Scarlet Scarab's page

Hi everyone. It's been a blast playing with you all, but it's time for me to go.

Now that we're back in Brevory, Scarlet's at a good stopping point. She'll return to her mercenary company and try to repair the relationship with her brother. Alia seems to be in good hands, now that she and Zokon are betrothed.

Personally, I'm in too many games right now, and I'm not taking the time to read all of these posts. You guys deserve better, and I need to lighten my responsibilities. So I'm going to bow out. Good luck on conquering the Stolen Lands, it isn't easy!

Scarlet follows Alia, recalling her duty as a bodyguard. Something about that bossy elf's words stuck- she hasn't been fulfilling her contract to the best of her ability.

"Man, you guys are smart." Scarlet offers the dress while amassing buttons. "Let's just say we might have a place for you. Everyone needs their wounds mended. Back in the Company healers were always the favorite."

Scarlet catches up and quickly sheathes her blades. "Ah, we met in the tavern, right?" Oooh, buttons! Scarlet starts picking up the buttons.

"I think I have a spare dress if you need one. Might not be the right size..."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Poorly tailored dress, overpaid for (1 gp)

"Castigan. Good seeing you. We'll meet again, I'm sure of it." Scarlet goes for a handshake.

"What was that noise?" Scarlet spins in the direction of the glassblower's house. She runs off, her swords drawn.

Legends say the fey believe death is merely an inconvenience because they'll just reincarnate. They do not realize other creatures die once, die forever.

"Aye. See you at the next shift." Scarlet grabs her bedroll.

"Was a good song, though."

Scarlet pants. And catches her breath.

"Wha... what was that? Stop singin', Illthir."

Will Save: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12

Damn, that's a good beat!

Scarlet can't help but clap and stomp with the beat.

Oh. Uh, Scarlet wakes up and moves out of her tent, then.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"Dammit, I wanted to get some sleep." Scarlet rouses awake, grabs her weapons and stands up.

Scarlet's dirtnap (seriously, she just made a mound of dirt and leaned against it) is interrupted.

"It's dark in here, huh?" She checks to see her longsword and shortsword are still sheathed. "Alright, come on out, whomever you are."

Woohoo! Levelling up! And maybe a respec? But not a race respec, so RIP my Dopplegänger dreams.

Nysa is on the list twice, by the way.

Haumea (Alright, Hula Dwarves.)
Gaen Vale (Something about Vale makes it sound cool.)
Arcadia (Classic)

Scarlet jokes with the soldiers, recalling stories about her adventures and fighting various monsters, madmen and miscreants.

The night air does her some good as it gives her time to think.

I hope my brother's alright.
If Alia gets married, will I be a royal bodyguard?
The people of that fort are depending on me. I gotta show them the joy of helpin'.
Did Erevenywg figure out why she came to help us yet? This might take a while. She's ageless anyway, right?

On day four, Scarlet bids Matheus goodbye, thanking them for their help. She grunts as the Magister's soldiers give her a quiet look.

"Best to keep an eye out. We met a troll a few months ago. Not very violent and willing to parley. I don't know what he'll do now."

"Ey, Zokon? Can this wait a minute?" Scarlet is up drinking ale when Zokon tries to make a special announcement. "No? Okay. Hey Alia, what's-"

Scarlet falls silent. Something is different. She takes a swig of her ale.

And then spits it right out.

"Wha... well Alia, if you want me to protect your betrothed as well, you gotta double my pay!" She laughs. Finally she turns to Jhod. "Well, may as well make this official."

---

Scarlet turns to Garess. "Remind the men of the fort that they have another chance at legitimacy. If they get any wild ideas, I'll skin them myself." She gets serious. "I'm quick to give a second chance, but I don't give thirds."

Scarlet nods as Durgan gives an informal eulogy. "He stuck his neck out and tried to make a home. Invited strangers to his home. Braved dangers he didn't need to. And he paid for it."

"There's a lot of people out here who would destroy people like Oleg. I failed him. But I'm not gonna fail anyone, anymore." She opens her eyes and stands back up.

"I'm gonna check on Erevenywg. Make sure she's ready for the big city. And then I'm ready."

