared up and squealed in pain. This opened up an opening. Ayaki swung again and missed, but Argus slammed his earth breaker down onto the Tuskgutter's head, cracking it open. In that one blow, the fearsome Tuskgutter of the Evergreen died.
Once Tuskgutter was killed, the party skinned his body, harvested his meat, and severed his head to bring back. However, Argus lost his horse in the fight, so their travel speed slowed down.
The party set their direction to leave the forest, but surveyed the unexplored portions that were on their way. They returned to Onestrio's trade post a few days later.
They turned in Tuskgutter's head to Gaspasi, the representative of the Monster Hunter Association of Lurindor. "Marvelous!" he exclaimed. "You slew Tuskgutter! Please, recount to me the tale of your hunt of this fearsome beast." The Company told him the story.
The old man rewarded them with an enchanted longbow. "This is Hide Piercer," Gaspasi told them. "It came to fame in the hands of the huntress Silvani Laralli. She graciously donated to the Association upon her retirement. May it serve you just as well." The Company agreed that Ayaki should wield the bow.
In addition, he offered each of them an invitation to join the Association, which they all accepted. Sky, being already a member of the MHAL, was rewarded with having a successful one-star hunt added to his record.
Session 7
In the Gnarlwood forest, the Evergreen Company set off a bear trap, then hurried back to the blind to see who would show up to investigate the sound.
"And now we wait," Jupus whispered.
Hours passed.
"Don't think anyone's coming," Cethin remarked. The kitsune was lounging in the back. Jupus, from his tense, crouched position, shot him a glare. He then grunted and stood out of the blind.
"I'll go scout around, see if anyone's actually around," the gnome told the others. Jupus was gone for about half an hour, checking out the surrounding area. He found that any tracks that were not from local wildlife were at least a week old. He came back and told the others.
The Company decided to move on, but not before disarming and gathering all the traps so that no one would fall into them. Cethin volunteered to bring them back to Onestrio's for safe keeping.
The rest of the party continued their exploration of the Gnarlwood. They came across a body crushed by logs.
"Well, this is an odd sight," Arina remarked.
"Looks like he was trying to set up a deadfall trap," Jupus said, taking a closer look. "For a big prey, too. You wouldn't need logs this big for normal game."
"Big enough for a man, maybe?" Davona asked.
"Would be just about right. Looks like he's been dead for about a week," Jupus said pointedly.
Davona turned her head to him. "Why would that be peculiar?"
"We just an area littered with traps set over a week ago," Jupus told her with an eyebrow raised.
"What about a week a-ooooh!"
"Hey, check this out." Jupus lifted up the rope. "See these markings? This wasn't a natural break. Something sharp cut through this rope."
"So, we got a man here setting up a man-sized trap, who got killed by his own trap, and it looks like the cause was foul play," Arina mused.
"You think he was the one who set up all those bear traps?" Davona asked.
"I remember seeing him pass through the trade post. Bart, Barry, or something. Didn't seem like a sociable guy. I remember his scowling a lot at anyone and everyone," Jupus recalled.
"Let's clear this us, and make sure no one else gets caught up in this," Arina said.
"I'll bury the man," Davona said. "Whatever he was doing, he deserves at least that much."
While clearing the trap, the Company found a masterwork hand axe stuck in a nearby tree stump. The party retrieved it, hoping it could help identify who this man was. Afterwards, Davona buried the body and performed funeral rites for him.
Later that night, the fairies were up to their old tricks again. While eating their supper, the campfire sparked, and a column of smoke rose from it. The smoke morphed into the shape of the dead man. It made threatening gestures, and spoke: "OoOoh! I was a mean man! I deserved my fate! BewaAaAare!" The Company were nonplussed, and called out to the fairing in the night that they could knock it off. The smoke-ghost then gave a very rude hand gesture to Davona and Jupus, and a friendly wink to Arina before dissipating.
"Geez, what is with these fairies?" Arina muttered.
"Well, I don't think they want us dead. They did save us after all," Davona offered.
"True. But it could be just them keeping their favourite playthings still around."
"Maybe they were the ones who killed that guy," Jupus wondered.
"What makes you think that," Arina asked.
"Well, remember what the illusion said. He wasa bad man who deserved his death. If that man really was a miser who was setting traps for travelers, I wouldn't be surprised if the fairies did something about him."
No sure answers came to the party that night, but they were relieved from any further fairy pranks. The morning was another matter though, as Jupus and Davona found themselves smearing their faces with bright pink paint that was smeared on their hands. With a sigh, they easily washed it off.
The Company continued exploring. While doing so, they were attacked by a giant wasp the size of a horse! The wasp's stinger was filled with poison, and was as large as a longsword, and just as strong. It was a tough fight for the Evergreen Company, and Arina and Davona were badly poisoned and wounded. If not for the smoke arrow that Jupus had struck the wasp with, they would not likely have survived the encounter. Fortunately, the smoke arrow landed stuck in the wasp's carapace, right underneath its head. The smoke confused the beast, making it miss certain attacks, attacks that would have surely killed Arina and Davona. After killing the beast, Jupus extracted the wasp's stinger as a trophy.
The Evergreen Company limped back to Onestrio's, making a restful stop at Biaggio's hut. Once there, Joram quickly rushed to their aid. The priest drew forth the grace of Deianeira to repair the damage to their bodies that the poison did. During that time, the Evergreen Company decided it was time they called in some reinforcements. They put out the call to old friends and allies to join them at Onestrio's. When that was done, they learned that Cethin never showed up at the trade post.
Instead, a human man arrived dragging along over three dozen bear traps, then proceeded to work a makeshift bar within the trade post. For the past several days, he had been serving drinks to the local hunters and trappers that passed through.
Over the next several days, new faces arrived at the trade post.
-----
The kitsune had come far, and given up so much. She had abandoned her vows. Her father was dead or deposed, and her family was deposed of their position. Ayaki Kashiki, daughter of the Lord of Iku, had no home to go back to. She was ronin. For everything to be worth it. Her brother had to be here.
Ever since she learned the truth, she vowed to undo the crime committed against her family. She had tracked the coven of witches that kidnapped her brother Yasu as a baby to Lurindor. There, she had learned of a male kitsune who joined an expedition to colonize the Viridian Marches. It was a long shot, but she had to make sure.
Ayaki rode into the trading post. The laborers tending to the garden and hatchery at the entrance looked up to watch her pass by. She wondered about that. The guards around them seemed more keen on watching them instead of outsiders. She knew she would make a scene. Although a ronin, Ayaki maintained her equipment as a true samurai of Xifangsaifu.
The trade post was more active than she expected. Although not hectic, there were a few people coming and going. Her eyes, and nose, were drawn to a man serving drinks behind a makeshift bar. Local trappers and hunters came and went, staying for a quick drink and a quick chat. It was an odd sight to find a bartender this far out. But then again, commoner priorities were foreign to her. These poor folk probably needed a bar more to escape the dreariness of every day life.
Still, bartenders usually know what was going on in the local area. Judging from the stares she was getting, Ayaki thought it should be easy to find another kitsune in this place. She approached the bartender.
The bartender was looking down at the makeshift counter, cleaning a glass. He glanced up for a second at Ayaki, and she swore that he raised an eyebrow before resuming a nonchalant expression. "Can I get you anything, miss?" he drawled.
"Green tea, if you have any," Ayaki replied. She leaned on the counter. The bartender's scent was peculiar. "Say, I'm looking for someone around these parts. A kitsune…"
-----
The malephilim nonchalantly sauntered into the trade post. This type of establishment was familiar to her. Rishoi Ha'Re, in her short career as a retrieval expert, had visited many places such as this. She just hoped the message she received was true. It was a long shot, but solving the disappearance of Marcelette Montplaisir would clean a stain on her professional reputation.
Arina saw her, and came to greet her. The woman was courteous and met her with a polite smile. Rishoi nodded in return. Arina had never held any resentment towards the mercenary for failing to find Marcelette. Rishoi suspected that part of her knew it would be impossible. But for Rishoi's professional pride, it was unacceptable.
It was her first failure. Prior to the Marcelette case, Rishoi had successfully retrieved several runaways and kidnapped heirs to the rich and powerful. Since then, Rishoi was filled with doubt in her abilities. She had not taken another job since then, spending her time reexamining her skills.
"Thank you for coming so soon," Arina told her, inviting her to sit down at one of the long table.
"Of course," Rishoi replied. "Your case was one of my biggest regrets. Is it true? You have some sort of lead?"
Arina seemed sheepish. "…of sorts. A… source of mine informed me that Marcelette may be somewhere in the Viridian Marches. That's why I'm on this expedition."
Arina leaned in closer to the malephilim, and continued speaking in hushed tones. Rishoi suspected that she did not the locals to overhear. "We've… encountered some tough obstacles recently. And the region is too large to search in a short amount of time. I need help. Someone I can trust. Will you help?"
Rishoi had to think about before she responded. It was a long shot, looking for a needle in a haystack. And who was Arina's source? None of Rishoi's investigations revealed any clue about Marcelette being in the Marches. Arina had made no mention of this source beforehand, and seemed cagey talking about him or her. Rishoi's instincts wanted to question the noblewoman about it, but she doubted Arina would be so forthcoming. At least for now.
However, the truth of the matter was that Rishoi had no other leads. And if she stayed here long enough, she may be able to get Arina to talk about her source. And this might be a good opportunity to improve her skills and get her out of this funk.
Rishoi looked straight into Arina's eyes. "I'm in."
-----
Technically, Argus Rosencrantz DeMontblanco was free any obligation with the dissolution of his former employers' merchant house. Yet his sense of duty, and memories of the young boy he served and protected, compelled him to answer the call. He was surprised when he received his message, but relieved that his former charge was making something of himself.
Argus himself had found himself drifting from odd job to job. His association with a disgraced house made it difficult for him to find suitable employment. And so, when a request for aid from his former employer arrived, he packed and set off immediately. If he could help his former charge, then maybe he can redeem his service to his old employers. He failed to aid them avoid their fate, he would not fail again.
Entering the trade post, he saw him. It was not hard, he was the only gnome there, but even then, Argus had to take a moment to be sure. He had last seen him only as a child, but now he had grown into a young man. He looked hardier, more experience. But it was definitely him. He called out. "Ah! Master—"
Jupus whipped his head around at the voice, his eyes wide opened. "Shhhhhhhh!" he hissed loudly, a finger on his lips at the new arrival. He looked at his friends nervously, and with a hesitant laugh, went to Argus and pushed him to around the main house where no one can see them.
The others wondered what was that all about, but they each had they own secrets, so they would not push for an explanation. At least, for now. They heard only a hushed, but active, conversation. After a few minutes, the two returned. Jupus introduced Argus to the others.
"He's an old acquaintance of mine. I believe his skill at arms will aid us in our expedition," the gnome explained.
"Indeed. Mast-I mean, Mister Jupus has explained what has been going on. I would be happy to join you and help."
Thus Argus Rosencrantz DeMontblanco joined the Evergreen Company.
-----
Sky Suleiman was happy to have finally left Lurindor. The sylph spellcaster would have left much sooner, but certain affairs forced him to limit his movements. It was a harrowing few months, always looking over his shoulder. He was immensely relieved to receive the missive from his step-sister. It was all the excuse he needed to go.
Arriving at the trade post, Sky was greeted by Davona with an embrace. "Sky, I am so relieved to see you again."
"Thanks, sis. It's good to see you, too. It's about time you called for me!"
"I know, but things have been… difficult. I didn't want to bring you into any more danger, with… you-know-what going on, but we need your help down here."
Sky was surprised. It was always difficult for his sister to admit needing help. He looked at her closely. There was something… off about her. When he last saw her, after she was ordained by the Church of Kaï-den, there was such a brightness about her. Now, that brightness was missing. And when he looked into her eyes, there was a cold, but familiar anger in them.
"What happened?" the arcanist asked softly.
In hushed tones, Davona explained what happened, how she loss her paladin powers and the grace of Kaï-den. Of what she had to do to make amends. Of the struggle within her between her commitment to the tenets of Kaï-den, and her thirst for vengeance.
Sky listened to it all, and embraced his sister once more. She was always the stronger one, but it seems that this land and its challenges have taken a heavy toll on her.
"I'm here now, sis," Sky told her. "I'll do whatever I can to help you. Whatever danger is out there, we're going to face it. Together."
-----
After some introductions, the newcomers were formerly inducted into the Evergreen Company, witnessed by the other occupants of the trade post. The company formed themselves into two teams, with the original members as team one, and the newcomers in team two. The actual names and team splits were still up for discussion.
As team one needed time to recover, team two opted to continue the surveying, and get their first taste of what was in store for them in this new land. They resumed team one's exploration of the Gnarlwood, minus Ayaki who still had some things to look for around the trade post.
Making their first camp, their camp fire was immediately doused by water appearing out of thin air. It only happened a few first times, and Sky only managed to detect a glimpse of illusionary magic. They wondered what was going on. Back at Onestrio's, the the other team members wondered if they had forgotten to tell the newcomers about something.
That night, their first real encounter in the forest was a giant rot grub. The vermin tried to ambush them at their camp, but only managed to wrap itself around Argus' leg and gnaw on his armor. The other two blasted it away with magic and bullets. They wondered why the other time claimed to have so much trouble.
"Well, we are working folk, after all," Argus said. "No disrespect to the others, but the rough, wild lands may be too much for our upper-crust society companions."
The others chuckled, although Sky did so a bit more nervously.
The next day, the party discovered a hidden cache of goods! Some valuables, a magic wand, and a worn out spellbook that still had several readable spells. So far, this exploration was looking up for team two!
Davona, Minchdoya, and Dante escorted Gaetana back to Onestrio's. After making sure that Gaetana was given a place to rest, Lorenzo approached them. He informed that during their absence, one of their prisoners attempted to escape.
"It was one of the younger ones," Lorenzo said. "Goes by the name of Guido. He tried to slip out the gate while no one was watching. Fortunately, the new guards you hired had just arrive. Dumb kid ran right into them, and they gave him a quick beating before we put him in chains and locked him in the shed."
Nearby, the new guards nodded to the members of the Evergreen Company. There were three of them: a human woman and two halfling, one a man and the other a woman. They introduced themselves as Vittoria, Bastien, and Dorianne, respectively. The Evergreen would pay for their services for the next 3-4 months with the credit their earned with Onestrio's trade post after giving Sabina the moon radishes she requested.
Vittoria sought out Dante. On her way here, she was asked to deliver a message to him. Dante read the letter, and a look of concern crossed his face.
"I'm afraid my short time with you must already come to an end," he regretfully told Davona. "Some personal affairs back home were left more unfinished than I had originally thought. I must head back… home."
"Yes, we must all leave," Minchdoya said. "We are being called. And we must go and answer."
Davona and Dante each gave each other a look. When they turned back to the deep gnome, he was already gone. They both agreed that was a thing, and that they should move on.
Davona decided that she would join Dante on his way back to Lurindor. However, she intended it to be a short trip. After parting ways with Dante at Rochefort, Davona went to the House of the Sun, the small temple of her patron deity, Kaï-den. She sought out the priestess of the temple, Sunmother Isabelle.
In private, Davona spoke to the Sunmother of her troubles. She explained the sense of loss she felt, that light within her felt dim. The Sunmother inquired as to when did this occur, and Davona explained everything involving Vico and his bandits, and how the Evergreen Company dealt with. Upon hearing the story, the Sunmother closed her eyes, and let out a breath.
"I fear that your actions have displeased our Lord, and ran contrary to the tenets of paladinhood," the Sunmother explained. "The holy grace that was bestowed upon you at the end of your training has been taken away."
Davona was stunned. "But… why? I don't understand what I did wrong!"
"My child, you were merciless against your charges, and offered no chance of redemption to them. You abdicated your responsibility as a knight of justice to one who was not fit to deliver sound judgement. And worst of all, you had no remorse over your actions, nor understood why any of them were wrong."
"But they were bandits, and we were given the authority deal with them as we thought best. We were within our remit! My oath—!"
Isabelle held up her hand to interrupt her. "I am well aware of your oath, Dame Davona. Vengeance is not forbidden by our Lord, but it is a dark path that must be tread carefully. Just because something is within your authority to do so does not mean that it must be done. As a paladin, you are held to the highest standards of morality and ethics. Any warrior can mete out vengeance, but a paladin must always be virtuous. You must temper your oath with compassion, patience, and understanding. And vengeance may take many forms, not all of them violent."
Davona looked to the floor, despondent. "…what must I do to regain our Lord's favour?" she asked quietly.
Isabelle was quiet for a moment. She stared hard at the young caelephilim. She had hoped that Davona would have been wise enough to avoid such a fate, but sadly, she was not surprised that it had happened. Still, there was still hope that she could come through this stronger than ever before.
"We will pray, child. Pray for forgiveness, and for the wisdom to guide us through this trial." Isabelle gave the girl a small smile. "I will perform the Sacrament of Atonement with you, and then, you will be given a task, a mission to complete to truly prove that you have atoned for your sins."
Davona looked up. Her eyes looked uncertain. "What must I do?"
"Dame Davona, to truly prove yourself worthy of regaining Kaï-den's grace, I task you with this: seek out a number of true bandits three times those that were killed in that incident, and peacefully convince them of their own free will to abandon their sinful ways, to live an honest life, and to join our Lord's faith."
Davona was stunned. She had sworn an oath of vengeance against bandits such as those that killed her mother. And now she had make peace with them? To bring them into the fold? Even after one of them tried to escape after being shown mercy? It was not fair!
But what was the alternative? The hollowness within her ached. She had known the blissfulness of divine grace, and although she was taught that it came from Kaï-den, it always felt motherly to her. She longed to feel it again.
Davona nodded to the Sunmother, and quietly agreed to the task and atonement. The ritual was performed later in the day, and Davona was recognized as being penitent in the eyes of God and the Church, and on the path to redemption. She spent the next few days at the temple, where the Sunmother helped retrain her to succeed in her task. "Worry not, child. We recognize the difficulty in your holy mission, and we will not abandon you to it alone."
