Shalelu_Andosana's page

"I'd love to help, it's just that I've never been to the mountains north of the Storval Plateau. I'd be in the same boat as you all."

"Well..." Shalelu says with no little sarcasm, "...don't we have a set of brass ones..." She pulls out a chair and sits, propping her boots up on the table.

Ameiko sits down next to her. She pours herself a drink out of the silver carafe on the table, and takes a small sip before speaking. "You." She points at Lym. "And you." Another point at Tomaru. "What in the Nine Hells do you think you are doing?"

"Trying to be the hero." Shalelu growls.

Ameiko looks back at her. "Why don't you explain it to them?"

"Fine." Shalelu is clearly upset. She sets her feet on the floor with a thud, and leans into the table. She points an accusing finger at Lym. "I saw your little stunt out at the Manor. I followed you at the request of Sheriff Hemlock. He had some suspicion that you might do something dumb, and he was right. I told him he was crazy, but I was wrong. I don't like being wrong."

"Did you ever stop to wonder why Magnimar hasn't done just what you did?" Ameiko asks. "Ever wonder why there aren't legions of angels and such flying above that city? There are plenty of folks powerful enough to do it, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should. There are powers bigger than you in this fight between those two, and some - most - of them don't give a damn about anything other than themselves..."

"Like you..." Shalelu starts, but Ameiko holds up a hand to calm her.

"...but they know better than to draw attention to themselves. Sandpoint has survived by being outside the main focus of that conflict. The up side has been we don't get the two sides waging their covert war here, the down side is we don't have the protection of either when things go wrong - like they did yesterday...and before. We have been very fortunate to have you here to aid us in our times of need." She says calmly, and its obvious she is working to calm Shalelu as much as any growing ire you may have.

"But..."Shalelu begins, but Ameiko cuts her off.

"But...that does not give you the right to go against the wishes of Sandpoint's leadership, and put us at risk."

There is a long silence. Shalelu looks daggers at Lym, but doesn't say any more. Finally, Ameiko stands up. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this, but I needed to make it clear that your efforts are appreciated...to a point." She smiles ruefully. "This is probably the first and last act as one of Sandpoint's ruling families that I will ever do. I am, you know. The Kaijitsu's helped found Sandpoint. Tsuto would have taken over for my father. You remember Tsuto? It doesn't matter. Don't do it again. Go find these giants and stop them. That will be the best defense Sandpoint can get."

And with that, she walks out. Shalelu pauses for a minute, watching her leave. When she is sure Ameiko can't hear her, she turns back to the table and places both hands down hard, leaning in again. "Maybe. Just once. Listen...'heroes'." Then she stomps out.

"Pleased to meet you." the half elf extends her hand to the gnome. To Tomaru, she replies: "Much appreciated, but I'm going to go 'off-road' as it were. I can find out more by moving about on foot in the wilds. I may be late getting there, later than you anyway., but I will meet you in Sandpoint. I better get started."

"I'll set out right away." Shalelu says. "I'll see what's happening in and around Sandpoint, and get back to you." The ranger gives you a quick nod, and sets out.

"I think," Shalelu adds with a glance at her father, "that I will go back to Sandpoint. That is my home, and I suspect you all will need a good scout in the area before long."

"Now," she says, bundling her cloak tight around her face, "this the base of the trail that I found. It leads up onto the Hook, but to what end, I didn't go far enough to see." She shivers as a blast of wind swirls down from the peaks.

"The Kreegs are up there, that I know for sure. And whatever else they have with them. Be careful." With that, she turns about and heads back toward Fort Rannick, and is soon lost to sight in the swirling snow.

"I've been searching around the base of the mountain. There are no signs of Grauls or Kreegs in the area. I did find several hunting trails - probably ogres by the tracks - around the base. They all head upward toward the Hook."

Shalelu looks concerned. "That bad? Well, we managed to find maps of the area still intact, so that could help. Also, Jakrdros has been all over the region, I'm sure he can point you in the right direction."

"Welcome back! What did you find out?" She waits expectantly while you hang sodden cloaks on the pegs near the doors. The keep was the first to be cleaned, and there are no remaining traces of the horrors of the ogre occupation to be seen anywhere.

"The dam does what??? That is the most horrible thing I've heard in all this, and that's saying something. I suppose it being devils that powered the mechanism is something, anyway. Good riddance to them."

She swings her long legs off of the table, boots hitting the wooden floor of the inn with a thump.

"I'm off to the fort. Will see you all when you get back." And with a nod and a wink, she's out the door.

Kellen looks up from his second mug, a little droopy, but nods as Shalelu updates them. "You think finding anything of the Captain, even a corpse, will lift his spirits, maybe?"

Kellen also nods at Tomaru's words. "I think after facing a trolls, ogres, and a devil, we just needed a break before moving onto the swamps."

