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Termia is neither delighted nor surprised to hear the forces of chaos were involved in the day's events. For a moment it looks like she would want to comment on Thandmere's description of Maelstrom, but ultimately stays quiet. Soon upon returning to the Grand Lodge, a courier awaits Termia. She is handed a letter, bearing a trigonal symbol that some might recognize as that of the order of the Hellknights. Termia opens it, reads the contents within, and stows it neatly within her belt pack. "Dacilane, sir, I must decline the invitation," she says, with no discernable emotion. "I have been summoned to Citadel Demain. I am to depart to Cheliax immediately." "Please enjoy your celebration in moderation." She excuses herself by making one final salute to the academy benefactor, its students, and her fellow Pathfinder agents.
When the students finally get to see the chaperones once more, Termia addresses them in her usual matter-of-fact manner, without a salute of course. "At ease, students. You have done adequately in your field trip. Alec Gracekin, there are two matters to discuss with you at a later time. Stand by." Once the dwarven professor awakens, the soldier salutes him. "Professor Thandmere! Pathfinder agents Termia and five others reporting!" she begins her succinct report, spoken in a monotonous tone. "To answer your questions in order: It seems that some strange, otherworldly creature trapped us in an insubstantial state; the details of which remain unknown for now. With the combined efforts of us agents and the students of Dacilane Academy, this creature was vanquished and its workings were undone. You are currently in the quarters of Venture-Captain Armeline Jirneau, of Pathfinder Society Woodsedge Lodge. Your glasses..." she glances around, "...whereabouts unknown." "Your instructions, sir?"
If Yakuthiel's attacks seem effective:
The serpent shows no sign of letting go, and its tail's moments indicate a certain level of aggression. Therefore, Termia responds with violence. "This is your final warning!" she announces, with notable volume but little emotion.
If Yakuthiel's attacks seem ineffective: With no means of harming the enemy, Termia goes to assist the completion of the ritual. "Remember, colleagues, the items must be activated simultaneously!"
She seeks a way to communicate the word "simultaneously" to the students.
As the chamber's doors open and the group gets a glimpse of the strange sights within, Termia glares at the serpent holding professor Thandmere captive, with apparent hatred and disgust. She grasps her polearm. "Roger that." As instructed, she marches into the room, her eyes locked in on the serpent. "Serpentine creature! Your crimes are too numerous to account! Release that man immediately, and we may show leniency in your sentence. If you resist, you face immediate summary execution."
Issil's unusual movement causes Termia to raise an eyebrow. "Enough with the parlor tricks, colleague. Please take this mission seriously." A short moment later the soldier seems to have a moment of realization. "Please excuse my earlier statement. That seems to have been some kind of a side effect of this confounding phenomenon." She ponders Issil's suggestion for a moment, but ultimately agrees. "If a student can access these rooms in a way that we can not, we cannot guarantee the safety of the student in question in case something goes wrong. Still, it is a suspicion worth testing. Proceed."
Termia braces herself against the incoming shower of vomit by adjusting her stance, but this change in her footwork compromises her balance as a pool of oil appears beneath her feet. The soldier quickly gets back on her feet, glaring at the repulsive pest, shouting: "This is your final warning!"
In addition to the verbal warning, Termia issues a physical warning, delivered via her polearm.
The sudden and inexplicable appearance of beastly monsters stops Termia before she's finished chastising Alec. "Student Alec Gracekin, your punishment will be decided at a later time and place." The soldier positions herself in the middle of the room, giving her polearm ample space to swing around. "Monsters, you are trespassing on private property! Leave immediately, or we will use lethal force!" she commands the snouted humanoids.
When they show no sign of remorse or withdrawing, Termia actualizes her threat.
Termia looks around the pacified kitchen, her eyes scanning each pot, pan, cooking utensil, ingredient, and spice dispenser. "It's a start. We shall return here to clean up thoroughly once we have a more tangible effect in this reality."
Something catches Termia's attention. "You there!" she yells at the ceiling. "That pot is the legal property of the Pathfinder Society Woodsedge Lodge! Return the stolen good immediately!" When she receives no answer, she turns to the other agents. "We are now witnesses to a crime. Our duty is to chase after the thief. To the upstairs!"