After Davona returned to Onestrio's, she knew that she still had a long way to go to be eloquent enough to properly rehabilitate the bandit prisoners they had. She focused on saving up on resources to help make the livelihood of their prisoners more comfortable. She used her training as a city guard to help train and escort people coming through the trade post. During this time, she tried to get to know the bandit prisoners in their custody, as much as it disgusted her.
The rest of the Company eventually returned to Onestrio's Trading Post. After talking with Davona, the Evergreen Company formed a plan to properly rehabilitate these bandits into productive members of society. They spent the next two days using their skills to help generate the capital they needed to build the facilities where the prisoners can start doing good work. They soon had enough to get a garden and hatchery started. They would have their prisoners spend their time tending to the garden and livestock as part of their rehabilitation.
Once they got the construction started, the Evergreen Company left the trade post to continue their exploration. The started to explore the northeastern tip of the Gnarlwood Forest. At night, they were ambushed by four giant hissing centipedes. Badly wounded, and on the brink of death, things looked grim for the Company until unseen aid came to them. The chittering of the centipedes was overcome by melodic, sylvan singing. Some of Cethin's wounds were healed.
The centipedes became entangled. A grig, a tiny fairy with the upper body of a small elf woman and the lower body that of a cricket, appeared out of thin air to provide support. The Company escaped the centipedes' mandible, regrouped, and killed them off one by one. Their mysterious fairy benefactors once again vanished from sight. Cethin managed to collect doses of centipede poison from the corpses. The Company returned to Onestrio's, where Joram healed the damage the centipedes' poison did to them.
A day later, the Company set out once again. The continued to explore Gnarlwood for several days. Despite the fairies getting involved in the fight with the centipedes, they still chose to remain hidden and play pranks on the Company on a daily basis. The Company weathered them stoically.
The Company later found a glade where someone had set up over three dozen bear traps. From examining the area, the company concluded that these traps could not possibly be for bears. Instead, they could be for people, as the glade showed signs of travel. Wishing to get to the bottom of this, the company set up a hiding spot, set off one of the traps, and waited to see if anyone would show up.
The human woman that the Evergreen Company rescued introduced herself as Gaetana, one of the local hunters.
"You have my thanks," she told them sincerely. "Had you not shown up, I surely would ahve been torn to shreds by those thylacines."
"Don't thylacines normally hunt at night?" Cethin inquired.
Gaetana nodded to him. "Indeed. I've never seen this many active at once during the day. I suspect the increased number of bandits in the region has something to do with it."
"Let us take you back to Onestrio's," Davona offered. "It's not likely safe to travel alone."
"I would be grateful for the escort," the hunter replied.
Davona turned to Arina. "There's no need for all us to go. I can some of us while the rest continues out exploration."
Arina nods in agreement. "Good idea. Cethin, Jupus, and I will continue surveying the area, while you, Dante, and Minchdoya escort Gaetana back. After a few days of exploration, we'll return to Onestrio's and regroup with you then."
After parting ways, Arina, Jupus, and Cethin spent the next several days exploring the Plains. They eventually came across a grisly sight.
Jupus whistled. "Now that's gruesome."
Before the trio was a large field littered with sun-bleached bones. Cethin bent down, and sifted through them.
"Animals bones, of various sizes," the kitsune informed them. "Oh wait, this one looks human. And a few over there, too." He stood up, and dusted his hands off his pants. "But aside from the bones, there doesn't appear to be much else in this 'bone valley'."
As they turned to leave, a pony-size spider erupted from the earth! It latched onto Arina, and its bite dug deep into her abdomen, injecting strength-sapping poison. She turned pale from the sudden loss of both strength and blood.
"Gods, get it off me!" she cried out. Cethin and Jupus exploded into action to aid their companion. Cethin began casting a spell, and Jupus nocked his bow.
The spider reacted swiftly. It released Arina, and ducked beneath the Cethin's ray of enfeeblement and Jupus' initial shot from his bow. It skittered across the field, and snapped its fangs at Cethin. The kitsune fell backwards, but managed to avoid getting hurt.
The Evergreen Company of them circled the enormous spider. Even Arina, who clutched her bleeding side, had her sword drawn, trying to ignore the pain and the weariness permeating her body.
Despite the spider's size, its nimbleness proved troublesome, but at the same time, neither did it have much luck inflicting further harm on the companions. The Company whittled the large vermin down hit by hit. Even Arina, bleeding heavily, was able to deliver some good hits.
After defeating the giant spider, Cethin tended to Arina's wounds, although the spider's poison was still affecting her. The poor girl could barely stand in her own armor. Despite this, the party went on to investigate the spider's lair. In it they found the remains of a man. On him was a silver amulet shaped like a stag's head, and a crudely drawn map with a red 'X' marked on it. Cross-referencing the crude map with their more professionally drawn map led them to believe that the red 'X' points to one of the southern parts of the Gnarlwood forest.
"Think there's any relation to the Stag Lord?" Cethin asked.
"Hmm, very likely. Best hang onto it," Jupus said.
Arina recovered from the spider's poison quickly enough, and the party continued their exploration for the next several days. They did not encounter anything dangerous, but something new did happen to them each days. Ever since they came to this part of the Evergreen Plains, after defeating the giant spider, the three were suffering harmless, but annoying pranks every day.
The morning after the spider attack, they had put on their boots, only to painfully discover that little bones from the spider's nest were hidden within them.
Another time, they woke to find themselves covered in leaves sticky with honey.
And another time, their hair and clothing were temporarily shaded with an obscene collection of colours.
"What the Seven Hells is going on?" an exasperated Jupus asked.
"Probably fairies, nothing too much to worry about," Cethin nonchalantly answered while checking out his newly coloured fur.
Jupus was boggled. "You know what this is about? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Well, you didn't ask?"
One night, the party heard wolves growling all around them. Their sounds grew louder and louder as if they were closing in on them. As the party started packing up, the wolf sounds reached a crescendo. Then, a loud fart sound erupted. As the party realized that it was another prank, they could hear faint musical laughter.
"This is getting really old!" Jupus yelled out into the night in the Sylvan tongue. A faint fart noise was his only response.
An amused Cethin provided more details on prankster fey. Considering how easily these fairies set up their pranks on the watchful adventurers, they may have powers that would make very difficult to confront head-on. The only real solution that was available was to leave gifts for them. Traditionally, fairies would stop their pranks upon befriending them. For a moment, Arina and Jupus thought they heard faint laughter coming from Cethin's ring.
From then on, the party left out gifts of potions, gold, and jewelry each night in hopes to stop the pranks.
Jupus left out mostly bread and cheese. Cethin pointed out those were not very useful gifts to fey, that they liked sweet things. "It's fine," Jupus said.
On another morning, the three found their weapons missing. After a brief search, they discovered that the weapons were each hidden in a different person's belongings.
"How did they do this without us noticing?!" an exasperated Jupus exclaimed. "This is unacceptable, we can't let people mess with us this way."
The party continued their exploration in the direction of the fangberry thicket that Donato pointed out to them when they rescued him. Aside from a chance encounter with a giant snake, which they killed easily, their journey was uneventful, though they still suffered daily pranks. It appears their gifts were not sufficient in impressing the fey. And they still could not detect them even after setting up watches.
The thicket was nestled in a low valley between two small hills. It was also covered by a gossamer blanket of webs. As the party approached, they saw plenty of fangberries, but also plenty of sharp thorns on their branches. The three waded into the thicket to collect the berries. While doing so, they received many cuts and scratches from the thorns.
"Ouch! I hope Onestrio appreciates these berries," Arina said as she cut herself again while grabbing another handful of berries.
"Wait, Onestrio? He didn't ask us for any berries," Jupus said. "You sure it wasn't Sabina?"
"No, she wanted moon radishes, which the others should have brought back with them. Wait, then how did we know about this place?"
"Wasn't it that trapper Donato? But he just told us about this place. I don't recall him asking us to collect any fangberries."
"You mean to say we're getting all cut up for berries no one even asked us to get?" Arina moaned and facepalmed. A streak of blood from her cut hand left a trail on her face.
"Maybe it had something to do with that Biaggio fella, the potion-maker. Something about adding flavour to the potions? Ouch!"
"Hey guys…" said Cethin fairly weakly. "I got… my share of the… berries…"
The kitsune witch held up a small satchel filled with fangberries, but he was swaying on his feet. The others could see that his fur was matted with streaks of his own blood.
Their attention was turned to a growing sound of chittering. Peering closely, they saw a carpet of thumb-size spiders emerge from the thicket, heading straight towards them!
"Nyaarh!" Jupus uttered as the swarm of spiders crawled all over him, being the closest. The gnome could feel their tiny little legs crawling all over him. Fortunately, their bites did not yet get through his armor and clothing.
Cethin stretched out his hand, and invoked burning hands onto the swarm. He burned a few off, but the swarm just seem to keep growing. The party took one look at that, went "Nope!", and bugged out of the area on their horses and ponies as soon as they can.
The Company rode in the northeast direction. After a days ride, they made camp, and planned to resume their exploration in the morning. During the night, they thought to use their fangberries as an offering to the still unseen fey. Hoever, in the morning, their piles of fangberries were still there. However, they appeared to have been washed clean, and piled neatly on leaves.
"Oh, they're just f!!$ing with us now," Jupus muttered.
Continuing their exploration, the party arrived at what was marked as Biaggio's hut on their map. It was a crude hut made of mud with a grassy roof. A light inside the window and smoke from a chimney indicated that it was occupied. Dismounting, the party approached and knocked on the door.
"Eh? Who's there? What you want?" a screechy old man's voice called out from within.
"Sir? We're the Evergreen Company, and we heard we might acquire potions here," Arina replied.
"Eh, business? Alrighty, be right there!" The door to the hut opened, revealing an old human man dressed in raggedy clothing. His white hair and beard were scraggly and unkempt. "Name's Biaggio, whatcha need?"
The party introduced themselves to Biaggio. "Well, we seem to be tailed by some fey causing pranks on us. We were wondering if you might have anything that we can use to appease them, like baked sweets, or sugar water," Arina asked.
Biaggio chuckled. "Problems with fairies, eh? Yeah, they like to do that to newcomers around here. Well, I do know they like potions. Which I got plenty of. For sale."
The party members gave each other a look. "Of… course. By the way, we have these fangberries with us. Would you happen to need them?"
Biaggio's eyes perked up. "Hey, fangberries! Perfect timing, supply's been running out. I use 'em in my potions. Gives 'em a sweet flavour. How much you got there?"
"About three shares, all cleaned and washed."
"Ooh, nice and clean! Usually I just dump 'em in as is. Hmm, tell you what. You give me these shares, and about four more to fill up my supply, and I'll give y'all a 25% discount on all potions for da month."
"Hmm, well a month-long discount doesn't seem long," Arina said.
"Well, don't need to be a one-time thing. Every month, you give me seven shares of fangberries, you get the discount."
While the party agreed to this deal, Cethin had an idea, and snuck off. Out of sight from everyone, Cethin used his natural kistune abilities to make himself look like Onestrio. He then came back, and everyone thought that he really was Onestrio.
"Onestrio! Surprised to see you here," Arina said. "Wait, where did Cethin go?"
"Oh, don't worry, I passed him on my way here," Cethin-as-Onestrio said. "He said he had to hurry back to the trade post for something."
Turning to Biaggio, the disguised kitsune said, "Hey there, Biaggio! Here to pick up some potions!"
"Eh, Onestrio? Surprised to see you here. Usually I bring'em to you," Biaggio said, peering closely at Cethin. However, he seemed to believe that this was the genuine Onestrio.
"Yeah, I had some free time, and needed the walk. So, got my supply?"
"Sure! Got the gold?"
Cethin froze. "Uh… not on me. Sabina should've brought it to you."
"Nope? And you sent your wife out alone with the gold? That's odd of ya."
Feeling a bit sweaty, Cethin backed off. "Oh, you're right. Must've misremembered. Nevermind then, I'll head back and wait for the usual shipment back at the trade post. See you!" And Cethin-as-Onestrio shuffled off in a hurry.
A few minutes later, a normal looking Cethin came back and rejoined the group.
"Cethin? I thought Onestrio said you headed back to the trade post?" Arina asked.
"Uh, yeah. Remembered it wasn't really that important, so… yeah."
The party let the matter drop. Arina bought a fangberry-flavoured potion from Biaggio. With night falling, the party made camp, and Arina left out the potion as a gift to the still unseen fey.
Her generosity would not go unrewarded. During the middle fo the night, both Jupus and Cethin found their slumber interrupted as they were wakened by a sharp prick in their backsides. Upon closer examination, the cause turned out to be thorns from the fangberry thicket. Jupus swatted it away with annoyance, yet still shouted out into the night "This won't get to me!" Nearby, Arina enjoyed a very comfortable night's rest.
"It's a lovely garden, if a little… rustic," Cyrano Varano observed. He stood at the balcony's railing, looking over the gardens of the Biancardi estate. He swirled the wine in his glass before taking another sip. Even the wine was rustic to his tastes, being a local halfling brand.
"It does me no surprise to hear you say that, Cyro," Giovanni Biancardi said with mirth. The chief executor of the Biancardi Trade League joined his guest on the balcony, a glass of wine in his hand as well. Both were enjoying a moment of peace and quiet after a long day of fierce negotiation between their two trade houses. "They may be simple folk with simple pleasure, but sometimes we need a bit of simplicity in our high-stress, hectic lives, wouldn't you say?"
Cyrano scoffed. "Men of our stature and lineage should have no issues dealing with the day-to-day concerns of wielding power. I hope for your sake that your indulgences don't make you soft." He looked pointedly at the man.
Biancardi shrugged. It was true, since becoming the overseer of Foycomté, he had gained a few extra pounds. And his manor had come to have the scent of halfling weed as a common odour. "I believe today's talks more than adequately demonstrated that my business remains more than sharp enough."
Varano had to admit that he spoke truthfully. Giovanni had lost none of his edge, and Varano had to think hard on certain concessions to conclude their latest business deal. "Still, imagine what you could accomplish if you fully embraced nobilism. You have the talent and resources firmly establish your aristocracy."
Nobilism was new movement that had emerged among the Lurindor elite some fifty years prior. It embraced a romantic view of nobility in the past. The philosophy espoused that the natural order for a prosperous society was to have certain people elevated above others due to their breeding, education, and manners. This group of people should be given the resources and privileges in order for them to lead the rest of society into a brighter future. Proponents of the movement claim the philosophy will help elevate society as a whole. Its critics accuse it as just another excuse for the rich to keep staying rich of the backs of the less fortunate.
Biancardi waved the notion away. "Those ideas went away with the Rastolis, my friend, and outdated in this day and age. No, Cyrano, these days you need to be flexible, and open to new ideas if you want to seize every opportunity that comes your way."
"Trust me, Gio, the teachings of nobilism are what is needed push Lurindor even further."
"If you think your noble ideals are so great, then you should be able to take some halfling off the street, and raise them into a successful aristocrat!"
"Perhaps I should, if that is what it will take."
"Ha! Cyrano, I like these halflings well enough, but be realistic, they are a simple folk meant for simple lives."
"A wager then? Find a halfling child of your choice, and I will take them into my own house, and raise them to be a true aristocrat!"
A twinkle appeared in Biancardi's eye. He was always eager for some gambling. "Done!"
Varano and Biancardi finalized the details of the bet, and placed their wagers. At the end if the night, a plan was hatched that would affect the lives of more than just one halfling.
Present day
Dante Varano was not always called so. Once, he was just an orphan boy named Anatole. All that changed when Lord-Executor Cyrano Varano himself selected him after examining all of the other children in their poor orphanage. "You. With me." were the first word the man spoke to him.
The next decade or so of Dante's life was hard. He never knew why the man had adopted him into his house. Apparently, it was fairly controversial within his social circles. It was not as if the man cared for the boy; Varano always treated him coldly and harshly, employing painful punishments for his mistakes. And yet, at the same time, Varano provided him with the very best education, training, and resources, raising him to be a gentlemen among his peers. He even gave the boy his household's name, although it seems more like a symbol of ownership than paternal kindness. His "father"'s true children did not make life easy for him for that.
It was a harsh upbringing, but Dante was determined not to give up, if only to spite his "family". He took in everything he was taught, and worked hard to excel at everything. But he needed to escape. His life in the Varano household, as their "halfling show pet", was suffocating him. He did not know how long he could last in this life.
Dante's chance came when a friend reached out to him. They told him of the Chêteaufoy's attempt to colonize the Viridian Marches, told him that one of the parties was significantly understrength, and that they could use someone of his skills. It was a chance to escape the grip of the Varano's, to use his skills to make something of his own instead of his owners. And so one night, Dante Varano slipped out of the Varano's estate, and traveled all the way south.
In Rochefort, he got the details of the Evergreen party's task. At Onestrio's Trading Post, he caught up on the party's accomplishments and last direction. Thankfully, the party were spending a lot of time exploring, allowing Dante to catch up to them. He finally caught up to them at the moon radish patch he was told about back at the trading post. There, he saw the party about to confront four kobold warriors. Seeing his chance to make a good impressions, Dante rushed in to join the fight.
Evergreen Plains
Starday, Asmolan 12th, 108 6A
The scene in the moon radish patch was actually quite laughable. Five well armed adventurers faced off four small kobolds who appeared to be too full of delicious radishes. Arina and Davona readied their blades. Jupus nocked an arrow in his bow. Cethin loaded his crossbow. And Minchdoya…
Minchdoya suddenly heard laughter. His own laughter.
It was distant and faint, but recognizable. It came from the east. From the… forest?
It was impossible, but he knew his own laughter. It completely captured his attention. Ignoring everything, the terranefblin started walking towards the east, as if entranced.