"I understand, it's been a rough couple of days. To be honest i don't know what finding the Captain will do for Jakardros. Part of me thinks he just wants to find the Captain so he can be absolved of the responsibility. I sympathize: 40 years of his life was wiped out in a single night of blood and fire. The other part of me feels he wants to rebuild, restart the Order. I think he believes I will help him with that."

The half-elf ranger nods knowingly at your comments. "Things are...difficult...up at the Fort. Jakrdros is coming along, but the effort of the clean up is pretty grim, and he holds himself responsible for the carnage. Even though Vale and I keep working to remind him that it was Kaven's betrayal that brought the Order down, he can't get past the fact he was leading the patrol that was away on that bloody night." She sighs, kicking her boots up on the table.

"Burning the bodies of your comrades for two straight days doesn't help. He keeps hoping that the Captain will show up again. We haven't found his body or his...parts...in all of that mess, so Jakardros is holding on to that hope. I know you've been busy, but it's imperative you check out the swamp. I have no idea what you'll find, if you find anything."

"Sooo...how'd it go?"

"Well, there's something you don't see every day..."

The three Black Arrows, led by Shalelu, vault from their horses into the flood waters to join the attack. Shalelu and Jakardros let a barrage of arrows fly at the monster's head, having little effect but causing her to shake back and forth as the barbs sting at her eyes. Vale wades into the flood, axes waving menacingly as he makes his way to where Thordak lies.

"Circle her! Keep it up!" the ranger yells. Clearly she doesn't know quite what she's gotten herself into...

Shalelu follows you out of the fort for a short way. "I wanted to speak to you before you left, but not in front of them." She pulls her cloak tighter over head to keep out the rain that continues to pour.

"First off...thanks. You saved us back there...from who knows what. Second, my fath...Jakardros," she corrects herself reluctantly, "looked up to his commander, he's mumbled about finding him. I've heard him say things when he thought I wasn't listening. Things like: 'where is Lamatar by the gods?' and such."

She puts her hand on Kellen's arm. "Please. For me." With a lasting look, she turns about and heads back into the fort.

"Have the Mayor send some help. We 'll need it."

Shalelu grabs the spear by the haft and takes a deep breath. Then she yanks it free.

'Aaaaauuuugggghh' she screams, nearly swooning from the pain. She crawls over to the downed Black Arrow, cradling Jakardros' head in her lap.

'It'll be okay, It'll be okay,' she says over and over as tears stream down her face.

The half-elf ranger follows Tomaru and spins him about before he casts his spell. "Look," she says, a harsh edge to her voice, "these men are all that's left of a grim order who lost everything in one night. Betrayed by their own, tormented beyond all nightmares, they are the last of their kind. Assaulting fortresses is not what they do. It's not what I do. I'm not going into those cramped halls any more than they are, am I dead as well, Tomaru?" She looks at the cleric with her fierce green eyes.

"Listen to me. Those halls were built by men, for men. The ogres will be at a disadvantage, in that they can't bring their numbers to bear on you while inside. Remember that. I...we...will create a distraction when the alarm goes up. I promise you, we will do our part." With that, she turns away, going to stand next to her father.

Shalelu places her hand on Tomaru's arm. "Go. You and the rest are more than capable of handling this, if anyone is in this region." She looks over at her father, standing away now, watching the fort. "I hate to say this, but he's right in one respect. If you need to retreat, someone needs to be out here covering you and making sure those ogres don't boil out of the gates and cut you off."

"We can cover the gate from here. If you are spotted, and something comes out of there, we can pull them off." She looks over at her father, still brooding under his cloak. With a look of exasperation, she elbows him sharply in the ribs. "Get crackin' Ranger!" She hisses through clenched teeth. "Plenty of time to feel sorry for yourself if we live through this!"

"You'd have to be very careful crossing that open ground." Shalelu adds, nodding out towards the castle. "Even with the clouds covering the moon tonight, there's nothing to hide you out there."

The ranger gets off of her horse and leads you from the road into the woods. At a point some distance from fort's approaches, she ties her horse off to a tree and signals for you to follow.

From out of the rain, the half-elf ranger returns, concern etched on her slim features.

"The road ends a hundred yards away there beyond the turn," she begins, wiping a wet lock of her blond hair from face. "It's...not pretty. The ogres have marked their territory. I could see some dark shapes on the walls, but it doesn't look like they are watching very closely." She looks at the Black Arrows. "They tore the hell out of that fort, trying to get in. The walls are in bad shape."

Vale just stares straight ahead, knuckles white where they grip the reins of his horse. Seeing Jakardros doesn't look up, Shalelu just shrugs.

"We can make it up to the turn, and cut into the woods to observe from there. There's plenty of birchwood here, so I'll get some when we stop." She takes one more glance at her father, then turns her horse about, and leads off.

"I don't know for sure, but I believe that season is past us."

She nods while listening to Kellen, then a grim smile smile comes over her face.

"Say Vale," she says, "didn't you say the burning birchbark drove the hot-and-bothered lizards out of the lower levels? So you lit it from the inside?" She pauses, looking right at Kellen.

"What if we lit it from the outside, blowing it inward?"