Scarlet can't stop rolling her eyes at the elven "dignitary", but she knows when she can't protect Nakpik forever.

Time to check her equipment, check on the fairy, and say goodbye to Oleg one last time. He stuck his neck out and this is his reward.

Yup, Scarlet will play "act like a dumb mercenary so the nobleman doesn't try to piss her off."

Scarlet Scarab wrote:

"Erevenywg, you alright? We're going on a trip to Restov." More crowded cities.

"Does that make me queen, Scar-Lets-Carab? Do I get a crown? I think that I would be a good queen. I would let my subjects eat cake!"

Scarlet laughs. "Cake would be tasty, eh? Let's go to Restov."

Scarlet takes a look at the Outpost. May be her last look for a while.

"Erevenywg, you alright? We're going on a trip to Restov." More crowded cities.

They're not peasants.
They're citizens.

Scarlet will never admit this, but she'd rather farm alongside them.

I hae a +5 to Diplomacy.

...am I the party Diplomat, now? Time to speak softly and carry a big stick as General.

I'm sorry Svetlana. Scarlet clutches her fists and has to stop herself from raging.

"I can't wait til we return to the fort and get that place cleaned up."

- The role of General is fine with me.
- If I should have Alia's 1803 gp, that's fine. I'll have to double check my inventory to see where the 800 gp is coming from.

Scarlet's fine with being general.

"Yeah, she can handle it." Scarlet looks to Posh.

"Nobles never give you any respect. They just steal your credit. Just remember. We did it. No them."

Totaling my inventory on my character sheet, I have about 1030.68 gp worth of goods. Not a lot, but it's what I expected. Like I said, I don't do money and we haven't had a chance to buy anything substantial (weapons and armor in particular.)

Scarlet holds back a full on laugh as she pulls Posh aside. "You tryin' to get us killed? At least I'd die with a smile. While Alia uses some elven diplomacy, let's see what changes they made since they took over."

Scarlet's number one attachment is her mercenary company. Maybe they had a big break. Maybe Alia does fire her, but she's on a long-term assignment with a noble.

Or maybe Scarlet sees an opportunity to build a community from the ground up and do it the right way. Instead of running, she sticks around and helps build the former Stag Lord's fort into a model city.

Scarlet has no interest in marriage. So maybe she joins a dueling school to hone her skill.

If none of these work out I can roll up a new character who is tied more closely into Brevory. I wasn't thinking about that when I made Scarlet.

And at about the same time that is going on.

Maethadis takes Scarlet to one side and says none-too-sweetly "Now that we are all back safe, mercenary, you may consider yourself dismissed."

Scarlet takes a deep breath, to calm her nerves. She'd knock the ears right off this goon if it wouldn't cause another fight.

"Only my charge can release me." She turns to Alia. "What say you, Alia?"

"Aye, The Stag Lord is dead. All that remains is his helmet." Scarlet pulls out the iconic helmet. "He put up a fight, and that drow wizard fled into the night. And we need to figure out what's going on with Sneeg. But we have one less bandit king. The surviving forces have surrendered and are repairing the fort. They want to build a community there, with honest hard work instead of dirty thievery. And murder."

Scarlet takes a glance where the... thing exploded.

Oh boy. Um, I'm bad at finances. Usually I just donate stuff to the bank. I'll need some time to track all of this.

Scarlet is glad to be back to the Outpost. That joy soon evaporates once she realizes Svetlana is gone- the grief must have been too great.

I should have been there. I should have noticed. I should have kept Oleg away. Dammit, that snippy elf is right- why wasn't I with Alia?

A flurry of thoughts pass through Scarlet as they approach. "Hello... Anando Veresisi." She watches the man bow. This damn toadie. "Well, we have good news about the Stag Lord." She turns to Zokon. "Er, this is your contract, right? You want to make this official?"

Scarlet resists rolling her eyes as the snooty elf (probably an elven noble, too) rambles on about how lucky they are or whatever.

But she is right. A hail of arrows from the kobolds might have ended her life. And how could she protect Victoria? She's never seen the woman don a suit of armor, she just pets her fox or whatever.