His companions were puzzled, but before they could deal with him, their battle with the kobolds had already begun. Suddenly, a well-dressed halfling swordsman came out of nowhere to engage the kobolds from another angle.
Davona charged in, and delivered a devastating overhead chop at one of the kobolds. Arina followed in, and dodged a spear jab. "Ho there!" she called out of the halfling. "Have you come to assist us?"
"Indeed, my lady!" the halfling replied. "My name is Dante Varano, and I-urk!" Dante's introduction was interrupted as one of the kobold charged and jabbed his spear into the halfling's gut. So much for the dashing entrance!
Cethin tried to fire his crossbow, but as he pulled the trigger, he tripped. The bolt flew, and instead hit his fox. The witch's familiar yip in pain, and gives his master a glare. "Sorry!" the kitsune says sheepishly.
Jupus fired his bow. His aim was true, but his small arrow bounced harmlessly off the kobold's rusty scale mail. Jupus rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. Of course his tiny arrows would do nothing.
Arina concentrated, and Mr. Angelcakes shared her pain onto several of her opponents. The kobold struck by Davona wailed and drops his spear. He began groveling into the ground, whimpering in pain and fright. Davona passed over him to deliver another devastating blow to another kobold. Cethin followed with an ear-piercing scream, audible only to his target, causing the kobold to flinch in pain and became dazed.
Arina then executed a left-hand strike, and two swords flashed together, with the one real strike skewering the kobold. On the other side of fight, Dante twirled with panache to narrowly dodge a spear thrust to his face. He then countered by executing several devastating feints, intimidating his opponent.
One by one, the kobolds dropped the spears from pain and fear. Arina's dark forces continued to inflict pain on them, knocking several of them out. Finally, all but one kobold was unconscious, and the last surrendered in a particularly groveling fashion.
Satisfied with the outcome, and not desiring anymore bloodshed, the Evergreen Company proceeded to stabilize the unconscious kobolds while keeping an eye on the last conscious one. Fortunately, that kobold remained groveling, weeping in fear. As they they did so, they also turned their attention to the newcomer. He, too, received some of Cethin's healing.
"Thanks for aid, sir, but who might you be, and what brings you all the way out here?" Arina asked the halfling.
"Ahem. Yes, please allow me to re-introduce myself. My name is Dante Varano at your service," the halfling replied with a courtly bow. Despite the wound being healed, he still winced. "Quite literally, actually. I wish to join your expedition, and become part of the effort to establish a new colony here."
The Evegreen Company members did not seem to know what to make of Dante's request. They were a bit skeptical. "We just need to make sure you're not some crazed bandit or anything," Arina told him.
"Oh I assure, I'm certainly not!"
Oddly enough, Cethin had heard about a story about the Varano family adopting a halfling child. He had heard it while the Nine-tail Coven traveled through Lurindor. Apparently, it was a pretty scandalous story for a while. "Hey, Arina, this guy seems legit," he said.
"Well, if you are willing to help clear the Evergreen of its bandit problem, you're more than welcome join us," Arina told him.
"Perfect! Thank you, I shall not be a burden for the group," Dante replied with a fancy bow.
"Hey, at least he ain't as weird like Minchdoya over there," Cethin remarked, pointing his thumb at the returning deep gnome, who looked more morose than usual.
The party then turned their attention to the groveling kobold at their feet. "It's too bad none of us can speak kobold," Cethin remarked.
Dante cleared his throat. "Actually… I might be able to speak with them. I can speak a few dragon tongues that they may understand," he told them. The Draconic tongues were ancient languages used heavily as the basis of arcane writings, so it was part of his intense education. He still felt the stings on his body when he made mistakes.
"Just joined and already contributing to the party! I'm starting to like the new guy!" Cethin quipped.
Using Dante as an interpreter, the party consoled the kobold, and told him that they were not going to kill him or his fellows. In fact, they demonstrated their good will by healing them. The kobold was very relieved, and proceeded to kiss their feet. They learned that the kobold, named Rikrak, belonged to the Sootscale tribe, and he and his companions were ordered to bring back some moon radishes for their tribe, but they stayed to gorge on them for a while.
The Company assured Rikrak that they did not want to have troubles with the kobolds, and that they would like to speak with the Sootscale leader. Rikrak took some convincing, but after seeing the party heal his companions (named Zorzik, Rurik, and Drazdik), and believing them when they said to let them go with their baskets of radishes, Rikrak told them that their tribe lived in a cave among the hills near the centre of the Evergreen Plains. He told them to speak to Chief Sootscale. Rirak then proceeded to kiss their feet once again. The Company assured Rikrak that they also want to help the kobolds deal with the bandits.
While Rikrak went to tend to his friends, the party discussed among themselves. They decided that the kobolds might make useful allies, and that a diplomatic approach might be the way to go. They then proceeded to collect their own share of radishes.
"You gotta teach how to speak draconic," Cethin eagerly asked Dante.
"Certainly!" replied the hafling.
"Yes, more learning!"
They finished healing up the kobolds to full health. Rikrak explained the mercy of the Evergreen Company had given them. They collected their baskets of radishes, and said their goodbyes. Rikrak in particular said he looked forward to their visit to their tribe in the future.
After collecting their moon radishes, the Evergreen Company made camp. The next day, they continued their exploration of the Evergreen plain.
Two days after their encounter with the kobolds at the moon radish patch, the party discover an abnormally large pack of thylacines chasing a human woman in leather. What was even more odd, noticed by Cethin, was that thylacines were nocturnal hunters, and it was the middle of the day.
"This way!" Davona called out. "We'll provide you cover!"
The woman whipped her head towards the party. She changed direction to them, waving at them. The thylacines were nipping at her heels, and the party could see that she was already sporting several bite marks.
The party charged toward the oncoming thylacines, getting between the woman and the pack. Dismounting from their horses and ponies, the Evergreen Company engaged the thylacines and diverted their aggression from the woman to themselves. Cethin remained on his horse, but reached out to the woman. "Get on, hurry!" he called out to her, and the woman grabbed his arm, and climbed up onto his horse.
While Cethin pulled his horse away, Minchdoya rolled off his pony right into the middle of the pack. He put up his guard and tried to draw the thylacines' aggression towards himself, allowing the others to attack from the sides. Davona waded into the pack, slashing away at the beasts, followed by Arina and Dante with their rapiers. Jupus stayed back, picking off the beasts with his bow. He was particular please to see his small arrows draw blood from his targets ("Finally," he muttered).
Cethin quickly incanted a cure light wounds spell on the woman. She thanked him. The kitsune dismounted and passed the woman his crossbow and bolts. "Here, take these."
"Thank you, I'll do what I can," the woman replied, loading the crossbow.
Several thylacines became badly wounded, and ran off yipping in pain. Minchdoya tried to keep up his defence, but there were too many thylacines around him, and one of them clamped down hard on his forearm, its teeth sinking deep into the deep gnome's flesh. The pain was too much for Minchdoya, and the gnome fell unconscious.
The rest of the party doubled their efforts in the fight. They killed or drove off the thylacines before they could pile on him. The Evergreen Company breathed a sigh of relief, and proceeded to heal their wounds.
He did not know where he was running to. It was a wide open plain, not a feature in sight.
But Donato had to run. If he stopped, he was dead.
His heart was pounding, His breath was ragged. He dared not look behind him, but he could hear the jeers and laughter of his hunters.
That was when he saw them. Just as Donato was about to give up and resign himself to his fate, he saw five riders come over the horizon. He did not who they were. They could be bandits as well, or worse. But Nine Hells, what did he have to lose at this point?
"Help!" he cried out to them. "Help! I'm being chased by bandits!"
The Evergreen Company heard the call for help. Looking at each other, they all silently agreed to investigate.
Master Minchdoya was the first to move on his pony. "What's going on here?" the gnome called out. "Why don't we all just relax?"
"Please help!" Donato shouted as he ran closer to the terranefblin. The bandits chasing fired arrows at him. Fortunately for Donato, one arrow only narrowly missed him, while a second one glanced off his leather armor.
Arina rode up next to Minchdoya, and drew her sword. "It appears that they do not wish to parley, Master," she said. "We should be prepared for the worse."
Minchdoya shook his head sadly. "If only people could realize the goodness within them."
The rest of the party caught up with them. Donato ran up into their midst, dodging the sword swings of the bandits nipping at his heels.
"Quickly!" Davona called out to him. "Get behind us and we can provide you cover!"
One of bandits called out to the party. "Hey! Back off! This is our prey!"
"And praying is what you'll be doing when I'm done with you!" Davona shouted back. It seemed that the prospect of fighting bandits lifted her spirits somewhat.
Riding up to the bandits, Minchdoya dismounted, then smoothly slipped through the guard of the nearest bandits, and twisted the man's greatsword out his hands, and into his own.
The bandit was flabbergasted at the move. "Hey! My sword!"
"I'll give this back to you when you decide to play nice," the monk scolded the man as if he was a child. Davona let out a shout of laughter at the sight.
Meanwhile, Arina rode past Minchdoya, intent on neutralizing the archers at the back. Guiding her horse with her knees, she charged at one of the them, holding her rapier with both hands. She thrust her blade, but unaccustomed to fighting on horseback, missed her target. Undeterred, Arina eyed several of the bandits, and called upon dark energy from an old friend upon them.
While Cethin began using his witch powers to weaken the bandits, Davona dismounted in front of the bandits to engage them in melee. Meanwihle, Jupus stretched out his hand to Donato. "Get on!" he called out.
Donato desperately reached out, and grabbed Jupus' hand. However, just as he did so, Donato's luck ran out. One of the bandits slashed deep in Donato back. The man yelled out in pain, then collapsed to the ground, the pain rendering him unconscious. "Damn you!" Jupus called out.
The disarmed bandit facing Minchdoya hopped back to get some distance. Don't think I'm harmless yet, you small, blue freak! The bandit pulled out a flask of alchemist fire and lobbed it at the party. Luckily for the Company, the bandit's aim was poor, and the flask missed its target. The only damage were a few burns from the fiery explosion.
Moving like water, Minchdoya slipped through the guard of another bandit. With a twist of the arm, the monk pulled the bandit's greatword out of his grip. "And same goes for you!" the monk scolded, as he tossed the swords away.
Arina dismounted from her horse. One of the bandits tried to shoot an arrow at her, but fumbled and spilled out all of his arrows onto the ground. Taking a cue from Minchdoya, Arina danced in front of the archer in front of her, and with a flick of her rapier, knocked the longbow out of his hands. With one disarmed, and the other having lost his ammunition, both archers opted to draw their longswords.
Arina smirked. Invoking the dark power of Mr. Angelcakes, she wracked several bandits with the pain she felt within. She followed up by executing the sword technique known as left-hand strike. From the bandit's perspective, it appears that Arina was stabbing at two places at once. Confused, the bandit's defence faltered badly, allowing Arina to stab him deeply.
As Davona dueled the last remaining armed bandit, Jupus tried to hide himself from the bandits sight to attack them by surprise. Unfortunately, it did not seem to work. The disarmed bandits stepped back to lob alchemist fire at the party. However, their aim was poor, and only managed to light burn the party.
Running out of options, the bandits began fearing for their lives as they find themselves being disarmed and beaten on without being able to return the damage on their attackers. What started out as a simple hunt turned out to be far more dangerous than what the bandits would like.
"Who are these guys?!" one of the cried out in panic. "This is nuts! I gotta get outta here!" As the first bandit started to run, it seemed to trigger the others into running as well.
"Wait! Your got your pointies!" Minchdoya cried out, running after them while carrying their swords.
Arina continued to pour pain on her claimed targets. They had no idea where this pain was coming from, and it frightened them. Arina exchanged blows with the bandit in front of her as he tried to run away. Cethin tried to cast his spells on them, but none seem to take. All the kitsune could do was use his witch powers to weaken the bandits.
No longer having her hands full with bandits, Davona rushed to the downed Donato. "I've seen too many loss to the hands of bandits," she muttered as she took a potion of cure light wounds from her bag, and fed it to the man. She then stood watch over him as he recovered.
Jupus remounted his pony, and drew one of his trick arrows. He took aim at one of the fleeing bandits, and let the arrow fly. The arrow split midway in the air, and wrapped itself around the legs of his target. The bandit tumbled down into the grass.
Minchdoya ran up to him, and then dropped the swords on the bandit. "Here you forgot these!" Jupus caught up to them on his pony. The bandit managed to untangle himself, and grabbed one of the swords. He held it up before him, eyeing the two Evergreen Company members nervously. "Not going to take the other one?" Minchdoya asked, eyeing the man menacingly while Jupus took aim.
"You're knocked down, your friends are running," Jupus told him. "Any further action would be… foolish."
The bandit gulped. "Okay, okay! I surrender!" he cried out, dropping the sword. Jupus dismounted, and began tying him up.
Meanwhile, Cethin tried to shoot at one of the bandits, but the string of his crossbow broke! The bandit charged at him. "Get out of my way, you furry freak!" he cried out as he swung his great sword at the kitsune witch. The blow hit Cethin with full force, and the witch spat out blood. Fortunately, for him, the bandit was more concerned with running than finishing his opponent, and ran past him.
Further back, Arina continued to wrack pain on her claimed foes, knocking out another bandit. She then managed to take another one down using her sword techniques. She continued to harry the fleeing bandits, weakening them further and further.
Minchdoya also ran up to one of the fleeing bandits. "Why don't you stay a while and listen?" he taunted, and then swung his leg at the bandit's, causing him to trip and fall. The gnome then delivered one punch, and knocked the man out.
"Gods damn you all!" the last bandit shouted, and tried to swing his sword at Arina. The harbinger deftly dodged the attack, and with a quick stab, took down the last bandit.
The party then gathered up the bandits, stabilizing the injured ones and healing their own wounds. With all five alive, they tied them up after stripping them of their equipment and valuables. Next to Davona, Donato recovered well enough to speak after receiving healing from Cethin.
"Thank you all," he told the party. He explained that he was a local trapper. These bandits found him, and as usual, demanded that he hand over all of his goods. However, this time, the bandits fell into several of his traps, and that angered them to no end. Fortunately, the traps gave Donato enough time to run. And luckily enough, he managed to find the party.
"It was our pleasure to help," Arina told him. "We are the Evergreen Company, and we are here to explore and tame the region, as indicated by this charter issued by the Châteaufoy Trade House. As a local in the region, we would love for you to share any knowledge you have of the region."
"Certainly!" Donato said. "After what you did for me, that would be the least I could do."
Donato pointed out on their map the location of Biaggio's hut, a hermit that collects herbs and creates potions. Many of the locals buy and trade potions and herbs with him. The man was old and eccentric, but Donato assured them that his potions were good.
Donato also confirmed the location of the moon radish patch, as well as the location of a large fangberry thicket. Fangberries were famous in the region for their sweet taste, but dangerously large and sharp thorns on the bushes branches.
"Have you heard of any abandoned temples? Particularly of Deianeira?" Cethin asked him.
"Not specifically, but I have heard stories of Deianeiran pilgrims traveling to and from the Gnarlwood forest to the west of the trade post," Donato told them. The party also asked him about some of the infamous beasts in the region, but Donato told them that while he has heard of them, he makes sure to avoid them at all cost.
Jupus turned to one of the still conscious bandits. "How about you? Have you heard of any temples?"
The bandit spat at Jupus' feet. "I ain't telling you nothing."
"So, we once again find ourselves with a group of bandit prisoners," Arina said.
"I vote that we do not execute them," Minchdoya said. Arina voiced her agreement.
Cethin had other ideas. Casting an evil eye on the bandit, the kitsune witch attempted to cast an interrogation spell. However, the spell failed to take hold. Fortunately for Cethin, Davona did not recognize the spell. Arina did, but honestly, she was unconcerned for the moral implications of using such cruel magic.
However, Davona did propose they hold of on any questioning until they bring back the bandits back to the trade post. "It'll be easier there, and we don't know if there are more bandits nearby."
The rest of the party agreed, and they made their way back to the trade post. It was late at night when they arrived, but the new guards recognized them and brought them in. "Looks like you caught another haul," Roark the dwarf commented, seeing the tied up bandits in tow.
Onestrio came out of his house. The party noticed that he looked a bit tipsy, but the trade post owner welcomed them, and brought Donato inside for some much needed warmth and comfort. They heard him call for Sabina to warm up some food while he went to prepare a bed for the trapper.
The Evergreen Company talked among themselves about what to do with the bandits.
"We could hand them over to Lorenzo for judgement," Arina suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Jupus interjected. The memories of the cold slaying of their previous prisoners came back fresh in his mind. "We are not going to foist these off to someone else. We need to be the ones taking responsibility for them."
"Not to Onestrio, I agree," Arina replied. "We made a bad decision back then, but Lorenzo is something like the best representative of law and order here."
"I agree with Jupus completely," Davona added. She had been oddly quiet throughout the trip back to the trade post. The emptiness she felt within her that plagued her since the execution of Vico's bandits weighed heavily on her mind. She had decided that perhaps it was time to change her way of thinking. "We were the ones given authority over this land, it's time we take responsibility for it."
"Jail time, then?" Cethin suggested.
"That works for me," Jupus said. "We can negotiate with Onestrio to use the storehouse as a jail, and have the guards watch over them."
"Hopefully he'll agree. Especially now that he seems to be drinking," Arina said, eyeing back to where Onestrio went.
"Let's use the gear we got off the bandits to barter with him," Cethin proposed. "And maybe we can have the bandits work for him."
"That's what I've been saying before, but no, everyone ignored that," Jupus muttered.
"Well, the issue before was that we didn't have the guards to watch over them to make sure they do the work," Arina explained. "It could work now. Maybe."
The Evergreen Company sought out Onestrio, and asked him if they could use the storehouse as a makeshift prison for their prisoners. In exchange, they would give him almost all of the gear they got off the bandits. Onestrio accepted, the goods that the party gave him was more than enough to hold them for a while.