Looking at Praxim..."Really? Take the fort? What fort?" She says with a biting sarcasm. "Listen pretty-boy, I was out hunting Bad Guys long before you casually strolled into Sandpoint back when, all hero-like. I know we take the fort, its the details that keep us alive."

"Elves, sheesh..." she mutters, not quite under her breath.

Her previous comment was more of a 'lets get it moving after a long weekend' push, fyi.

"So...what's the plan? These two aren't up for much fighting just yet, and taking keeps isn't really my thing, you know? I'm more of a huntress-type."

It's quiet for long moments. The sound of the rain driving against the stained glass is punctuated by the crash of thunder.

"What happened that night? The night...the night the fort fell?" Shalelu asks softly.

Shalelu opens her mouth as if to say something, then snaps it shut, and waits for your reply.

"What in blazes..." Shalelu calls as she struggles to extricate herself from Jakardros and bring her bow to bear.

She is too late.

"They will live."The ranger says. "Near as I can tell, they were a patrol under my father that was out the night the fort fell. They were delayed - for what he doesn't make clear - and when they returned, Fort Rannick was overrun. He attempted to retake it, but was thrown back, and the survivors of the assault fell victim to the Grauls as they recuperated in the forest."

She looks down at the ground, her knuckles whitening as they grip her bow. "There were ten survivors. One by one, they were taken and tortured. Some were returned to the cells, as a show for those who were left."

She looks back up, watching the preparations to burn the house. "Goblins. Goblins and that damned bugbear were my life. I thought they were as base evil as evil could get."

She turns to you as the first flickers of the flames light her face.

"This is evil. Pure horror, and the very essence of evil. I will not rest until this region is clear of these and all their kind. Let's get these men back to the town, and we can plan from there. They have valuable information about the fort. It sounds like we'll need it."

Shalelu shudders at Kellen's suggestion. "No thanks. I've heard enough from Jakardros to know better than to start poking around here."

"Yes, Shalelu. We are all alive. Now ask if we all retain our full sanity."

The reply is tentative. "Well....do you?"

"Um, hello? You guys okay down there?" A cautious voice asks from the top of the stairs.

"If you were a crazy in-bred ogrekin, and you had some prisoners still alive, and you were facing an attack, what would you be doing right now?" She says with some frustration. "Do we want to give THEM a chance to slip away? The Grauls have been a danger in this area for years. Lets not let them of the hook. Pun intended." She says with a wry grin.

"Agreed." She says to Lym. "These wounded can't move, and I need a place to defend that isn't exposed. This is as good as any. No worse than a goblin hole, eh?" She spends a moment, looking at Praxim, before continuing. "Besides, there may be more Black Arrows inside, and I don't want them murdered just because the Grauls are in a hurry to get outside."

"Wait." Shalelu says to Lym. She sets the man's head down gently on a rolled up cloak, and stands up. She walks slowly to the doors and peers out through a crack. Satisfied, she tuns to you.

"That," she begins, pointing at the man, "is Jakardros. He is a Black Arrow, a ranger of these parts. And he is my adopted father." She sighs heavily, leaning back against the huge barn doors. "I grew up near the Mierani Forest, in a small village called Crying Leaf. I never knew my real father. Jakardros here arrived with a band of adventurers, and helped drive off a scuttle of ettercaps that were following a green dragon. His band were all slain, and he, nearly so. My mother nursed him back to health. They grew...close. He was like a father to me for years. Then the dragon came again, I don't know how, and my mother was killed. Then...he just...left. No goodbyes, not even a note." She pauses for a moment, looking down at him.

When she looks up, you can the tears rimming her eyes, maybe the first time you've seen the tough facade fall. "No goodbyes, nothing. He needs to tell me...to tell me whether he loved my mother, or whether he was just using her. And I'll know. If it's the latter...well...I'll finish what the Grauls started."

The silence is palpable. Then she speaks again, softly. "You all go and finish whatever hillbilly ogre hell is waiting in that house. I'll guard them." She holds up a hand to stop any protests, and the old Shalelu is back. "Don't worry, I won't kill him until you all get back."

"Thank you." She says to Tomaru. "He has to live, because if he doesn't, I'm going to kill him." She says, looking down at the man's face.

"Not on your life, or what's left of it. You've got some questions to answer," she says with a hard edge to her voice. With a surprising show of strength, Shalelu lifts the man and slings him over her shoulder, and starts out of the cage.

Father...

"There's another door guys..."

She says as she runs down the stairs and across the barn floor.

"Not today, not EVER."

Stepping back, she fires three times, each hitting the brute square in the chest.

"By the gods..." Her bow twangs twice in rapid succession, catching one of the monsters in the chest.

"No better time than the present." Drawing her bow taut to her ear, she shifts to get a clear shot at the opening, when it comes. "Ready."

"Aren't you the rogue?

"I'm thinking we should stick together on this one..."

"Remind me not to make you guys angry."

"Interesting...that's one way to do it I suppose."