"Yeah, lucky indeed." She turns to Matheus. "Thank you all for supporting the Outpost. We were en route there to deliver good news."

"Er, as soon as my charge returns."

Scarlet takes a slow exhale and sheathes her weapons. No name. Big surprise. The human told me, though.

"Alia wanted to hunt a criminal and asked me to check on the Outpost. Bodyguards don't disobey. Lady Maethadis."

These elves are almost as bad as the nobles.

"Wait, Matheus Castigan. What happened to the Outpost? And... what are we late for?"

Scarlet takes cover as the arrows fly, then grabs her blades and defends herself. But none of the kobolds pay attention to her. Or Serena. Or Victoria. Good. Mikmek seems alright.

By the time the carnage clears, Scarlet checks for ambushes. Seems clear. Scarlet starts to sheathe her blades when a woman's voice puts her on high alert.

Snooty elf. Asking about Alia. Skin isn't dark. Eh, kinda racist there.

"Yeah, Alia of Kyonin. She'll be here in a bit." Pause. "Eh, am I gonna get a name?"

Oh, I thought we were stopping a war before it claimed Oleg's. According to Mikmek that's happened already.

In that case it's time to side with Sootscale and kick some ass until we can reclaim the fort.

Eh... I'm not sure what to make of this situation. It seems to be an ambush, but they're waiting for a signal?

Antagonizing and peace doesn't seem to work either. I'm also not sure how we can fight through so many kobolds.

Not sure what to do, here.

At the Kobold meeting of chiefs - sense motive (hunch)

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

It's worth a shot.

Oh. Never mind. Split party. Lost context.

Scarlet nods along with the madness. "Huh. So they think Alia is a sacrifice? Maybe we can use this to our advantage. But... uh... I'm bad at this."

Erevenywg makes a strange distressed-looking face while making a chopping motion with one hand just below her tiny chin.

"So what, this ain't working?" Scarlet stands back up. "Hey Victoria. What's the plan here? Those red kobolds seem even angrier than before."

Scarlet isn't sure what to make of it, but she does see Chief Sootscale. So she sheathes her sword, walks up to him and bends her knee.

If Victoria's right, we need to show we're under control here. That, or he orders me to do something. Ugh, I hate bowing down like this.

Not sure if I can fight these many kobolds...

Suddenly five or six dozen kobolds appear from the grass or from behind trees or tall stones all around the party. In the light of her torch Scarlet can see that they are of a multitude of colors, and modes of dress. All seem armed and ready for battle. More than a few of the closer ones growl like angered territorial terriers.

Map update 2!

"What's going on here, then?" Scarlet keeps screaming to keep their attention focused on her. "Looks like you're going to war."

Suddenly she pauses. I don't understand what they are saying... "Er, Mikmek, can you calm them down? At least explain to them raiding the Outpost is a bad idea?" She turns to her allies. "Anyone knows what they are doing?"

The language barrier is strong and Zokon (who knows Draconic) and Durgan (who can prepare spells) are both hunting Sneeg. Posh? Victoria? Serena? Bueller?

As they move along, Scarlet and Victoia note some movement in the tall grasses to the north of their trail.

Scarlet hops off the horse and motions Mikmek to keep quiet. She lights a torch, hoping to draw attention to her and away from her allies.

And if that didn't do it...

"Oi! Show yourself!"
Intimidate: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Woo! Let's split the party!

Scarlet's priority is to save the Outpost.

While Sneeg is a criminal, even if he gets far he won't be able to do much. Either he becomes an underling for some greater badguy we were gonna fight or he's just a hermit. Meh.

Scarlet looks at Byron dead in the eye. "Your family needs you here, not with the camp."

Scarlet sighs. "So they want to claim the land, is it? I thought we had an agreement with 'em. We need to get there to stop whatever's going on there."

When she sees Illthir trying to catch up to Sneeg, Scarlet snorts. "Oh, leave the old man to die. If he tries to return to the camp, Akiros is gonna run him through. Besides, I'm not gonna let anyone get hurt at Oleg's. Never again."

"Wait Durgan. Kobolds are... confusing. Some of them here are our allies." Scarlet heads over to the Benzen children. "You kids okay? How are your parents?"