The Company also talked to Lorenzo about keeping watch on the prisoners. Lorenzo said that he and his men would be fine, but it might help to get more guards. The costs will have to come out of the Company's own funds, however. The party agreed, and it seemed that the goods that they gave to Onestrio would be enough to hire two more guards for a while.
The Company then talked with their bandit prisoners.
"You are all our prisoners now," Davona told them. "However, you have the chance to repent for your criminal actions by working here. You can choose to do honest work, and maybe earn a wage. Or you can refuse, and we would have to deal with you personally."
The bandits were glaring, and unconvinced. Davona observed them for a moment, and remained silent. She was thinking about what she would have to do with them. She still remembered those frightened eyes as she plunged her sword into Vico's heart, and the coldness and loss that accompanied it. The unexpected guilt she felt afterwards continued to haunt her. There had to be a better way.
"Oh! I've got an idea," Jupus interjected. He pulled the group close into a huddle. "We're eventually going to found our own kingdom, right? How about we promise them a parcel of land to call their own if they do as we say, and maintain good behaviour?"
The party all nodded. That sounded like that a good incentive, and something they can easily do. Davona returned to the prisoners with this proposal.
"Listen," Davona said in a much softer tone. "You don't have to continue down this path. It'll only have you end up in a cold cell, or worse. You can live a more honest life, and it won't be without rewards. My companions and I will eventually claim this land for our own. Should you agree to our terms, make a good effort and maintain good behaviour, we would reward you with your freedom, and a plot of land to call your own."
Master Minchdoya, who had been quiet, also tried to convince the bandits to agree. "Come, think of the fresh air. And the lack of beheadings."
The bandits were opened to the idea, and tentatively agreed. Cethin talked with Lorenzo about providing a small wage to the bandits' work. "Provided they remain on good behaviour," he added.
"Well, it's a bit unorthodox," Lorenzo commented, scratching his head. "But if you provide the funds, I'll take care of it."
The rest of the party also went along with that idea. They all provided one gold piece each for the initial funds, to be divided one copper a day provided they do good work. Considering all the amenities the bandit prisoners were already getting, this was fairly generous. Cethin explained this offer to the bandits. It was met with some surprise, but not complete acceptance.
Jupus walked up to them. "Gentlemen, I understand that you are all suspicious about our offer. Please understand that we want to settle this region, and we can use your help," he said. "So you can help us and reap the rewards. Or you can end up like the last bunch."
"Uh, no, no! No need to go there!" one of the bandits exclaimed.
Jupus smiled. "Then, there you go. Remain on good terms with us, and you will be rewarded."
The party thought that this was a good first step, but did not get the sense that the bandits were fully committed. They asked Donato to bring a request on their behalf for more mercenary guards and made sure Lorenzo and his men were well-equipped.
After getting some food and some rest, the party readied themselves in the next morning to continue their exploration. They first made sure that the prisoners were secured, and that the guards were equipped to deal with them. While they were doing so, Cethin approached Joram, asking him to learn more about religious knowledge.
"I'd be happy to help!" Joram said. "However, most of my knowledge is mostly focused on Deianeira. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all!" Cethin replied. "I'm open to learning any religion."
"Perfect then. Any time you spend here, I'd be happy to impart my knowledge to you."
The Company then set off. Their goal was to reach the moon radish patch, and explore the area on the way. Their path took them along the western edge of the Old Arborfane forest.
As they traveled along its edges, Cethin could sense old magic emanating from it. It made the fur on the back of his neck straighten and tense. Even the rest of the party felt like there was a presence from the forest observing them. However, they could not perceive anyone, or anything, through the thick brush. However, to Master Minchdoya, the feeling felt like the old home. He almost even cracked a smile at the feeling.
They did not know much about the Old Arborfane forest, but Cethin did remember his old coven had some knowledge of it. He knew that the Old Arborfane was ancient, and contained many dangerous magicks. He quickly suggested to the rest of the group to stay away from the place.
The Company continued to travel and explore for the next several days. At night, they sometimes heard roars from the direction of the forest, even though they were camped some miles away. Finally, though, they reached the moon radish patch.
To their surprise however, they heard some shrill moanings from the middle of the patch. Cautiously approaching, they found four small, reptilian humanoids with dog-like features lying on the backs, moaning in pain and pleasure. They were kobolds, and their bellies seemed distended. They could see several baskets full of mood radishes next to them.
"Uh, hello?" Arina called out.
The four kobolds leapt up in surprise, yipping in their kobold tongue. They grabbed their spears, and pointed them at the party menacingly.
"Um, we mean you no harm!" Arina called out again, but the kobolds continued to yip and yap. It seemed neither group could understand each other. Minchdoya ignored them, and started gathering moon radishes. However, the kobolds took that as an aggressive act, and charged the party!
Sir Thoros Brighthammer shrugged at the halfling priestess. "She displayed the gift, and has the potential," he said.
Sunmother Isabelle Beauciel shook her head. "She barely passed any of theoretical tests. I have never before encountered a paladin who forgot so much of our holy scriptures."
"It's rare, but some of the anointed work more on instinct than knowledge."
"That's what worries me," the Sunmother said. "She carries a darkness within her. A strong desire for revenge."
"Then she will be tested," the senior paladin declared. "She has proven herself to have the potential to carry the light for now. Whether or not Dame Davona passes through whatever crucible that awaits her, stronger or broken, is between her and God."
-----
Onestrio's Trading Post
Windsday, Asmolan 2nd, 108
After what felt like an eternity of painful sleep, Vico woke to a pleasant sense of warmth. The feeling was dashed upon seeing the the people who had defeated his band standing over him, while he sat on the ground bound by rope.
"Listen, cooperate with us, and things will go easier for you," Davona told him.
Vico decided to cooperate. After all, the party defeated them, but kept them alive when anyone else would have just killed them. Maybe he can get out of this alive. It wasn't as if he had any particularly strong loyalty to the Stag Lord…
The information flowed from his mouth quite easily. The leader of this band explained that the bandits work in cells, with information cut off from each other. Even in his own cell, where he was pretty much the second-in-command, Vico did not have a clear idea of how many bandits were in it. Only Ravenna, one of the Stag Lord's lieutenants and leader of his cell, knew.
Vico did know that there were at least eight other bandits in his cell aside from himself and the ones he brought with him. He also told them that cells have a large amount of freedom and low oversight. As long as each cell brings back their goods at the end of the month, they were free to do as they pleased. In fact, Ravenna was not be expecting his group back any time soon.
"Ok, let's hold a trial for him and the others," Davona said.
Vico was surprised by that. He did not expect them to bother with such a mercy. At least they won't kill them right away. He might have a chance to convince them to let him live.
"So," Davona continued. "He was helpful, but he had been robbing this place for months. So, I think it's only fair that we leave it up to his victim to choose his sentence." And she turned to Onestrio.
Vico was shocked. By the look on Onestrio's face, so was he. And yet, the party's charter granted them full freedom to pass judgement however they wished. If any of the other Evergreen members had any reservations taking such a path, they kept such thoughts to themselves.
Onestrio was taken aback at being given the final say, but, still brimming with anger, simply said: "Kill them. Kill'em all."
Davona drew her blade, and approached Vico, now filled with dread. "I would say that it gives me no pleasure to do this… but that would be a lie."
"Hey! wait a min-urk," was all Vico managed to say before Davona coldly slid her sword through his heart.
-----
As Vico died, so did something within Davona. The caelephilim felt a terrible sense of tearing in her heart, and all that was left was a void. She did not understand what it was. All she could do was bear it as she watched the bandit leader's last breath escaped his body.
While Davona stood still and wrestled with the turmoil within her, Cehtin went to Onestrio With inexplicable motive, the kitsune placed a sword in the man's hand. "It was your judgement that led to this," the kitsune told him. "If you make a decision, you should be the one to see it through with your own hands." Onestrio, shocked by how quickly the party killed Vico, let himself be led to one of the unconscious and bound bandits.
"Well? You've made your decision, what are you waiting for?" Cethin asked him.
Onestrio stared down at the bandit, thankfully still unconscious. Then, almost without thought, he thrust the blade through the bandit's throat. The bandit gurgled, and blood sprayed out of the wound, some splattering onto Onestrio. The impact of wet, warm blood shocked the tradesman back to his senses. He dropped the sword, stumbled to the side, and threw up.
"Hey, don't go too far, there are still a few more left," Cethin called after him.
"Just… just finish them off, please," Onestrio mumbled, as he stumbled back to the house, where a worried Sabina waited for him. The kitune watched the tradesman leave with an enigmatic look on his face.
The rest of the party shrugged, and Jupus and Arina went into the storehouse and slit the throats of the remaining bandits. They then piled their corpses outside of the trading post, and set ablaze in a pyre.
-----
That night, Davona could not rest.
She tossed and turned uncomfortably in her cot. She felt like she was burning up, and a sheen of sweat coated her body. For as long as she could remember, since the death of her mother, she could feel the warm embrace of a comforting presence. On those lonely nights, that presence made her feel that the world was safe.
But now, that presence was gone. All that was left was emptiness, a pit of fear and despair long since unfamiliar to her. No rest would come to Davona this night, nor any other night any time soon.
She suspected, with dread, what she was suffering from, but she did not understand why. Admittedly, her grasp of Kaïdenite teachings was never the most firm, but she had believed that she had made the right call. They held a trial, did they not? And they were bandits, scum of the earth. Was that not more than what they deserved?
Yet, there was now a hollowness in her. One now filled with doubt.
No rest would come to Davona that night.
-----
The next day, a group of new travelers arrived at the Trading Post.
At the head of the group were four men of different races, two humans, a dwarf, and a halfling, but they were well-armed, and wore armor and clothing with matching colors. Another human man followed them, dressed in hunter's garb, but of expensive quality. Finally, a dour-looking rock gnome, unarmed, trailed behind them.
The gates of the trade post were still closed, on account of Onestrio still worried about the rest of the bandits. On the rampart, the tradesman called out to the group to identify themselves.
The lead soldier, a middle-aged but still fit man, replied. "Lorenzo Dinovio, of the Rochefort Freelancer Guild! I come with three other guards to fulfill the contract of one Onestrio Lucelli. We are also accompanied by two travelers originating from Rochefort."
Lorenzo lifts up the contract in the air, one that bears Onestrio's signature and seal. Recognizing it, Onestrio descends to open the gates. Before doing so, he asks the Evergreen Company to be present in the main yard. "Just in case," he said.
Fortunately, such precaution was unnecessary. Onestrio confirmed the writ and the Rochefort Freelancer license upon them being presented by Lorenzo. Onestrio welcomed them into the tradepost, though not without some harsh words.
"I hope your skills are better than you're timing. You're a day late to miss out all the action," the tradesman grumbled.
If the mercenary was offended by the comment, he hid it well underneath a disciplined composure. "It seems so. I noticed the burnt corpses outside."
"Yes, the work of these skilled travelers," Onestrio said, motioning to the Evergreen Company standing in the middle of the yard. Lorenzo thought he heard a tinge of trepidation in the man's voice.
Lorenzo nodded to the adventurers. "Fine work," he simply stated. "And what brought you here at this auspicious time?"
Arina stepped forward, and produced the charter. "By the right granted by the Trade Lords of Lurindor, our Evergreen Company is tasked to explore and pacify the Evergreen Plains with the goal to establiah a ntion here under our rule. I am Arina Seta Ondo, and these are my companions." Arina proceeded to introduce the other members of the Company one by one. She then explained about how they dealt with the bandits accosting the trade post. Onestrio was looking at the ground by then end of the recounting.
"Thank you for your actions," Lorenzo said at the end. Turning to Onestrio, he apologized for not arriving in a more timely manner. Apparently, there was some mix up in the paperwork at the guild that delayed the request from falling into his hands, to which Onestrio vocally cursed out.
"As for you ladies and sirs," Lorenzo said, turning to the Company. "Now that we are here, we will fulfill our duty in guarding the tradepost, and you can freely fulfill your charter without worry."
"A welcomed change. Looking forward to working with you, Mister Lorenzo," Arina said as the two shook hands.
Right after Lorenzo led his men away to get settled in, the fancy hunter, a tall bald man with a thick bushy mustache approached the Company.
"Hullo!" he greeted them enthusiastically. "I am Gaspasi Montilligri, of the Monster Hunter Association of Lurindor. I believe you fine folk and I will have much to discuss. Please allow me to settle in, and I'll come speak with you before your next venture."
Without even pausing for a reply, Gaspasi headed into the main building, leaving the Company somewhat baffled. Davona thought the name of Gaspasi's association sounded familiar to her, but in her fugue state she did not think too deeply on it nor bring it up. All she really wanted was to curl up in bed.
The Company were collectively startled when they heard a cough right next to them. They had to look down (well, except for Jupus) to finally notice the last of the newcomers. He was a gnome with grey and blueish skin, with wild white hair. He was topless and barefoot, wearing only trousers. Although scrawny and long limbed, his less than fully clothed state revealed a compact, muscular body.
"Minchdoya," the rock gnome simply said.
The members of the Company glanced at each other. "Is… that some form of greeting?" Arina hesitantly asked.
"My name," the gnome replied without much emotion.
"Ah, well, well met, Minchdoya," Jupus told him.
Minchdoya nodded, then hobbled further into the tradepost. The Company shrugged, then went about their business. Who were they to call out odd characters?
-----
Davona had gone to bed early, so it was only with the three other members of the Company did Gaspasi speak to about his offer.
"The MHAL is interested in sponsoring hunts for renown beasts and monsters in the Viridian Marches," he told them. "It is what the Association is all about. If there are any who could accomplish such feats in the Association's name, our prestige will increase, and we would handsomely reward such brave folk."
"And you're suggesting that we take up these hunts?" Arina asked.
"Only if you so wish it, my lady. The reward goes to the first to make the kill, but I have the feeling that your group will likely have the best opportunity to do so."
While not particularly enthused about hunting, the Evergreen Company had no issue with taking part with the hunt should the opportunity come across their path. Gaspasi informed them of four creatures of significant repute in the Evergreen Plains: a powerful hodag, the turtle menace known as Old Crackjaw, the dangerous dire boar Tuskgutter, and of a powerful tatzlwyrm.
-----
The next day, Lorenzo was found setting up a bulletin board in the trading post, and pinned posters to it. He explained to the party that several requests were made by the Châteaufoy Trade House in regards to some problems in the Evergreen Plains.
First, the Trade House put up a reward to significantly curb the amount of bandit activity in the Evergreen. If any persons manage to bring proof that they had defeated over two dozen bandits, they would receive a reward of 800 gold lurins.
Secondly, there was a tribe of kobolds in the Evegreen Plains known as the Sootscales. They were never much of a problem before, but recently, something had stirred them up. The Châteaufoy Trade House would reward any party that manage to pacify the kobolds by any means necessary.
"Hey, is your company willing to take on other jobs while you're out there?" Lorenzo asked Arina.
"We are," Arina replied. "You have something in mind?"
"Aye. There's this former merc that I knew, goes by the name Fredo Stasi." Lorenzo spat on the ground at his name.
"Long story short, I worked with Fredo on a job a while back, but the scumbag stole the whole company's pay at the end. Last I heard, he fled south. Since then, I heard of stories about the bandits down here, and their descriptions matched Stasi: light tone skin, grey beard shaved head, and more tellingly, part of his right ear cut off. Courtesy of yours truly before he escaped."
"Now, due to my duties, I can't go gallivanting on my own personal hunt out there. Merc honour and all that. But merc honour also demands payback against those who break it. I have a reward for you if you manage to bring Stasi back, and a little extra if he's still alive to face jutsice himself."
The Evergreen Company agreed to keep an eye out of for Stasi. If he had joined the Stag Lord's bandits, then they will be killing two birds with one stone.
-----
Afterwards, Lorenzo met up with his men. The three had set up some semi-permanent shelters within the trading post.
"Welcome back, boss," Roark the dwarf said. "Camp's set. Cozy enough 'til we build something more permanent."
"Good job," Lorenzo told them as he put away his tools.
"Saw you talking the explorers, sir," Marcel the halfling said while tending to their supper over the fire. "What were they like?"
Lorenzo took a moment to consider his response. "They're an eclectic bunch. Pretty much what you'd expect from adventurers. But they seem skilled and capable. Took care of those bandits easily enough it seemed."
The middle-aged human Vecchio harrumphed. "Pretty grisly business, that. They're the 'take-no-prisoner' type of folk?"
"Well… from what Onestrio told me, they did take them prisoner. Initially." The mercenary leader sat down near the fire. "Seemed that they held a quick trial for them. Well, I say trial, but it seemed they just let Onestrio decide their fates."
"Let me guess," the grizzled veteran said, "he called for their heads."
Lorenzo nodded. "Aye, and Davona, the bright girl that's currently bed-ridden, killed the man in an instant."
Roark shook his head. "Some trial," he muttered.
"After that, they finished off the rest while they were unconscious," Lorenzo continued. He leaned in close to the others, and lowered his voice. "Apparently, the fox-man convinced Onestrio to finish off one of the bandits. Some sort of life lesson for the man or something, since he was the one who made the judgement."
Marcel was aghast at that. "I-I don't understand. I had heard that their charter gave them full authority over the law in the region. Why would they do this?"
Lorenzo shrugged. He was around long enough to have seen a lot of things. "Like I said, eclectic. Just stay out of their way as long as they don't interfere with our duties, and you'll be fine."
"World's a harsh place, kid," Vecchio told the young halfling.
"Anyways, they've only just started, so we'll see soon enough what they'll make of this region." And Lorenzo knew that if it was not good, at least they can get back to Lurindor in no time.
-----
Before the end of the day, Onestrio approached the party. The burly man seemed haggard. He had bags underneath his eyes, and Arina suspected he had not gotten much sleep. Jupus thought he caught a whiff of alcohol off of him.