"Roger that, colleagues," Termia salutes at Issil and Vander's suggestion. She marches over to the drouge tile set, and, through great effort, spells out the words, "shield in training hall". "Of the three ingredients, I suspect a pitcher of water will not be hard to come by. Next we should look for this lodestone." After a brief pause, she adds: "Did some of the students say something about a 'secret ingredient', just now? Permission to investigate?"
"Squad leader, the hostilities seem to have ended for now, but this lodge may still be dangerous," Termia reports to Areeza, saluting. "We cannot guarantee the students' safety if we linger here. What are our plans of getting out?" Issil's restorative magic mends Termia's injuries, but there is little change in the soldier's expression or posture. "Thank you, colleague."
The appearance of the colorful and cacophonous serpents twists Termia's normally-unexpressive face into that of utter disgust. "Contemptible creatures." As one of the creatures springs erratically and Termia positions herself to block the monster's path to Tels and Vim, she ends up getting bit. Out of reflex, she makes an downward slash in retaliation,
but the otherworldly creature is too slippery. Undeterred, Termia glares at the enemy
while swinging her polearm. "Face judgment!"
At the Areeza and Zug's behest, Termia obediently hurries to the training room. "Roger!" After brief explanation, Termia nods. "Understood. I believe these students would benefit from seeing a well-practiced, technical battle style, exactly as they are taught in military academies."
...It seems her by-the-books, traditional battle techniques are somewhat unimpressive, at least visually.
Termia nods approvingly at Geltra's admirable work ethic. She watches as Issil signals the owlbear-Taldor hint to the youths, and how the the students cleverly figure out the connection. When the students choose to venture off on their separate ways, Termia stiffly turns to Areeza. "Squad leader, what are your orders? Shall we separate as well? As chaperones, we have a duty to watch over these students."
Termia watches the attempts of communication. "Squad leader," she salutes Areeza, "permission to counsel? If all of us send our own signals, there is a risk of confusing these students. I suggest we limit our form of communication to this established yes-no method using these lights." "In other words," the soldier turns her head to Issil, "perhaps we shouldn't bother with the drouge tiles."
If commanded, Termia assists with the communication.
Termia silently watches as Issil manages to pass through the lodge's entrance door, much like an incorporeal ghost would, and follows behind. When Areeza, the candidate recommended by Issil, expresses doubt towards the very concept of a commanding agent, Termia raises an eyebrow two millimeters. "Ma'am, as I said, cooperation is is at its most effective when there is a clear hierarchy," the soldier repeats, as though what she says is a universally-accepted fact. "Flat organization structure begets chaos." The matter is put on temporary pause as Issil brings up the topic of ineracting with the objects in the lodge. "Permission to experiment?" she asks Areeza. When no objection is raised, Termia marches to Alec's table, and, with the goal of disturbing the lollygagging student, she attempts to shake the the chair under him. "It is bad manners to put one's legs on a table. Student Alec Gracekin, you have violated Dacilane academy field trip rule number two: no horseplay."
The sudden shift in environment quickly alarms Termia, but in the ensuing general confusion, she hesitates ever so slightly. Her eyes desperately look for any signs of professor Krelsun. When it becomes clear that the teacher is nowhere to be found, she turns to the other agents. "Colleagues! We must-" She pauses when she notices that the children are wholly unaffected by the chaperones' words, and that they physically can't touch them. While following after the children and the other agents towards the lodge, Termia continues, pleading for her colleagues' attention: "A moment, please. In the absence of professor Krelsun, it is vital that we elect a squad leader among us, to choose our next action. Cooperation is is at its most effective when there is a clear hierarchy." "Which of you has the authority to command this unit?"
"And where are the chaperones?" I'd like something clarified. I was under the impression that we the PCs are the "chaperones" for this field trip. Should we interpret this statement to mean that the children somehow can't see us? By the way, I just remembered that I have indeed completed scenario #3-99 Fate in the Future, although with a different character. Shall I read Yakutiel's spoiler in this post?
