WOTR NPC Queen Galfrey's page

A few days before you were scheduled to depart with your army, you were all summoned to a special ceremony to honor those lost in the battle. Everyone was encouraged to appear in his or her best garments, with weapons and armor cleaned.

When you arrived, Quednys Orlun instructed you to join Irabeth near the platform on which the Queen and her clerics would offer the benediction and pray for the departed souls.

After the ceremony, the queen announced, her voice amplified by some magic so it could be heard by the large crowds of crusaders, "We have some awards to give, medals for actions in combat with the enemies of Iomdeae."

She called out various names and all of them were already near the platform in the same general area as the six who destroyed the wardstone. Once all the names were called and their medals awarded, the queen calls out, "We have six more who have earned medals and more. Anarya of Kenabres, Avelina of House Galfrey, Ellena Lovain, Karas Argentus, Raine a'Thiel, and Tauni Desba." She waits for the six to arrive on the platform in a line to her left.

"Five of these six," the Queen gestured to the five nearest her, "fell into the caves below the city during the attack, survived a harrowing journey back to the surface, defeating a Cult of our enemeies, recovering vital information on the identity of other cultists and spies in the city, and redeeming one of them into service of Iomedae. Once reunited with forces of the Crusade, they liberated the house of our late protector, Terendelev, from looters and discovered a treasure of great worth to future generations. They were joined by a stalwart young ranger who joined them as they undertook a peril filled attack on the Grey Garrison. After fighting cultists, rogues, demons, and other monsters, they reached the last large remnant of the Wardstone of Kenabres, being held by the enemy that they might attempt to destroy it in a manner that would have inflicted horrible casualties to all near the wardstones all along the Worldwound. These six defeated the defenders of their prize and destroyed the already damaged and failing Wardstone. In so doing, they were blessed by the Inheritor and all the wardstones instead sent out positive energy that decimated the ranks of the abyss and gave us our chance to regroup. They have given us hope for the future."

She paused and rousing cheers erupted from the armies, or most of them; some still seemed to doubt that the destruction of the Wardstones was wise.

The Queen then awarded one or more medals. All six were awarded the Righteous Medal of Clarity for information recovered from the Lair of the Vile and the Vicious and from the safe houses of the Cult of the Ivory Labyrinth. The medal was a blue circle with a pair of feminine grey eyes surrounded by a circle of silver lightning bolt.

All but Raine received the Righteous Medal of Command, a circular medal depicting a leering demon head before two crossed swords, for redeeming one of the enemy into service of the crusade (for the redemption of Wenduag).

Karas and Ellena each received the Righteous Medal of Valor, shaped like a demon skull pierced by four red swords, for killing Babau demons in the battle for the Wardstone's Destruction. Karas received the Righteous Medal of Vigor, a red hexagon with a white castle on it, for nearly dying at the hands of a demon, but recovering to fight on.

Details of what these medals provide

Each of the six was also awarded a gift, which they were instructed to open in private.

"I will respect your wishes regarding your father. I can have one of my assistants research the family tree if you are interested. As for maps, we have maps from when we occupied Drezen, although these will obviously not account for changes made since the downfall of the fortress. There is a mostly dry river bed that will serve as a road most of the way to the fort. You ought to be able to reach Drezen in about five days if all goes well."

The queen listened to Raine with a pensive look. After hearing about Raine's family, the queen first said, "I shall visit your father as soon as I can and make sure he is rewarded for his service." Then she paused and added, glancing at Avelina and looking thoughtful. "It is possible you and Avelina are related. My sister Cecelia married a man whom I believe had a brother who could be an ancestor of your line. My sister is Avelina's great grandmother," she said to Raine. "You two would be, what? Third cousins?"

Finally she takes a long look at the group. "Well if you have no other questions, we are done here. I recommend you prepare to leave as soon as possible. You should feel free to recruit anyone whom you think might be helpful to your task. We are already in your debt. May the Inheritor bless you and your mission. I will be in the city a few more days. Speak with me if you have any further questions."

The queen rose and opened the door and exited into the company of her retainers and bodyguards.

...

Avelina jumped up from her chair and dashed over to the Queen, hugging her armored body as hard as she could, tears beginning to dribble down her cheeks as she buries her face in the Queen’s neck.

”Oh, Auntie! I missed you so much. I knew you would come! I fought the whole time knowing I would see you. I told them all you were okay. Nothing could ever happen to you. You are the bravest, toughest, most valorous person in the world.”

She pulled back and pulled her face into a smile even as tears still flowed.

”Are you angry with me?”

The queen's body went rigid at the sudden embrace from Avelina. Her face revealed how conflicted she felt at the breach of proper deference to her as queen but also the desire to comfort her kin. After a moment or two of merely being hugged, she returned the affection by wrapping her arms around her niece and pulling her close. It was awkward, given her armor but after it was over, a few royal tears were visible at the edges of her eyes.

"With so much death and sorrow, finding you alive, well, and ... so ...," Words failed her so she breathed and composed herself. "Your presence is a shining diamond of hope in this moment. How can I be anything but happy and blessed?" Then the loving aunt again became the queen. "We will talk later. But I am indeed proud of you and what you are becoming. I only regret how I have to send you back into peril. I'm sure your parents would be as proud as I am."

"I was born to crusaders ma'am but taken when I was young but cultists. Freed myself and learned I was family of Terendelev. She took me in, reacquainted me with the world, and saved us from death that day."