"Pardons, ladies and sirs, but I have a request to make of you." Onestrio seems ill-at-ease, and was frequently checking his surroundings, though he seemed to actively avoid looking at Cethin.
"Go ahead and speak, Onestrio," Arina prompted him.
"Its… it's about my wife's wedding ring," Onestrio began. "She's hiding it, but I know her too well. Y'see, when that b+#&~ Ravenna first came, she took Sabina's wedding ring from her. I tried to stop her, but the b!%#% swung her axe at me, nearly slicing me leg off."
Onestrio looked down at the ground for a moment. Perhaps out of shame? Cethin wondered. The moment passed, and the tradesman continued. "I'm asking, since you'll be going up against them, could you keep an eye out for my wife's ring? I don't have much to give, but I can give you a line of credit that can be exchange for goods. Say, a thousand gold coins worth?"
Eager at the prospect of free goods, the party happily agreed to retrieve the ring, which Onestrio described as a simple gold ring with his and Sabina's initials engraved on the inside.
After agreeing to the terms, Onestrio turned to leave, then paused. Not quite looking at the Company, he muttered "Thank you" under his breath.
-----
In an ironic twist, the priest could hardly believe the sight before him. The outpost looked exactly how Joram Kaerny, servant of Deianeira, saw it in his dreams. Upon entering the outpost, he was met with the Evergreen Company who was keeping watch for anymore bandit sightings. minus Davona who remained bed-ridden. Joram quickly introduced himself as a traveling priest of Deianeira.
"I had heard of the new expedition efforts in the region, and as a servant of the Frontier Goddess, I wish to offer my services," he claimed.
The three present Company members glanced at each each before responding. "It's good fortune, then, that you showed up as you did. One of our companions is in need of spiritual aid," Arina replied.
Joram is lead to Davona. On the way, the Company asks him about where he hailed from, and what prompted him to travel all this way on his own.
"I come from a small village out east, in the lands of Valendar," Joram told them. "As to why, well, you can say I was hit with a glimpse of divine inspiration."
While Joram examined Davona, the other three Company members quietly discussed the newcomer while keeping a close eye on him. Each of them had their own reasons to be on guard of any newcomer, even beyond the current situation with the bandits. And each of them felt there was something suspicious about Father Joram, and how he responded to their questions. They did not get a hostile feeling from him, but he was definitely hiding something.
Joram finished examining Davona. "Your friend's suffering is spiritual in nature, not physical, although the former is causing the latter. She will need to confront the trauma that has led her to this state, and may need counseling for it."
After exiting the room, the Company confronted Joram. "We know you're not telling us everything," Jupus told him.
"You can't trick a trickster. You might as well come clean," Cethin added.
"We can tell that you mean us no harm, but you must understand, we cannot have any doubt in this situation," Arina said more diplomatically.
Already uncomfortable with trying to deceive people, Joram decided to come clean. He actually was a priest of Deianeira, but one that was almost excommunicated from the church. In his home village, there were several murders that were believed to be perpetrated by a werewolf, and Joram led the lynch mob that hanged their primary suspect. When it later turned out that the murders were done by a pack of worgs, the church investigated Joram, and found him at fault. Only the fact that the former suspect was actually a spy for a band of raiders that were planning to attack the village saved Joram from full excommunication. Instead, he was exiled to wander the lands in search for redemption over his overzealous actions.
"I was, and still am, ashamed for my actions; it is not something I wished to speak about. But I spoke true when I said I was led here by divine inspiration," he said. "On the first night after entering Lurindor, I had a dream. It was one of an abandoned temple of Deianeira, in ruins and overgrown within a forest. A large and angry bear guarded it. Since having that dream, I have felt a pull towards the Evergreen Plains. I believed that my Lady was showing me a way to redeem myself. However, once I arrived at the Plains, I no longer have those dreams nor do I feel any pull. I suspect that my Lady is now testing me."
"What will you do now, then?" Arina asked.
"Unfortunately, these lands are dangerous, and I am no longer a spry young man. I had hoped to ask for your help, to keep an eye out for that ruined temple. Not without compensation, of course!" Joram quickly added. "While you search for the temple, I offer my services as a healer and pastor freely to you and the folk of this outpost, and even after you find the temple. To start, I can help counsel your companion."
The Company did not take long to mull it over; it was a good deal and they sensed no further deception from the man. They agreed to help Joram find his ruined temple. In response, Joram closed his eyes, almost coming to tears. He bowed before the Company.
"Thank you. And I promise you I will do everything to help your friend recover."
-----
In the evening, the Comapny sat at the long table, being served supper by Sabina.
"I apologize for the meal, good ladies and sirs," she said.
"What for?" Jupus inquired.
"Well, I'm afraid that you'll find tonight's meal, and those in the forseeable future, somehwat lackluster in taste. You see, we've run out of exotic goods to flavour them. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but with the bandits around…"
Sabina shook her head, and continued serving supper, but the Company sensed her hesitation. They prompted her to speak freely.
"Well, y'see, one of the great goods around these parts are these moon radishes. Got a unique taste to them, and they don't grow too far away, but it's gotten too dangerous now to collect them. I know you folks have bigger matters to deal with, but those radishes have a great value themselves, and if you manage to bring some back, I can guarantee a sizable store credit for every bushel that you bring back!
The Company, eager for some tasty meals and increasing their store credit, happily agreed.
-----
The next day, the Evergreen party felt ready to start exploring the region.
"Davona? You still look ill," Arina remarked to the caelephilim. "Are you sure you are up for exploring the wilds?"
The caelephilim shook her head and waved away the noblewoman's concern. "Not fully, but I should be fully recovered by the time we are well on the road."
"You want to talk about?" Jupus asked.
"No," was the curt reply.
Not really caring anyway in the first place, Jupus let the matter lie. From the side, Cethin looked on with some amusement. He suspected what was going on, but kept silent. To him, seeing how things will unfold from afar was far more interesting.
"You're going out?" The Evergreen Company turned around. Behind them was the rock gnome Minchdoya. The members of the company exchanged looks with each other all the while the blue-skinned gnome regarded them all with a tilted head.
"Yes," Arina told him. "We've been tasked to survey and pacify the lands of the Evergreen Plains."
"Then Minchdoya will join you. My purpose does not end here," the gnome state as a matter-of-factly. "Look, I've written down what I have learned about this land from the others."
Minchdoya presented a tattered cloth parchment with scribblings written in a foreign language unfamiliar to the rest of the party. The party looked at the parchment, then ay each other.
Davona looked confused. Cethin was entertained. Jupus shrugged. Sighing, Arina turned to Minchdoya. "Very well, you may join us on our venture, assuming you can take care of yourself."
Minchdoya bobbed his head up and down. "Oh, yes, I carry no weapons, for I am one myself."
With a new companion in tow, the Evergreen Company spent the first couple of days exporing and surveying in peace. However, on the third day, they noticed movement in the distance.
The movement was heading towards them. As it came closer, the Company could make out a figure. Who ever it was was not alone. Other figures followed behind. A chase was afoot.
The party readied themselves for the encounter to come…
The meeting room, known as the Crown Board Room, that the halfling matriarch found herself in was perhaps too opulent for her tastes, but she could appreciate the artistry in the architecture. No, it was the company she was currently with that turned her stomach.
Adéline was seated near the end of the long oval table where each Lord-Executor of the Lurindor territories, including herself, was seated. Her seating was not unexpected. As the leader of the territory that held out the longest from submitting to a unified Lurindor rule (on multiple occasions in Lurindor's long history), it was natural that she was ostracized as she was. Only the tenacity of her clan and the beleaguered halflings of Valderêve allowed the Rochefort territory a seat on Lurindor's Executive Cabinet.
Directly seated across from Adéline was Angrid Harkûr, the dwarven matriarch of Dol Harkûr and leader of the Harkûr Trade Guild. The dwarven city's desire for minimal interaction with the rest of Lurindor and absolute stance on neutrality landed her almost in the same position as Adéline. Although the two agreed on many things, Adéline could not rely on the dwarves as true allies. She knew, and understood, that Angrid would not hesitate to side against her if it meant the continued prosperity of Dol Harkûr.
Seated to her left was Giovanni Biancardi. Adéline actually did not mind Giovanni. Although still another human overlord over her people in the territory of Foycomté, Giovanni was known to actually embrace halfling lifestyle of simple prosperity. However, although he treats the halflings under his rule better than the others, Adéline had no doubt the man was just a profit-driven as the others.
Across from him was Bianca Dinovio of Santo Venito. From what Adéline could discern from her policies, it appeared that Bianca cared for the prosperity of the people living in her demesne just as much she cared for the prosperity of her own house. A nice sentiment if true, but halflings still did not get the same opportunities as others. Adéline suspected it was just a policy that happy customers and buying customers.
Now Enzio Montari, there was the scum that was the poster boy of everything Adéline stood against: a manipulative bastard that openly abuses her fellow halflings in Valdargent, running them practically as slaves in the silver mines, all in the name of profit. He was an enemy for sure.
Maria Sotillini of Mariporta was also a potential enemy. The old woman was tough and uncompromising. She was a true patriot and supporter of the current system. And she had the strongest fighting force in Lurindor at her beck and call.
Adéline knew that Dario Teredoro of Ferrocittà was greedy and ambitious. There had been many rumours of him managing to twist deals and contracts into unfairly favouring himself. Still, perhaps that greed may be of service to her, if she was careful.
Meanwhile, there was Cyrano Varano who controlled the demesne of Blébonté. Adéline knew that the man considered himself a true aristocrat, claiming relations to one of Lurindor's past noble families. While not cruel to his subjects, he had a reputation of being incredibly vain and self-centered, considering the mostly halfling population of Blébonté as his own personal subjects.
And then there was Florenza Regalia. Unlike the others, she controlled no territory. Instead, she was the chief executor of the Trade Regulation Authority, the closest thing that Lurindor has to law and order. As much as the vaunted TRA claims that it is completely neutral, it was no secret that the organization played the game of corporate politics just as much as the others.
Finally, there was the man who Adéline would considered as her primary foe: Niccolo Sovrani. He was not a man to be underestimated. After he had somehow engineered a flawless takeover of the remaining Amiatti assets, Sovrani had become the most powerful man in Lurindor.
And at the head of the table was an empty seat of the Crown-Executor of Lurindor. Once held by Vittoria Amiatti, Sovrani had the good graces to resist sitting there himself, at least until the legal issues to his claiming control of Lurindor were settled.
"The board had gone over your proposal, Lady Adéline," Sovrani declared. "It's certainly very ambitious, and equally interesting. Are you sure these are the terms you wish to agree with? "
"Indeed," Varano drawled. "As I understand it, Rochefort will be footing the entire bill, while the rest of us reap the profits."
"Rochefort will be satisfied with those terms," Adéline replied smoothly.
"What's the catch here, Châteaufoy?" Teredoro asked pointedly. "No one in Lurindor is that generous, not even you."
"No catch, Lord Teredoro. The profits may not be apparent nor immediate, but the endeavour is successful, the benefits of Rochefort will certainly outweigh the costs. All we desire is complete non-interference from Lurindor in how the endeavour is managed."
"You're up to something, aren't you, Rochefort?" Sotillini accused, glaring at Adéline.
The halfling woman kept her cool. "Everyone is always up to something in Lurindor," she retorted. "Question is, how can you profit from it?" She turned to Sovrani, the question more directed to him.
Niccolo smirked a little. "Despite our questions, the board is close to agreeing to your proposal. There is but one more thing you can do to get us to agree. I think you know what that is."
Adéline knew, just as she knew that despite what he said, only getting Sovrani's agreement would be necessary. She was apprehensive at the thought of it happening, but was comforted by the thought that if all went well, it would not matter.
"It is agreed then," Adéline declared. "The Executive Board will agree to the Viridian Marches project.
"And Rochefort will fully support the Sovrani claim to the Emerald Crown."
-----
"Be it so known that the bearers of this charter has been charged by the Châteaufoy Trade House, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Interim-Executor of the Emerald Crown, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Evergreen Plains. Exploration should be limited to an area south of Onestrio's Trade Post down to the Greenbelt River, evetween the edges of the Draketooth Forest to the west, and the edge of the Old Arborfane Forest to the east. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior to be encountered. The punishment for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope. So witnessed on this 1st day of Asmolan, 108th year of the Age of Reckoning, under watchful eye of the Lord-Executor of Rochefort and authority granted by Lord Niccolo Sovrani, current Interim-Executor of the Emerald Crown."
— Lady Adéline Châteaufoy, addressing the assembly of expedition volunteers at Châteaufoy Manor, Rochefort, Asmolan 1st, 108 6A
-----
It was the 108th year of the Sixth Age, the Age of Reckoning.
Under the rule of the Amiatti Conglomerate, the merchant nation of Lurindor swiftly recovered from the devastation of the Tyrant's World War from over a century ago. However, ten years ago, the entire Amiatti family and their immediate retainers all disappeared overnight. The second most powerful Trade House, the Sovrani Syndicate, deftly swooped in, and acquired the now-abandoned Amiatti assets. Now controlling two Great Trade Regions, the young Lord-Executor of the Syndicate, Niccolo Sovrani, claimed the position of Interim-Crown-Executor of Lurindor while the courts of Lurindor's Trade Regulation Authority finalized his acquisition.
In light of Sovrani's efforts to consolidate his control of the nation, the Châteaufoy Trade House embarked on a new endeavour, one that they hoped would secure a prosperous future for the second-class halfling population of Lurindor. To this end, the halfling overseers of the trade territory of Rochefort announced to the public that they would sponsor four expeditions to explore, and eventually colonize, the untamed lands of the Viridian Marches.
For thousands of years, the lands bordering the south of Rochefort have exchanged hands between a multitude of disparate parties; the Châteaufoy endeavour would be but one of the latest attempts to claim this land rife with opportunities. Four groups answered the call to adventure.
The Crimson Falcon Company was a notable mercenary company in Lurindor, but of late, its founder and leader, Adrianna Falcone, felt the need to establish a legacy far more grounded than a group of soldiers-for-hire. Over a hundred soldiers strong, plus support personnel, with over two decades of combat experience, the Crimson Falcons were the best equipped expedition to tame the wild Ursan Highlands, and its numerous Storm Bear tribes.
Given the charter to the neighbouring Drakethorn Glades, the Drelevo Trade Company would be in prime position to control valuable trade routes to rich, foreign nations. Its leader, the young Rafael Drelevo, had only recently inherited the company from his recently deceased father, and seemed eager to establish himself outside of Lurindor. With his company's assets, paired with those of his new wife, Drelevo was perhaps the best supplied expedition of the four.
The Duloup expedition had perhaps the most significant local support. Theodore Duloup was someone the hafling inhabitants of Lurindor desperately needed: one of their own who broke past the system to gain fame and fortune on his own. With many years of adventures under his belt, Duloup had amassed wealth, skills, and strong companions at his side. Now, the halfling adventurer felt the need to settle done, and do something productive with his fortune. Taming the Thalamech Uplands, and expanding the halflings' sphere of influence seemed to be an appropriate goal. All he had to do was pacify the native centaur tribes that caused so much trouble along the southern border of Rochefort.
The last of the four expeditions was not much of an expedition at all. Unlike the others, they numbered only four, supplied with just the gear they had on them. They would explore the Evergreen Plains, and end the burgeoning bandit kingdom that threatened Rochefort's trade. As the region with the least valuable resources, and the most danger, few held any expectations of greatness from the Evergreen Company, as this group of four would be known.
Arina Seta Onda was a young, human woman, abandoned by her family for the misfortune that surrounded her. Her calamity carried with her to the family that took her in, the halfling Montplaisirs, for they met their end in a massive fire. Having lost her love in the blaze, Arina volunteered for the expedition. Heeding the whispers of her constant, mysterious companion Mister Angelcakes, it would be in this untamed land where she will be reunited with her Marcelette, either in life or death.
For the caelephilim Davona, it was the prospect of battling bandits that prompted her to sign up. Ever since her mother was killed by bandits while their family fled from the totalitarian Ashaki Empire, Davona burned with vengeance against outlaws. Wanting to follow in her late mother's footsteps and become a paladin of Kaï-den, Davona joined the Rochefort City Guard, becoming its youngest member, while she studied and trained at the local Temple of Kaï-den to become a paladin. Having passed the Trials, Davona resigned from the Guard, and eagerly volunteered to be part of the Evergreen Company.
The kitsune Cethin had seemingly joined the group on a whim. He never seemed to take things seriously. The fact that he could occasionally be seen whispering to a ring on his finger only added to his aura of oddness. Nonetheless, the mischievous kitsune easily got along well with his new companions.
The mysterious Jupus Thane was the most secretive of the group. The gnome's dourness seemed to go hand in hand with the faint air of sewer scent wafting from his presence. Few knew of what skills Jupus was capable of, even his new companions, but they did know at least that the gnome had a large dire rat as his constant companion. Said rat was presently waiting just outside of the Châteayfoy Manor, much to Jupus' annoyance.
Normally, such a ragtag band of disparate individuals of their like would be instantly dismissed for such a grand endeavour. However, there were no suitable volunteers forthcoming to tame the dangerous region that bordered most of the Rochefort southern border. In addition to the lack of candidates, the Châteaufoy matriarch, Lady Adéline, was reassured that the four young volunteers held no ties to any of the major trade houses. Châteaufoy would have the opportunity to become the main influence should the Evergreen Company succeed in forming a colony.
The new company would have a hard time going at it, as demonstrated by their interaction with Rafael Drelevo during the party after the declaration ceremony and issuing of the charters at the Châteaufoy manor in Rochefort. The party was to serve not only as a celebration of the grand endeavour, but to also form connections between the four groups, and any other parties interested in investing in their future. Few would show any such interest in the Evergreen Company, however, a fact Drelevo was happy to point out.