Whilst interrogating poor professor Thandmere about the academy's lax rules policies, Termia notices the students avoiding her watchful gaze, tensing when she looks in their direction. "You there. Citizen," the soldier addresses Alec Gracekin, who appears to be an upstanding student leader, "It seems your fellow students are displaying nervous behavior around me. I suspect this is related to my earlier questions about the rules." She says this as though it was worth explaining. "This is unwanted behavior; reacting negatively to one-sixth of the accompanying Pathfinder agents will diminish your enjoyment of the field trip by that much. For the sake of your field trip's success, please assure your fellow students that they have nothing to be nervous about so long as they follow the rules."
"At ease."
When given the opportunity to examine the paperwork, Termia obsessively studies the rules for the field trip. Undoubtedly she has already memorized them word-to-word. "Professor, sir, if I may? I have sixteen questions related to these field rules. Though given that our time is limited, I fear we may not have the time to discuss each of them in detail." "The most pressing concern requiring clarification: what manner of punitive actions are permissable for punishing students breaking these rules, in particular rules one and/or two?" she asks Thandmere, completely deadpan. "Of course, I am familiar with your institute's academic guidelines, but I am unsure whether this field trip counts as an extraordinary circumstance."
Together with the elderly dwarven professsor and eloquent academy headmaster, a military guard is keeping watch over the children. She stands at attention with impressive discipline, her entire body stiff and unmoving, her right arm in a perfect 90 degree angle holding a perfectly-vertical polearm. Her almost grayish skin, unfemininely-short haircut, cold glare, and a vaguely Cheliaxian armor all seem to make the children wary of her. When Dacilane gives the floor to the agents' introductions, the guard speaks up, in doing so revealing that she is in fact a Pathfinder and not a mere security guard. "Commencing mandatory Pathfinder introduction!" she speaks, a bit louder than socially expected but exactly the volume expected of a soldier. "Name: Termia of Elidir. Occupation: city guard, Hellknight-in-training, and Pathfinder novice. Special talents: Physical combat training. Miscellaneous: None." "Thus far, my superiors have assigned me on introductory missions to gauge my readiness and commitment to the Pathfinder Society. Some time ago," she gives polite nods at Issil and headmaster Dacilane, "I assisted your very institute in the matter as previously described by my colleague." "I consider the aforementioned bathroom incident to have been largely uneventful," she adds, with an absolute lack of humorous tone in her voice. Having finished her mandatory introduction, she takes a step backward, and resumes standing in attention.
Player Name: Mighty Glacier
Termia frowns on the strange visitor's request, and glares at Elfino for his mocking tone. "Student 19," she scolds, "what you are suggesting violates the academic integrity and code of conduct of this academy. Section III, offenses, article 14: Unauthorized cooperation. Each student must complete their own homework assignments, personally. Do not think that the rules don't apply to you only because you are categorized as one of the school's seven mysteries!" "You are, of course, permitted to ask for help for these assignments. And we may offer you hints, as we see fit. Will you cooperate?"
Termia even approvingly nods at the Carmelian Signet's threat of spanking. Physical reprimands are generally acceptable, according to her view.
"This is very ineffective place for studying, then," Termia summarizes Qen's observations. "Perhaps the tampered formula book has something to do with the whispered wrong answers." She catches herself, and apologizes to her squad leader. "Forgive me sir! Mere conjecture my part! It is uncouth of a soldier to speculate without explicit orders."
Termia hustles along with Elfino to the wounded Qen's side. The soldier's eyes scan the scene for hostiles, but there are no enemies: just a door that moved on its own. The Signet's quip raises an eyebrow on Termia. "I don't mean to presume, but I doubt squad leader Elfino possesses a military rank as high as a captain," she says, completely deadpan. There is a short pause, after which the stone-faced soldier seems to have a light-bulb moment. "Ah. Or did you mean to make a joke? You were referring to the fact that squad leader Elfino commands a military troop, referring to this squad of Pathfinder agents. The other definition of the word 'captain'. I see." "A commendable joke, colleague. But we must not be distracted from the mission."
Termia then stands at attention, awaiting orders. |