He listened to the queen's request quietly before responding. "I only have one request your highness. We found Terendelev's daughter, Arkalendev, please see to it that she is given to her father for safe keeping and rearing? Do that and I swear I'll march straight into the wound itself if you asked."

The queen's face rippled with emotion at Karas' story and the news of Terendelev's daughter.

"You have paid in pain and suffering well beyond what even Iomedae could expect, yet you continue. We are in your debt already, yet it pains me to ask for more. I only just learned of the existence of a wyrmling of our beloved Terendelev. Of course, we will provide her with everything to keep her safe and to have the love and care her mother tragically cannot provide. Alas, I am already asking you to march into the 'wound itself, for since the fortress of Dresen was built, the Worldwound has extended and surrounds it now. You may have to venture further, but that can wait."

Ellena was uncomfortable speaking in public to Her Majesty. She stuttered out a few words, ”I was with the Everbright Crusaders. Iomedae put me with this group for some strange reason, and we survived,” she blushed.

”Any chance this is a trap set by the demons,” she wondered out loud, almost without realizing she had a question about the plan. ”Of course, I’ll be happy to volunteer my sword. That’s not in question...”

The queen ignores Ellena's dismissal of her question and says, "That question is always appropriate. You must be prepared for traps, of course, but we have reliable intelligence that the armies of Drezen have indeed been moved, so while the city will not be defenseless, we don't think they are anticipating an attack. Nor do we expect the forces left behind will call the demons back once the city is attacked, for they would fear admitting the need for help more than defeat by crusaders."

** spoiler omitted **

Now:

When asked to elaborate on her own tale, Raine kept it short and succinct. "Born to a family of crusaders, ma'am, most of 'em perished several years back. Here when the city fell. Did scouting and infiltration at first, ma'am, then fell in with this lot and now we're back on the offensive, ma'am. Not much else to tell."

...

The queen listened with interest. "Who were your parents? Might I have known them? I've lived long and I always try to honor the memories of those brave crusaders who have served the cause."

While Karas is attending to his draconic charge, a messenger arrived with a note asking that he meeting at the Defender's Heart. The queen wanted to meet with him and the others who had participated in the destruction of the wardstone. Irabeth was invited to attend as well.

When all were in the large suite of rooms that were reserved for the group, the Queen arrived and was announced by one of her attendants, after which she entered, greeted all, and encouraged everyone to sit comfortably. She dismissed the attendants and except for a few paladins who remained in the hall, and took a seat herself.

She appeared to be a woman in her prime, perhaps in her late twenties, but it was known that she was more than 100 years old, having preserved her youth by drinking draughts of sun orchid elixir. She had long, straight straw blonde hair that was worn in a braid. Her clothes were elegant but not ostentatious, with only a few pieces of jewelry depicting the holy symbol of Iomedae and her family crest. Her youthful appearance could not hide the weariness in her heart, however. She carried herself with dignity and calm, however, and thanked everyone for meeting with her, asking to hear in their own words the events that led them to this situation.

She listened with interest to each story told, only occasionally interrupting to ask a question. When the last of the story-telling concluded, she thanked everyone for her or his service and heroism.

Then she sighed and gathered her thoughts and spoke, "While there are some narrow-minded souls among the crusade who blame you for the destruction of the wardstone border, I do not begrudge you for what you did. Far from it. From the sound of it, you saved entire legions of crusaders from a most vile fate by preventing Vorlesh from transforming them, and the blast of energy gave us the time we needed to regroup and prepare for what will certainly come next. But you understand the implications of what you’ve done, I’m sure—the wardstones are gone, but Iomedae has seen fit that you will be their replacement. I can think of no other reason that would explain why their power would have settled in your bodies and souls and didn’t merely fade into the ether. In time, the demons will regroup and reorganize—we can trust their inherent chaos to make this period of regrouping longer than it otherwise would take, but we shouldn’t underestimate them. They’ll be back soon enough. Already I’ve had reports from along the front lines that small groups of demons are attacking fortifications and settlements along the southern border.

"But what intrigues me most is news from several reliable sources that as our fiendish enemies are starting to mass in the southern reaches along the Riftshadow within the Worldwound, they have left several of their northern lairs relatively unprotected. In particular, the fiend Aponavicius has taken the bulk of her army from Drezen, leaving it only moderately protected as she joins with the Storm King in Iz to, no doubt, plot greater attacks on larger targets like Nerosyan, Karcau, and beyond. The time is right to strike into their territory. Drezen was the first of our cities to fall after the First Crusade, and we lost more than our kin and our pride that day. We lost the Sword of Valor, a magical banner carried by the Inheritor herself during the Shining Crusade. If Drezen could be retaken—if the Sword of Valor could once again be held by the crusade... well, I trust I don’t need to explain how well that would affect morale. But with the imminent attacks along the border, I cannot spare many to lead an assault on Drezen. And even if I could, a large army attacking the city would only draw Aponavicius back to defend the place. The obvious tactic is to send in a group of capable heroes with a modest but well-trained army to strike now, while the proverbial iron is hot. And this is why I’ve sought you out. If you can retake Drezen and reclaim the Sword of Valor, not only will you silence the fools who would brand you traitors for destroying the wardstone, but more importantly, you would bolster the entire war effort with your heroism. And I fear we need all the bolstering we can get!"

If you have questions for the queen about this mission, now would be a good time to ask.