"I had wondered who would be foolish enough to agree to the Evergreen expedition. If this your whole party, you might as well stay home," the young merchant lord had stated to them quite smugly.
The Evergreen Company, despite only just being formed, would not let such a statement rest unanswered. "Thanks for the advice, a*&#~+$, but the only thing I'd ever consider taking from you is haircut tips," Arina had bluntly retorted.
However, not all of their encounters were antagonistic. The Evergreen Company were approached by Theodore Duloup. The halfling adventurer saw something of himself in them, a reminder of his own youthful days of just starting on his first quests. Complimenting them on their bravery, Duloup offered them horses and several potions of cure light wounds at no cost, except for the hope for a future fruitful relationship between the two parties.
"Consider this a small investment, and a token of friendship," the experienced adventurer told them. "Besides, I'd rather have you as a close ally beside that fop."
And so, the Evergreen Company departed from Rochefort, having made a friend of one party, a rival with another, and completely dismissed by the last.
-----
The Evergreen Company's destination was a small trade post known as "Onestrio's". It lied directly south of Rochefort, about two days ride by horse. Owned an operated by the married couple Onestrio and Sabina Lucelli, it had served as the main trade post for regional hunters and trappers to sell their goods and purchase supplies. Onestrio had been satisfied with what he had created; independence away from the burdens of the urban lifestyle, but not so far out of reach to not feel its benefits. However, over the past six months, such trade had been replaced with extortion. The bandits of the Evergreen Plains had finally expanded their territory this far north.
The Company's arrival received a rude welcome from the trade post's proprietor. Onestrio's wife Sabina apologized for the brusque greeting, explaining that her husband was stressed and upset by the brigands' recent shakedowns. Onestrio had hired guards from Rochefort who had yet to arrive. The fact that Rochefort had nonsensically sent people go claim new land before even securing the small piece of it already under civilized control further reinforced Onestrio's belief that his decision to escape the trappings of "lawful society" in favour of independent self-reliance was justified.
After familiarizing themselves with their new base of operations for the time being, the Evergreen Company got themselves up to speed on the current situation in the area. Over a bowl of hearty soup, Sabina explained to the newcomers that years ago, a powerful man known only as the Stag Lord rose to power, and beat all the bandits of the Evergreen Plains into serving under him. Although the bandits had left them alone for a while, six months ago, bandits of the Stag came to the trading post to take their goods and money. Since then, they have always arrived during the first week of each month to claim their tribute from the couple.
The Company agreed with each other that halting this extortion should be their first task, with Davona particularly eager to finally face down these brigands. They quickly gathered the details from the Lucellis, and learned the names of two of the bandit group's leaders: Ravenna, who was the Stag Lord's lieutenant in this area, and her second-in-command, Vico. They had started their extortion racket on the trade post over six months ago, suddenly showing up with a dozen other outlaws. That number remained the same when they returned the following month. However, the third and fourth months, only eight bandits returned, with only Vico in charge, and eventually that number lowered to six for the last two months. Onestrio suspected that the bandits had become lax with how easy their pickings were.
Over the next couple of days, the Evergreen Company made plans on a welcome party for the bandits. After familiarizing themselves with the trade post's layout and the surrounding area, the Company had only to wait a couple of days before they caught sight of half a dozen riders approaching at a leisurely pace from the south. The men were each heavily armed, and could not be mistaken for a hunter or trapper. These were certainly the bandits, and their casual approach bespoke of their lack of wariness.
The riders strode through the gate and into the trade post's inner yard. Only Onestrio could be seen, bent down fixing the wheel of a cart. The bandits dismounted, and a rough-looking man with a goatee, wearing a distinctive green cloak, strode ahead of them.
"Onestrio! Time for our usual business!" Vico called out. Onestrio stood up, and glared at the man, but Vico only smirked. "Come on, now. Don't make that face! Just show us the goods, and we don't have to play."
Vico's men chuckled. Onestrio grumbled, but led them to the storehouse. Two of the bandits sat down at the nearby long table, while the rest followed Vico to help carry the goods. Onestrio opened the door to the storehouse and stepped a few feet back to the side.
"Speaking of play, where's that pretty little wife of yours? We could a little pick-me-up before we head back!" Vico remarked as he headed into the storehouse. His men laughed at that.
That was when the Evergreen Company sprang in action.
Cethin, who laid flat on the rampart's upper walkway, and Jupus, similarly posed atop the stable's roof, loosed their crossbow bolts and arrows at the bandits. From behind the stables emerged Davona, who ran to the gates and began pushing them closed.
At the same time, Arina leapt from behind the cart, and struck her rapier at the nearest bandit. She would occupy them while Davona sealed the only available exit. The Evergreen Company had no intention of letting any criminal escape.
"What the Seven Hells?!" one of the bandits cried out.
"It's an ambu–ack!" another shouted before being cut off by Cethin's bolt striking him in the chest.
Vico came stomping out of the storehouse. "What the Abyss is happening out here?!" the bandit leader shouted. He did not get far, as Jupus' trick arrow unfurled mid-air, and wrapped around Vico's legs. The bandit fell face first into the dirt.
The battle was now in full swing. The bandits recovered from their surprise, and drew their longbows, while Vico struggled to free himself from the trip arrow.
After securing the gates, Davona equipped her shield and drew her sword, and charged at the bandits. However, her targets saw her, and fired their bows first. Davona's armor protected her from much of the damage, but one arrow slipped through her armor's gaps into her shoulder, badly crippling it. The paladin fought through the intense pain, and continued her attack, cutting through the scrambling bandits.
Davona was struck by another painful blow as another deeply pierced her other shoulder. She could feel herself fading, but sheer determination kept her on her feet, still in the fight.
The bandits scrambled around the trading post yard, firing their longbows at their attackers. However, with blood streaming down from her splint mail, Davona charged at them, slashing and harrying. One by one, bandits were cut down. One of them panicked, and tried to flee, but took a crossbow bolt in the back by Cethin.
The battle was not completely one-sided. Vico proved why he was the leader as he succeeded in landing several well-placed shots on Jupus. However, the Evergreen Company was relentless. They closed in onto Vico, and cut him down. When the dust settled, all of the bandits were on the ground, unconscious and bleeding out.
"So, we're all good now, right?" Davona gasped. She was wobbly on her feet, and her lower half of her body was drenched with her own blood. "Great, I'm just going to fall unconscious now." And the paladin collapsed to the ground.
"I don't know about you folk, but I feel great!" Cethin quipped, walking around the cart from where he took cover. The kitsune was untouched.
Jupus just shook his head as he gingerly climbed down from the stable's roof. He held back any smart remark as he accepted Cethin's healing magic. He then proceeded to stabilize the bandits. He almost lost the last one, fumbling around with the man's wounds. Fortunately the bandit, he managed to stabilize on his own.
With his hands drenched with the man's blood, Jupus would then comment, not quite so confidently, "Er, yeah, I totally did that," Jupus said, his hands drenched with the man's blood.
The Evergreen Company had won the battle, the first of many to come. It was a satisfying start to their endeavour, but none of them could imagine web of plots they just stepped into.
GM's note:
I've always wanted to share our campaign here, and I tried writing a narrative version of our campaign's events. However, in-between my day job, designing and planning the actual campaign itself and developing house rules, and other writing projects, I have not been able to maintain an appropriate pace of "novelized" summaries. After a couple of years, I finally decided to say f-it and share our campaign in the form of my session summary notes (except the first couple of finished novelized summaries). I may return to older posts and update them if I ever do get around to writing the novelized version of events. I have about 50 summaries ready to share here, with another hundred in various states of completion.
After *10 years* since first reading this thread, of which almost 5 years was campaign play time, of which 9 months of play time was the war, I can finally express my thank-you to DM_aka_Dudemeister and the many others here for this amazing idea of having the trolls form their own kingdom. This simple idea turned out to have vastly reshaped our Mythic Kingmaker campaign, and according to my players, has resulted in one of the most, in not the most, amazing roleplaying experience they have ever had. Last weekend saw the conclusion of an epic tale of surprises, arrogance, fear, betrayal, culminating in the exultation of total victory.
Declaration of War:
I had planned on adapting the initial encounter, with the kobold king luring the PCs to their settlement only to be surprised by the troll king, Hrondgren, and his retinue, along with his war declaration if the PCs do not leave the land. However, during the 1-year downtime I gave the PCs to build their nation, they decided in the 10th month to hold the Viridian Games, a super-festival Olympics to foster relations with the factions of the sponsor nation Lurindor, and their neighbours, the other 2 expeditions. And among the invitees were the kobolds, who they had allowed to form their own little kingdom (of 1 hex). This gave me the perfect set piece to start things off.
After 2 weeks of festivities and games, the kobold athletes turned out to be surprisingly fearsome competitors, winning several contests. In the closing ceremony of the games, the kobolds, led by their king, stepped onto the stage before all the representatives of foreign powers and the citizens of Prateria (the PCs' nation) to accept their rewards. It was then the kobold king that these awards are owed to the rightful ruler of these lands, King Hrondgren of Klorgfang! At that declaration, the kobold athletes polymorphed back into their trollish form (thanks to some mythic shenanigans). The half-dragon troll King made his declaration, promising Lurindor that they would be better neighbours than the PCs, and declared their armies on the move to reclaim the land before teleporting out of the capital. (Sidenote: The kobold king then groveled to the PCs for forgiveness for the deception and for protection. The PCs, being nice and generally liking the kobolds, forgave them, and the kobolds formally became part of Prateria.)
My PCs had *zero* suspicion that something like this would happen, even though I dropped some heavy hints that the kobold king was super nervous and that the athletes were very odd. What followed was a scrambling to get loans from Lurindor to quickly form armies (helped by their politicking during the Viridian Games). Even the kobolds gained their own unit under the PCs' command. The Evergreen War would last 5 in-game months, with 6 major battles using Mass Combat, and 2 operations played by the PCs themselves.
Faerie Nest:
Another adaptation I made from an idea on this thread was Faerie Nest idea. I merged this idea with the Grove of Tiressia (renamed Hazalea in my world) encounter from Book 2. Instead of the scythe tree, Klorgfang agents held Hazalea and her friend Tyg-Twitter-Twig hostages, forcing Percilash and Falchos and the fey of the Hazel Court to sabotage the PCs' nation. The PCs caught on that fey were involved, sought out Percilash and Tyg who they previously befriended, then learned of the hostage situation. They infiltrated the conquered court, defeated the Klorgfang agents, and freed Hazalea, making another fairy court their ally.
The Evergreen War saw the juggernaut troll kingdom of Klorgfang against the fledgling nation of Prateria. The PCs would have some early victories (due to us still experimenting with homebrewed Mass Combat rules), then have two battles that would decimate both sides, with the PCs narrowly earning victory. They gained intelligence by beseeching aid from their Fairy Queen patron Elyssria, and then learned that one of their cohort was leaking their plans to the enemy. After dealing with that, they would end the war with a one-on-one battle with Hrondgren and his mythic crew after infiltrating his capital. A quick summary of the war can be found on our campaign website: Kingmaker: Reborn - The Evergreen War.
The PCs have gone ahead and annexed most of Klorgfang as part of Prateria, granting some parts of it over to allies they formed during the war (the aforementioned Hazel Court, and a tribe of lizardfolk who resented troll rule). The PCs have earned a 4-year in-game downtime to develop their new gains and pick up on personal projects interrupted by the war, but also deal with all the intrigue from 3rd parties that they discovered during the war. Peace may have come to Prateria, but the PCs' lives remain as dangerous as ever.
Again, many thanks for inspiring me to take our campaign in this direction! It was epic and super-fun, with my players even clamoring for more sessions during the week to continue the war. My only worry now is how do I make the next chapter as epic as this one! But that is a challenge for another day...
I'm in the camp of removing certain "everyone's going/got to take" feats. Trade-off feats, for instance, strike me as something that could just be an inherent feature of the combat system, maybe with some limitations gated by something such as BAB.
It's something LG mentioned in their FB post on Corefinder. Power Attack, Combat Expertise, and Vital Strike.
In my game, I've done the same with Pirahna Strike, Deadly Aim, Lunge. I'm thinking of adding Cleave to that list too. I did keep the stat and BAB requirements, so you'd need Str 13 and BAB +1 to do Power Attack, so characters that are Str or Dex based get to feel special because they get a few more combat options than say a wizard.
I would love to get rid of stat boosting items, cloaks of resistances, rings of protection, and amulets of natural armor. Well maybe not belts of giant strength(maybe as a minor artifact)
I would love to get much better stat growth like +2 to 3 stats at 4th and every 4 levels after. Stats max out at 30.
I would love to add 1/2 your level to AC(and CMD if you are still using that mechanic) maxing out at +10 at level 20.
Yeah, I did this in my campaign when I noticed that everyone, including my NPCs, always direct stat-boosting items by default. I removed those and gave a +1 to two different stats every level (only because our game bends toward being high-powered).
I did end up bringing stat-boosting enchantments back, but at twice the cost, and they can only be applied to pre-existing magic items, and the maximum bonus limited by the quality/price of the magic item.
For AC, I gave a defense bonus equal to your BAB (in theory, a fighter is better at defending herself than a wizard), since I use a simplified version of the armor-as-DR variant.
I'm a big fan of your and Legendary Games' work, and incorporated a bunch of your content into my PF game. Definitely will be following this.
This might not be in the immediate scope of this project, but one thing off the top of my head I would love to see is more built-in synergy between various subsystems that PF1 rolled out over the years. There's already some with Kingdom Building and Mass Combat since they developed together, but I've been rewriting/stealing ideas to incorporate Mythic, Downtime and Reputation systems together with them.
For example, I altered Leadership feat to be able to recruit Downtime teams at a much quicker and cheaper rate with stronger loyalty to you, instead of individuals automatically flocking to you. I've also hashed out some guidelines on what benefits you get when forming Mass Combat armies out of your follower teams (cheaper and quicker recruitment time, easier Loyalty checks). Something I've been meaning to get to is adding Reputation rewards or titles that tie into the kingdom leadership roles and commanders commanders.
Your Mythic Character Codex had a great taste of this with the Mythic Kingdoms section. My players were very excited to see that one, and jumped at the chance of using those abilities.
I think these changes are heading towards a better and more engaging direction.
Magic Items having base effects, and using Points to boost their effects is something I've been calling for since Resonance was announced. Lessing the base effects compared to the older system and PF1 makes sense as well, so agreement there with that change.
I agree that Resonance is a good way to reign in the number wearable magic items, while removing the limits of the slot system, i.e. more freedom to choose which items they want and more freedom to create items that don't quite fit the old body slots of PF1. One example I keep going to is you can now create a Mandarin-type character with 10 magic rings. I'm quite happy to see the system changed this way.
However, I don't think having a flat pool of 10 RP is the way to go. I feel that a pool that scales with power/level would be more interesting. At every level up, you would feel more excited now that your RP pool increases, and you could look forward to acquiring new magic items in the future. It would limit low-level characters from being over-boosted with magical gear (which may be good for some groups, bad for others depending on how they like to play the game). Having the unchanging pool would feel like a boring part of your character, which grows and changes everywhere else.
In addition to that, you might be able to have different RP investment costs depending on how powerful the item is. It woudl give players some additional decision-making as to how they want to kit out their character. Invest in multiple, low-powered items, or go for a single big one? Another idea is that you could have magic item sets: a magic belt X and magic gauntlet Y each cost 2 RP to invest, but if you have both, reduce the total RP cost of them both together by 1.
I do hope non-Charisma based classes will have means of refreshing Focus points (as mentioned in the blog; actually, even Cha-based classes shoudl have refresh methods, just not as frequent). I also hope that the refresh method for each class is different and tailored to the flavor of the class. For example, in PF1, Grit can be renewed by delivering a critical hit on an enemy or downing an enemy, very appropriate for the Gunslinger. Panache can be renewed similar in concept with a critical hit with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon. Although not the same thing, but similar, in Dreamscarred Press' Path of War, each initiator class has different ways to spend a turn to regain maneuvers (Stalker spends a full round to recover and move his speed with bonus to AC and next attack adds deadly strike; Warlord can perform a gambit action successfully to recover a maneuver). I feel it'll be important for characters to have some method of recovering Focus Points if they have to use them for both their powers and to activate magic items.
Anyways, those are my initial thoughts on the changes. Looking forward to testing them out.
When I ran this encounter for my group, I remember us being quite amused with trying to escape the quicksand. There was a lot of laughter was they lost their camels, failing to leap of their sinking camels, and failing to fish out their comrades. The Ankhrav was pretty much a non-factor as the barbarian with the +1 weapon and the shapeshifted druid took it down easily.
I agree that the wording for the quicksand's routine is imprecise. My group understood it as needing to take a Swim action, so they could attempt 3 times during their turn, but the wording makes it seem that you have to use your entire turn to make one skill check. It should have been written that the PC needs to use the Swim action (DC 18 Athletics) or something similar as by default that costs 1 action out of 3 per turn.
It should also be more explicit that once a PC is completely submerged, they don't keep going steps further down should they keep critically failing to swim out. I mean, my group understood that implicitly, but we did pause when that scenario came up.
But something else to manage how you use magic items. “But we don’t want that system to be one that cuts you off from magic.” That wasn’t fun. Looking at ways for characters to focus on magic. Stuff about some default baseline and then, if you focus on things, getting more above-and-beyond benefits. (This is kind of unclear to me.) “I want to stress ... that we’re still in the design phase” on this.
This is what I've been saying ever since Resonance was first explained. It was a terrible idea to have all your magic items, one of the main rewards of the game, to stop working all together at any point in the game. Had resonance been released as it was, I would have have house ruled all magic items have a basic function, and you could spend resonance to charge it for additional effects.
Glad to see that resonance will be readjusted in this manner. Also glad to see resonance being removed from consumables. That didn't make sense either.
Treat Wounds is also a welcome addition, especially how healing seems a lot more limited in this edition. However, its importance will probably lessen if resonance is confirmed removed from consumables. Still, it's good to have the option there.
I like having ability scores on monsters. For me, it helped define some of their character, and made them relatable to the PCs. A lot of the math of the game revolved around the ability scores (at least in PF1). And I'll need them when I want to apply PC classes or other features to them. In PF1, I really liked that monsters were built the same way as PCs, so I can build up a troll chieftain with levels in bloodrager, or a worg hunter, or a balor barbarian. You'd think living a few thousand years, a demon would pick up a few skills.
Overall, I plan on keeping ability scores, for both monsters and PCs. In addition, I plan on keeping them as a score, and not a modifier. I'm fine with odd-numbered scores, because I consider them to be another form of hit points. And numbers go 1-2-3-4, not 2-4-6-8. Of course, the odd numbers existed only to slow down ability score power increase. They tried to mitigate the uselessness by using odd ability scores as prerequisites.
Ability damage isn't much of a thing anymore in PF2, but I've always appreciated them as another venue of attack. I really liked the description of what happened when you reach 0 in a certain ability score. The threat of ability damage gave my PCs more of a fright.
To be perfectly honest and truthful, if I were to write a GM's guide it would probably be a thick, heavy, leather-bound tome with gold edges and silver title plates, and a single written page that says "Just wing it."
Go with what feels right on the spot. If it's entertaining, it's the correct answer.
And you know what feels right on the spot? Playing in a world that is internally consistent, overcoming challenges with the tools at hand and not on a whim, and being clever and creative in the face of limitations.
-All Recall Knowledge can be used for any creatures.
-No skill is specific to creature type (but see later)
-All Hail 10.2, Master of Masters
-We use creature level to set the challenge level, and creature popularity to set the check difficulty
Then, I evaluate the skill used by my players. For each creature, independently, I determine which skill is most appropriate, which one is partially appropriate, and which are inappropriate.
For the partially appropriate skill, difficulty increases by 1 step. For inappropriate skills, the difficulty increases by 2 steps.
An appropriate Lore skill would have its difficulty reduced by 1 or 2 steps, depending on how narrow. Trivial checks get reduced by 2 levels if that is required.
Practical example:
The Vampire in Sombrefell Hall is a lv4 creature. Vampires are fairly common in folklore, so I assign it an Easy check. I then determine it fits most with Religion because of their many ties with holy lore, with Occult and Society being a good second choice due to the many legends and mysteries.
As such, these are the DCs:
Religion: DC17
Occult, Society: DC19
Arcane, Nature: DC20
Undead Lore: DC13
Vampire Lore: DC11
Note that most characters in Sombrefell have a +10/+12 at their knowledges, so that's pretty good.
Print 10.2 out and keep it on a small altar, I guess.
That seems to be a good set of guidelines. I guess you can easily set these up beforehand, since as the GM, you have an idea of what creatures the PCs will be facing. Then you can easily save what DCs you've set for future cases so as to be consistent. However, I can't imagine doing this one the fly without experiencing a break in the game.
I'm going to try this out. What I like is that it still rewards characters that specialize in a specific knowledge. I was worried with how vague the skill descriptions were that such specialization wouldn't matter as you could BS your way to justify using any skill to determine a monster's abilities, but I think your system neatly sidesteps that issue while still adhering to the intended flexibility that PF2 is aiming for.
The text on Recall Knowledge on page 338 kinda explains this as well, but in a vague fashion. I think it would behoove Paizo to provide GMs a more explicit, step-by-step guidelines such as yours. For example:
1. Determine creature level for base DC.
2. Determine creature rarity to determine difficulty.
3. Determine which skills can be used to identify creature.
4. Determine the level of closeness each skill related to the creature (appropriate/partial/inappropriate)
5. Adjust the difficulty of each based on its closeness level.
I have yet to receive order 4898851. Going through my emails, I never received a shipping notice for it either. My last update was July 12th. Can you verify its status please?
We definitely want feedback on whether people think there's not enough setting info, or too much, or just enough. Setting aside a chapter (like we did in the Starfinder Core Rulebook) is possible, but adding a LOT more would be difficult, as we can't let this become a 600-page book.
For ethnicities, I feel you have to commit either 0% or 100%, no in-between. And that would mean it should not have any place in the Core book, because there would be too much to fit in.
If your campaign is predominantly European-inspired, don't include more foreign ethnicities unless you are willing to commit to making them diverse and colourful as the main ones.
If you are going to add ethnicities to one race, commit to developing ethnicities for other playable races. Elves, dwarves, even goblins and orcs are people too, capable of different cultures and traditions. It'll only make your setting feel richer and realistic and less cartoony.
In any case, I feel that ethnicities are unnecessary in the Core rulebook. I don't think they add much to the rules, so the page would be better off being used for more crunch.
Simply ignoring an encounter? No. You can do that (and sometimes you need to if you're low on resources or on a more pressing situation), but you don't get rewarded for it.
If ignoring an encounter in the manner of turning left instead of right willy-nilly, no xp. If following a plan and thus avoiding detours, at least some xp.
The Lost Star actually has good examples of this in the centipede room - the players have been told where the objective is likely to be, and that's not in the centipede room. Avoiding that room is certainly worth an award - but that might be a side quest award rather than the full fight award on GM whim.
This is why I don't use xp and instead give out levels at waypoints - I don't want my players to feel they have to examine every nook and cranny. They still do tough - but usually after finishing the main encounter.
This is EXACT scenario my playtest group encountered. They had a goblin PC in the group, so they knew that the centipede nest had no value at all. Luckily, since the playtest doesn't care about accumulating XP for future games, it didn't matter if they fought the centipedes or not.
Stuff like this is why, like you, I've switched over to leveling up at appropriate moments in the campaign instead of through XP tracking. PCs can feel free to choose to avoid/ignore encounters as how they pertain to their in-character motivations instead of metagame reasons.
It's a common complaint, there's no guidance on what skills apply to all monsters. Presumably this will be fixed in the final version. It might someday get an errata update during the playtest.
Yeah, it's pretty vague as is. Maybe they wanted GMs to be flexible? But for me, I appreciated the clear-cut way they assigned creature types to each knowledge in PF1. Easy to look up and remember to be consistent.
That was another of the great things about 1E skills. Nat 1 wasn't a failure, so I frequently didn't have to roll the dice. Beating a DC so hard I didn't have to roll usually felt better than a nat 20.
Of course, you're still making rolls since you can't have that bonus to every skill check at once. You just succeed at what you hyper focus on, and that's awesome.
I love when my level 13 PF1 dungeon has a few DC 8 Acrobatics checks, that the +3 Acrobatics Wizard is massively careful on, while the martials are dancing over it backwards. It made the character's strengths and weaknesses really stand out and be interesting.
I'm with you on that style of play. One thing I do appreciate about having high bonuses trivialize minor challenges is that it helps move the game along more quickly. Not only that saves time to not have to worry about minor challenges that would otherwise bog down play, as a GM, I can plan ahead better. If I know that a PC has a pretty strong lock on a social encounter, I can focus on planning on the expected outcome, instead of having to come up with 2 alternate paths depending on success or failure.
I feel my players also appreciate being able to trivialize challenges that they purposeful optimized for. Makes them feel validated and special in being the expert specialist for a particular situation.
If Leadership is being removed, it absolutely needs to be replaced with a robust and fun system for players to recruit and form a loyal organization. Fortunately, some of the ground work for such a system has already been established (Downtime from Ultimate Campaign, Recruits from Ironfang Invasion). I also strongly recommend looking at Legendary Games Ultimate Factions for inspiration (built specifically to support Kingmaker and Ultimate Campaign).
My Kingmaker players are having a blast with Leadership. They're having a ton of fun with organizing their followers, seeing a select random few earn prominence throughout the campaign, and having them form the backbone of their respective organization (army, city guard, scouts, spies, business). However, if we had started after we had gotten our hands on UC, Ironfang Invasion, and Ultimate Factions, I would have opted for removing Leadership in exchange for a combination of those systems to recruit their followers in a more organic fashion, and get the players more involved in that process instead of their followers suddenly showing up.
Downtime as a concept is now built in to the core of PF2, so I think that area of the game should be far more developed than the couple of pages we currently have. I was sorely disappointed by how little gameplay was implemented in that section.
I don't like the word "basic" in basic Reflex save. I'd use a more specific term like "damage Reflex save," or "basic damage Reflex save." Just using the term "basic" makes it sound like it is an unmodified saving throw, instead of a more specific damage-related saving throw.
Agreed. I like that idea of calling it a "damage Reflex save". It specifies which default ruling to fall on when it isn't listed in the individual spell.
Overall, I like the change to make things more efficient and move copied text into one area. Just need to make the reference to it unique and memorable for quick look up.
When Ancestry feats were first introduced, it was described by Paizo as "making my elf more elf-y" as they grew. I thought that this was a neat idea! I can easily see my character put in work to improve his racial abilities, or discover new ways of using them, or pick up some optional cultural skills related to my ancestry.
Instead, what we got was that Paizo chopped up all the basic racial abilities, and having you pick and choose which ones you wanted, sprinkled very sparingly over 20 levels (I had also expected for Ancestry feats to be selected much more frequently over a character's growth, instead of a meager 5 opportunities...).
What it should have been was that each ancestry had a number of distinct features that very much distinguished each one from the other, and Ancestry feats would be similar to PF1 Racial feats: feats that improve base ancestry features, or unlock new abilities stemming from them.
I definitely want a non-good Paladin-esque class/variant for people who want to play the divinely enhanced warrior archetype.
Heck, just ban it from PFS and make it an optional class/archetype if you are worried about "cannon".
I'd also like Paladins that resemble Paladins, but that's PF2 for ya.
For my PF1 game, I've been trying to build an alternate class to the Paladin tentatively called "Champion", which would be a divine martial class that zealously ties to a code of conduct of a higher power or cause that don't necessarily have to be LG. Like other alternate classes, they would have some similar powers to the Paladin, but other different abilities to differentiate them.
I'd like for future editions to continue to have that one "absolutely good guy" class that the traditional LG Paladin provides. But I think another, less restrictive, divine warrior archetype is possible without needing to replace paladins.
I feel that the new XP system's only purpose is only to design encounters at difficulties relative to your party's level.
Because of how flexible and customizable it is, I can't see myself using it as a way to track the party's level progress, because it's pretty much dependent on how you feel how fast or slow you want your group to level. At that point, you might as well just focus on leveling your group based on story progression, instead of spending time and effort tracking and calculating numbers.
However, I can see myself using the new XP system to calculate how many creatures I want in an encounter based on how difficult I want it to be relative to my group's party level. Or at least, it would give me a good guideline.
If I want an encounter at X difficulty, then I have Y amount of XP to assemble a group of creatures Z-level difference to my party. I think it'll serve as a good metric to lean on. Seems more straightforward than relying on CR in the past. This is of course assuming that creature levels have been appropriately set by Paizo in the Bestiary...
I don't particularly care either way as a player, but as a GM this rule would really annoy me. The GM already has plenty of stuff to keep track of without also needing to reference the skill modifiers of four or more characters. It's simply more convenient to have the players keep track of their own modifiers and tell me what they roll.
Agreed 100%. After running 1 session with having to roll Stealth checks for all my players, I was thoroughly annoyed. GMs have enough stuff on their plate, don't add more!
I'm also in the camp that prefers to roll openly as much as possible. I honestly don't think that there is much that the GM has to hide from their players. If players are metagaming a lot, then that's an issue stemming from being bad players.
The only times I think GMs should amke secret rolls is when the players absolutely has no ability to affect the outcome, which are thankfully few and far between. Spells like teleport and augury come to mind, and seem appropriate.
Interesting way of handling multiclassing this way. This may scratch that itch for other class abilities better than previous implementations. Looking forward to testing this method out.
As I mentioned in the previous blog post, my main issue with Resonance that I hate with a passion is the concept of a failure chance when trying to use them. Potions and other consumables especially should never be "wasted". I believe it would be better if the Resonance system instead had that all magic items had a minimal/trivial function when used with 0 RP. At least then player would not feel like their item isn't wasted.
We could then allow the Resonance system to play along with magic weapons. Invest in them like armor, and spend points to activate awesome abilities at key moments in the fight. It seems silly that Resonance works with everything else that is magical, including armor, but not weapons, where it could be argued is where we would see the most use out of the system. Maybe include in the Resonance system the ability to spend more points for additional effects.
At present, I am not a fan of the Resonance system. To be more accurate, what I really despise is the existence of a failure chance to use magic items, especially consumables. I don't think that's fair to the player who invested in getting these items, and who would be using them in desperate situations. We never had this before as a standard rule for magic items in the past, and I do not want to see it built in at all.
However, I do think a Resonance can be a fun mechanic. Using your RP to get activate more abilities or potency from your item can allow for a wide range of fun possibilities. I would suggest that you remove the failure chance, and instead have all magic items have a very minimal magical ability when used without RP, especially potions and other consumables. RP can be used to bring out the maximum magical potency from the item, or activate new abilities, but you should never feel that your item is "wasted" when you run out of RP.
I also like the idea that the magic item itself does not have a use limit, so it can now be shared between characters who have RP. I kinda agree that it would be better to shift focus towards acquiring RP-efficient items as opposed to gp-efficient, but I feel that wealth as a mechanic is not a bad thing, and it's fine for a game to have gp-efficiency integral in its mechanics.
I'm also fine with the Resonance system removing the item slot limits. We got multiple fingers, why can't I wear 10 magical rings? In old AD&D 2nd Ed, Drizzt wore his bracers of speed as anklets. Great story idea, illegal in the game. But with Resonance, we could possible allow that! This also allows non-humanoid creatures more freedom in what magical items they can equip.
To sum up, I'll be happy with Resonance based on 2 things:
1) Remove failure chance when out of RP, replace with very minimal abilities. Magic items should never feel wasted.
2) A wide variety of benefits of spending Resonance Points that feel fun and wonderful.
The PF2 wizard preview is shaping up pretty much how I expected, based on all the info already shown so far. I'm liking what I see here. As the PF2 wizard class eatures haven't changed too much from PF1, the part I'm looking most foward to is seeing what new feats were developed for this new version of the class.
I'd like to reiterate that I'm really liking the level of customization with spells: adding components, heightening spell level, and different levels of success/failures. I like that spellcasters have a lot of options and can see a variety of effects with their spells.
I'm not particularly impressed by the new stat block. Most of the info I would need to run a monster is there, and I do appreciate the need to streamline and reduce noise of the old stat block. But some reason, I feel like I'm missing out on something.
Please do not use custom art for [[A]] and [[R]]. I know it might look nice, but they won't do any favors when you need to copy the stat block. You just added more things to format. And even if you do have the icon art, are you really going to repeatedly embed an image in it when you put up the stat block online? Please find some text-based abbreviation to denote actions and reactions. Maybe a capital bold "A|<action name>".
I'm fine for aiming towards a redcued, streamlined stat block, but I hope we get a robust monster-building system along with when PF2 releases. Because alone, the new stat block is very unsatisfying, along with this statement:
Quote:
One of the nice things about the new system of building monsters is that we can just give monsters the statistics we want them to have instead of sometimes building them in strange ways to get their statistics to be good. For instance, in Pathfinder First Edition, a fey might have had far more Hit Dice than expected to get its statistics high enough, which led to odd results from abilities that counted Hit Dice. Now, the redcap gets statistics that are suitable for its level and how it's used.
Seems to me that the solution would have been to fix those abilities to scale differently instead of dropping the main measurement to judge the relative power between a PC and a class-less monster.
What kind of guidelines will be provided to build or modify monsters this way? Because this new design approach requires you to know the balancing levels of each individual part of the creature and they also balance each other out. If I want a creature to have high attack, and low health, how do I measure what numbers to arbitrarily put in those stats to be weak/challenging/overpowering for PCs of X level? It seems to me that you'd be doing more balance testing on an individual monster basis, as opposed to balance testing a creation system which can be applied to all monsters, and that seems very inefficient to me.
The PF1 monster building may not have been perfect, but at least it was parallel to how to build a PC was built, so you had a decent estimate to how they'd match up. In the above example of the so-called "problem" in PF1 with the high-HD fey, maybe you should have developed fey-specific abilities so that you could have a low-HD fey with abilities that scaled high to be the strong iconic abilities for the monster without the other stats based on HD being over the intended goal. In other words, HD was the spine of the monster, and the abilities are the flexible parts that you can scale however you need.
In PF2, I can easily see a monster creation system similar to how PCs are build. Translate the PF1 creature types into ancestries, monster roles into classes, and the theme of the monster can be its background. Instead of monster HD from PF1, in PF2 it would simply be a monster level. Since these monster ancestries/classes/background are intended for monsters and not PCs, they can have access to both monster-specific and PC feats, and the modifiers can exceed what is intended for PCs. For example, a theoretical "giant" ancestry could offer a +8 bonus Strength, an "Awesome Blow" class feat from a theoretical "combat role" class, and a "Troll Regeneration" feat from a theoreritcal "troll" background.
This way, a GM could easily add or substract to get stronger or weaker versions of the same monster.
In fact, whether we get a monster building system or not with PF2, I think this would be a fun project to work on. To translate monster abilities into a PC-style monster building and progression system.
One of the monster innovations I—a computer science student at the time—appreciated most in Pathfinder First Edition was the idea of the Universal Monster Rule. It follows one of the most important principles of programming: modularity, which is to say, don't reinvent the wheel.
I like that Universal Monster Rules are still there, but that we'll be getting more customized/tweaked abilities to fit different more mundane monsters. I like the continued theme of making different things actually feel different. I'm looking forward to reading how the details change between monsters with similar abilities.
Dynamic Defenses wrote:
To fit those stories and to vary things up, we've combined DR and energy resistance into resistance, which reduces damage by a set amount, and we've changed vulnerability into a more common element called weakness, which increases damage by a set amount.
This is some nice streamlining. As mentioned by some people above, I imagine the feel for dealing damage feels more engaging, even though mechanically it hasn't really changed from the current edition.
Sweet Suites wrote:
Some monsters in Pathfinder First Edition have a large suite of abilities (typically from long lists of spell-like abilities), which vary between key iconic abilities, story abilities that influence what the monster can do in the narrative, and other abilities that are niche, redundant, or sometimes much weaker than their other attacks.
I wish we had more examples and details on what this entails, but at the very least, entering a new edition does give us a chance to remake monster to have a better set of abilities that better fit their flavor.
I Have Multiattack wrote:
To close off, many people have been wondering how in the world we handle creatures with many heads, like the hydra, or arms, like the marilith or hekatonkheires, in the 3-action system. Such creatures have unique abilities to use their attacks in tandem in different ways.
I think this has me the most excited out of this blog! With monsters stuck in the same 3-action economy as PCs, I expect that we'll be seeing a lo of exciting and creative attacks that uses multiple limbs and fit in 3 actions. The marilith examples in the blog are the kind of things I'm looking for. Those types of special attacks will certainly make each monster exciting to fight!
I'm liking what I'm seeing here. I'm also really appreciating how generous PF2 is going to allow players to tailor their stats to the character they want to be. The extra stats, feats, and skill proficiencies from backgrounds, on top of ancestries and class all feel like bonuses to me, and that makes me a happy camper.
Backgrounds are mechanically pretty straightforward that as a GM, I can invent them on the fly, and players can easily propose their own that I don't think it'll break anything.
I understand that the Paladin is very contentious among a lot of people, but I for one am glad and relieved that the LG Paladin retains its core place in PF2. I've always found Paladins to be simultaneously both simple and complicated to play.
Simple in the fact that the Paladin is the ultimate good guy, so their goals are fairly straightfoward. Sometimes all it takes is to not be a dick or an ass. Just be nice. I've always played my Pallysas people always striving to be living embodiments of the seven virtues. For my players who play Paladins, I measure their actions and decisions in how they embody those seven virtues.
On the other hand, paladins are complicated because life isn't fair, and the universe cares not for your simple morals. As flawed mortals, it is understood that they won't always fulfill the goal of embodying the virtues, but as long as they sincerely try to and exhaust all their options, it's not the end of the world for the paladin. What I find fun with playing with paladins in no-win scenarios is being forced to come up with backup plans, contingencies should I ever find myself in a situation where I might violate my oath. That's where the complicated part comes in. Paladins need to be thoughtful and shrewd if they want to have a long career without dying or falling; they should know that not everyone lives to the paladin standards, so Paladins should anticipate the worse actions the bad guys can do, and prepare for them. Not an easy task.
In the example above regarding revealing witnesses, if I was the paladin in that scenario, I would be trying to find ways to provide protection to those witnesses, or find a way to foil the villains plans, usually by recruiting help. You see a lot of those types of dilemmas in crime drama on TV or in books, so there's a lot of inspiration to take from. And if push comes to shove, I believe a paladin should be willing accept the consequences of breaking the law and possible violating their oath to follow which good they believe in (either lie/refuse testimony, or allow harm to come to innocents).
What irks me when I hear about paladin horror stories: both players and GM try playing the paladin in a moral straightjacket. Instead, I feel it should be path that the paladin sometimes stray from, but can return. LG Paladin players should understand what the intent of their code should be, understand why their decisions may violate it and fall, and be willing to find a way to atone for it. A good guy can perform a horrible act when left with no choice, but because they are good, they would feel guilty and try to make up for what they did, even if they might never end up doing so in their lifetime (which makes for a great tragic story!).
GMs should be aware of the dilemma they put their paladins through, and prepare for possible falling. As long as the PC paladin is sincere, GMs should make it clear that they can atone for their misdeeds and return to the light. If you're a god or some cosmic arbiter of morality that guides paladins, then mercy and forgiveness should be a big thing for you. Angelic visions should be appearing to the fallen paladin, guiding them back onto the path of goodness. And GMs should make it fun and rewarding! I feel that the roleplaying experience can be extremely engaging. And I just love a good redemption arc.
Regarding poisons, that's one of the few things I disagreed with from previous editions. Poisons are a tool; intent is the key factor. Paladins should not have to worry about using poisons when their use could reduce the amount of harm and save lives (sleep/knockout poisons would be super useful for pallys).
On another note, I think a class that fills the role of deity/philisophical champion would be a great addition to the game, but just don't call it paladin.
Paladin Features wrote:
As many of you guessed when Jason mentioned it, paladin was the mystery class that gains the highest heavy armor proficiency, eventually reaching legendary proficiency in armor and master proficiency in weapons, as opposed to fighters, who gain the reverse.
Paladins having their role officially defined as the party's tank/defender sounds good to me. It fits with their flavor as a defender of justice and everything that's good.
Paladin Feats wrote:
In addition to the oath feats I mentioned when talking about the code, paladins have feats customized to work with the various righteous ally options, like Second Ally, a level 8 feat that lets you gain a second righteous ally.
Looking forward to reading more oath and other feats. Sounds like Paladins will have many areas to progress in (aura, smites, martial abilities, and so on).
Litanies wrote:
Following their mold from Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat, litanies are single-action Verbal Casting spells that last 1 round and create various effects.
I liked these in UC, so I'm glad they're back!
I see no mention of paladins casting spells. Has this been removed? No big loss, especially if litanies and smite powers are plentiful. And Lay on Hands and its feats would be far better than the cure spells the old paladin was saddled with.
Can't wait to get my hands on this class that has long fascinated me!
In Pathfinder First Edition, many types of armor were effectively obsolete because you could just buy a better type, but for Pathfinder Second Edition, we’ve made a few new adjustments to make each type a little different.
I'm glad to see that the design philosophy of making equipment not obsoleting each other carried over from the weapons onto armors. I like it when each equipment option presents reasons for picking one over the other beyond the concept of "they cost most because they are just better". I can't wait to see what other traits were developed for armors and how they'll affect my choices.
I also like the new naming convention for magically enhancing armor. Calling armor enhancements "potency runes" might be a minor thing int he grand scheme of things, but the wording does invoke a nice image.
Shield Yourself! wrote:
Shields don’t have potency runes. Instead, you might pick up a shield made of a durable material like adamantine or craft a magic shield that catches arrows, reflects a spell back at its caster, or bites your enemies!
I didnt' realize it before until mentioned here, but since shields can't have potency runes, but can be magical, I guess this means that magical enhancements from PF1 have been split between one type that is solely for numerical bonuses (aka the potency runes) and another type that provides other magical effects? Will we be getting more info on magical effects and magic item crafting any time soon for more explanation?
Fill Your Backpack! wrote:
Now what if you get stuck without your tools and need to improvise? Well, if you can scrabble something together, you’ve created a poor-quality set of tools, which gives you a –2 item penalty (much like the penalty for having an proficiency rank of untrained in a task). The same thing might happen if you had to turn vines into improvised rope or use an empty chest as a drum for an improvised musical instrument!
Another minor thing that was already well understood in PF1, but nice to see explicit in PF2 is that the item quality mechanic makes it easy to determine the effects of an improvised use of an item for reasons beyond its normal purpose.
Take a Load Off! wrote:
Not everything you can purchase is adventuring gear. Cinco de Cuatro wouldn’t be complete without some luxuries like a bottle of fine wine or renting an extravagant suite! You might even rent an animal to ride about town. Of course, an extravagant lifestyle can have a high cost, and the chapter includes costs of living per week, month, or year so you can accurately budget your lifestyle decisions.
I greatly appreciated details on non-adventuring items in PF1. Having trade goods and services statted out helped made it easy to quickly provide costs to my players when they went on to do non-adventuring stuff. I hope they'll still be just as detailed in PF2 as they were in PF1. Have you come up with any new ideas for these types of items in PF2?
Switch It Up! wrote:
[[A]] Interact
[b]Manipulate[/b
You use your hand or hands to manipulate an object or the terrain. You grab an unattended or stored object, open a door, or do some similar action. You may have to attempt a skill check to determine if your Interact action was successful.
Nice to see this explicitly stated. Now what other actions are coming forth?
I hope Bulk is (somehow) better handled in PF2 than it was in Starfinder. I'm on the fence on the concept. On the one hand, I can appreciate it's more easier to group items in weight classes and count them up that way. On the other hand, I feel a Bulk number doesn't clearly portray mass and volume of an object; the number feels vague and arbitrary that doesn't immediately conceptualized based off a real life framework. If you told me that a bedroll weighs 5 lbs., I can immediately understand how my character would feel carrying it because I can go and carry something that weighs 5 lbs in real life, but if you told me a bedroll is 2 bulk, I don't immediately get that feel of how cumbersome this item is. In Starfinder, there were weapons (certain rifles) that had different bulk values that I would have thought would've been the same, so I could never get a sense of what Bulk represents. I am also sadden at losing a bit of the simulationist side of the game over something that I felt never was a problem in the first place.
I also hope "L" is replaced with "0.1". I'm already adding up numbers, don't bring letters into it. 10 L = 1 bulk anyways, so why not just label those items as "0.1" bulk and keep it consistent? It's an unnecessary mental conversion.
In Pathfinder Second Edition, we have a different way of talking about whether a weapon is likely to be found in a particular region, and so a weapon's type instead describes a weapon's mix of power and flexibility. Simple weapons usually have a smaller damage die than similar martial weapons (d6 rather than d8, for instance), and exotic weapons usually use the same damage die as a martial weapon but include additional abilities that make the weapon more complex.
Not a significant change, but a welcome one. A much better distinction between weapon types.
Weapon Traits wrote:
Whatever your weapon proficiencies, you'll want to choose a weapon with useful traits that match your taste and play style. Even among martial weapons that use two hands, a bo staff, a greatsword, and a glaive all feel very different.
I like that different weapons will have more distinct features beyond weapon damage. I like it when there are gameplay reasons to use different weapons and that they feel different in use.
Question, though: what do Exotic weapons have that make them distinct from Martial? The examples mentioned so far seem like all weapon types have traits, but I don't see an example of what a proper Exotic weapon can do.
Critical Specialization and Weapon Groups wrote:
Traits give us some really cool ways to distinguish weapons, but we decided to throw one more customization factor into the mix, this time for similar groups of weapons: critical specialization effects.
Very cool additions, can't wait to read how they work in detail. More different effects lead to each weapon feeling more unique.
I'm really liking how the new critical system and action economy is integrated so far, not just with the weapons.
Weapon Quality wrote:
Weapons, as well as other non-weapon items (but come on, those aren't as cool as weapons, right?), can be poor quality, standard quality, expert quality, master quality, or legendary quality.
Very much reminds of item qualities now used in MMOs, which I imagine is where the idea came from. But that's fine with me; I feel it's now a familiar concept, and gives room for more sense of progression, and more reward for higher crafting skill.
Some interesting new info here. A lot of teases, but not enough detail for me to form any judgement on the new cleric so far. I'll need to see the spells and feats and domain powers.
Cleric Class Preview wrote:
Clerics' key ability score is Wisdom. This means that they get an ability boost to Wisdom at 1st level, increasing their Wisdom score by 2.
Did I somehow miss this mentioned in the other class previews? Or is this our first mention of the class granting an ability score boost? I can see the reasoning in doing so, and it'll make players feel more comfortable in picking varied ancestry/class combos. Seems like a good idea I look forward to seeing action.
Cleric Class Preview wrote:
A cleric's deity also imposes some restrictions on her, collectively called anathema, representing acts that go against her deity's will and teachings or violate their alignment requirements.
This could be contentious. I'd like to see some examples. I need to see how these can be interpreted, and how easily they can be adapted to gods of other official or homebrewed settings.
Cleric Class Preview wrote:
As you go up in level, you'll increase your proficiency rank with divine spells to expert at 12th level, master at 16th level, and legendary at 19th level.
...
At higher levels, you gain new cleric feats at every even level, except levels 12 and 16, when you increase your spell DCs instead.
Those seem like odd levels to place those bumps. They're concentrated on the higher level side of progression, instead of being more evenly spread out. Any reason for this?
Cleric Class Preview wrote:
We made your number of spells more straightforward by eliminating Pathfinder First Edition's bonus spells granted for having a high ability score.
No more bonus spells from high ability scores. Kinda sad at their loss, they were a nice bonus to have, but I don't think it's a crippling loss. In exchange, we have to rely on other powers. I hope there will be enough of them to compensate. However, that means there are no more classes that have a 0 listed on their spell progression, like Rangers and Paladins, right? Those were always dumb.
Cleric Class Preview wrote:
You can activate a metamagic feat when you cast a spell. This increases the number of actions required to cast the spell and modifies the spell in some way.
This seems a like a nice way of handling metamagic with the new action economy. However, this means that metamagic can't be applied to spells that require 3 actions. I believe it' expected that those spells are to be few and far between. Will those spells be complete enough that applying metamagic would have less use anyways? And I guess this also means that the intent is limit only one metamagic effect to most spells, since most of them were said to require 2 actions?
It really isn't as I have to look at the weight either way: having it be 'light' [or 1/10th a bulk] or looking up the weight in pounds is STILL looking up a number and adding it. The fact one is variable is the only difference but that doesn't remove the fact that you had to look for either one.
I don't think so. A system that reduces the variability of weight will naturally require less looking up into tables. Whole classes of items can now have the same weight, where "light" replaces everything between 1/2 lb and 2 lbs (for example), and it's going to be much easier to guess that an item falls in this category, in most of those cases. Potentially, the designers can decide that light weapons all are 1 bulk, medium weapons 2 bulk etc. This greatly facilitates the creation of a level 1 character. The developers have mentioned lowering the barrier of entry for first-time players as a big design goal, and I couldn't agree more.
Moreover, this immediately does away with the problem for Small characters where we had to remember to divide the weight by 2. Instead, bulk is the same, it just fits automatically with character size.
For me, looking up 20+ items for every character has always been the worst chore, an entry tax before I get to play. I'm happy to see that go. Plus, on the personal side, I get a side benefit: This removes one Imperial unit, at least, from the list of things I have to live with in order to play. A minor, but appreciable bonus.
This is off-topic for the blog post, but since the topic was brought up, I just wanted to say that I've been on the fence whether or not to adopt bulk vs. weight.
What you say makes a lot of sense, and does seem to be an improvement. However, that's only if they implement it consistently across all types of objects, which isn't what I've experienced in Starfinder so far. You've got some rifles at 1 bulk, other rifles at 2 bulk, and even others at 3. Because of this, you're never 100% sure, and you end up looking up the chart anyways. I don't know why they didn't just do as you suggested: all pistol-like weapons are 1 bulk, all rifles at 2, all heavy/sniper at 3.
If bulk is to be used, there also needs to be better explanation of how that bulk number can be translated into what it actually means. For instance, the Medical Lab is 50 bulk, and the Regeneration Table is 20 bulk. I have no frame of reference as to what this actually means. Ok, I can somewhat imagine what a table looks like, but what's the Medical Lab having bulk when it's an actual room? At least when using weight and volume I have a frame of reference to understand and visualize what I'm dealing with. I've found having actual weights involved gave me a better idea of how characters of certain strength can interact with other physical objects in the world, stuff that isn't listed in the rules but that I can look up in real life for comparison.
So for me, I can live with the bulk system, but it needs to be hell of a lot better implemented than it was in Starfinder, because in that system, I saw absolutely no improvement in actual use over using actual weight. I find that I'm still regularly looking up what things weigh/bulk and still having to count and add up just as much as I was doing with actual weights.
I like that there is now more separation between potions and elixirs. I can't really judge how good the changes to the poison mechanics will be from this one example, but I hope they'll be more streamlined and clearer than before.
Now that alchemy is now a major feature of the game, I can't wait to see what will be done with it. I've always found alchemy a great way to emulate science-fantasy ideas, going the route of 'mad science' as mentioned before.
One concern I've always had was that I found alchemical items to quickly become obsolete very early on as DCs and effects remain static. I had to develop some additional house rules to allow creation of alchemical items with increased effects at higher cost. The blog mentions examples of the Alchemist able to increase the effects of alchemical items, but are there any plans to keep alchemical items useful for other classes at higher levels?
Have not gone through all the responses yet, but here are my thoughts.
Overall, I'm liking what I see here. I really like how spells have a lot of variability now, from using a different number of actions, heightening the spell, and critical damage/fumble. Would it be accurate to say that it will be easy for GMs to customize spells further just by changing the number of actions or altering how the spell is heightened? We now have several established vectors where we can alter spells and how they scale.
I like ritual spells, and glad they are now part of Core. I hope we see more effects and variety!
So 10th-level spells are just a new level to better slot those 9th-level spells that were more powerful than the norm? Fair enough. Excited to see what new spells will be created for that new level.
Cantrips are automatically heightened to max level makes sense. Will there be more cantrip spells? Will their heightened modifications be varied?
Spell Point pool seems to follow the same design philosophy as the new action economy. Now players will have the choice to use certain powers more per day depending on their needs than they could in PF1. Sounds good to me.
Magical Tradition paragraph seems vague, but I'm glad to see it addressed. I hope there will be some game mechanic to along with that fluff description of the difference between arcane and divine.
Thanks for the blog post! I'm really looking forward to seeing all these changes in action.
I like what I'm seeing so far! Good idea on removing damage die size differences for the sling, and maybe other weapons? I don't know why it didn't occur to me before to do so. I may look to doing the same in my current PF1 campaign, for weapons that realistically don't need to be scaled down in size for small creatures to wield.
I like the alchemist, so I'm looking forward to seeing its update in PF2. However, this blog post didn't have much to be excited about. Glad to see its features still there in PF2, but without details, I can't get really hyped. Also very few details about what alchemical items that can be crafted, so can't even get excited about the classes ability to create lots of them. Same goes for poisons and potions. I don't know how these work in PF2, so what am I supposed to get hype about?
