Nov 23, 2017 3:13 pm
.
Rolls
THAC17 - (1d20+10)
(3) + 10 = 13
Random 1d5's - (1d5, 1d5)
1d5 : (2) = 2
1d5 : (1) = 1
Interim 1
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Nov 23, 2017 5:34 pm
On the strike against Hasticha
Ivor and Thorn roll a 3 and a 4 on Attacks. Not good.
Hasticha is looking to make a break for it. Can Kray, Maeriks, Bryn come in to deliver 3 hits in a row and get this guy?
Ivor and Thorn roll a 3 and a 4 on Attacks. Not good.
Hasticha is looking to make a break for it. Can Kray, Maeriks, Bryn come in to deliver 3 hits in a row and get this guy?
Nov 24, 2017 10:36 am
OOC:
Unfortunately, that's already 3 misses out of potential 5. Majority is established on the negative result.With 4 rolls delivering no result over a 5, I'm pretty sure Hasticha cursed enemy dice. Looks like he slips away.
When the last remnants of the mercenary Century charged down to give chase to Hasticha, Thorn saw from afar. He was still inserted with the Jeresian soldiers led by Lord Maltinus. Thorn used the last charge of the horse he rode to break through a crowd of enemy warriors and rejoin with his friends. Reunited, the group pressed forward with their last surge of energy to try to bring down the infamous Hasticha, who was already in flight and protected by his last circle of guards.
As the mercenaries crashed into the elite barbarian axmen guards, the combat was terrible - nearly overwhelming. Hasticha, though injured, was barely able to slip away. He seemed to melt into the forest and glide away in a blur, at speeds that must have been unnatural. To cover his retreat, the Nolgulors threw themselves at the pursuers with reckless abandon. Nearby groups charged in with great speed and purpose to support. Suddenly the small band of mercenaries were completely surrounded.
In the end, the old band from the Borgh Riac (Bryn, Ivor, Kray, Maeriks, Thorn) found themselves in the last small group standing in a sea of enemy fighters. They were joined by a few troops from Kray's foreign century: the Pylosean veterans Aethon, Niarcus, and Codros, as well as the Arkkadi warrior Thabo and the Arkkadi warrior woman Balungile. It looked like impossible odds. The end.
Suddenly, the group all felt time slow down. In a perfect circle of a 50' radius from the group's center, they could see the perfect order of spacing and position. All things within it were in perfect order and predictable motion. Everyone could feel their own hearts beating, hear their own breathing slow in - slow out.
In their peripheral vision, at their center, was the Throne of Eight Stars. It was a fleeting glimpse. The Throne there in the snow in the forest. Then sight of it was lost. The group burst outward in an explosion of violent action. It was unmistakable: it was a return to THRONE ROOM OFFENSE!
In exactly 12 seconds, the group radiated outward through their raging enemies and cut them to pieces like a tornado of razor blades. In perfectly timed, perfectly fatal strikes, the Nolgulor inner guard and the heart of the last group of enemy forces was slaughtered with surgical precision. One strike was one kill, repeated in dozens of iterations.
When the 12 seconds passed, a pile of enemy corpses laid on the cold forest floor, with bright red arterial life blood sprayed out over the white snow in nearly a perfect circle.
This phenomenal counterattack broke the back of the Nolgulor forces. The remainder of the enemy barbarians tried to retreated into the Curnauh Forest.
The Jeresian closed in at an angle to cut off a large vanguard of Nolgulors led by Warlord Diucill. One final brutal melee brought the giant hulk down alongside of his closest entourage. Ivor and Bryn fought forward side by side and landed the final blows that killed the enemy leader.
The Battle at Alder Roost was won. The team stood bloodied but victorious, and shocked at what they had just experienced.
No one had any idea how they had reclaimed them, but it was unmistakable that the five survivors of the Borgh Riac had somehow employed the mysterious powers of the Dark Throne of Dagan.
Nov 24, 2017 11:28 am
On the end of the Winter War Against the Nolgulors
Reconnected with the larger Jeresian forces, the remnant of Kray's foreign mercenary Century marches back to the Broken Leg Lands and hears that the Winter War was won. While Hasticha was lost into the Curnauh Forest, the Jeresian and auxiliary mercenary forces were able to close in on other large groupings of the elusive enemy Dannein forces. A large army led by Opiter Lord General Vesillius met against the assemble army of Warlord Cruimin Ironwrought at the snow-filled valley of Padharaic Coulhsu near the Finnluc River. It was a tough battle, but the Jeresians prevailed decisively. Cruimin fell to the gladius line. The remaining forces forces were dispersed. Most were slaughtered in their retreat as they were forced to try to swim across the freezing waters of the Finnluc.
The PC crew spent a week or so recovering in a camp near the front as forces consolidated and reorganized. Eventually the group moved back to Bridgewell. They made it back to civilization just in time to catch the last few days of Reverence, marking the transition from Winter to Spring in 861 DV. It was still a cold start to the spring season.
With the war over, everyone shakes hands and bids farewell to Lochagos Aethon and his crack team of Pylosean shieldmen. The Arkkadis, Thabo and Balungile, remain with the Borgh Riac team, having become close comrades and the Arkkadi having few other contacts in the region. They hoped to get assistance moving back through the Jeresian countryside to return to one of the southern ports.
Kray faces some further tension in more interchanges with his noble family members. The details of the drama are unclear to everyone else, save perhaps Thorn, but the end result is that Kray is reassigned to be under the command of his other uncle, Rison Lord Mercon, back in Poyam.
Moving first back to Austrel and then onward on the southbound roads across the Jeresian countryside, the group rides at a comfortable pace, on the backs of fresh saddled horses. Everyone has a fresh carrier box, heavy with Crown Markes. It was a tough winter, but the payout was strong.
Reconnected with the larger Jeresian forces, the remnant of Kray's foreign mercenary Century marches back to the Broken Leg Lands and hears that the Winter War was won. While Hasticha was lost into the Curnauh Forest, the Jeresian and auxiliary mercenary forces were able to close in on other large groupings of the elusive enemy Dannein forces. A large army led by Opiter Lord General Vesillius met against the assemble army of Warlord Cruimin Ironwrought at the snow-filled valley of Padharaic Coulhsu near the Finnluc River. It was a tough battle, but the Jeresians prevailed decisively. Cruimin fell to the gladius line. The remaining forces forces were dispersed. Most were slaughtered in their retreat as they were forced to try to swim across the freezing waters of the Finnluc.
The PC crew spent a week or so recovering in a camp near the front as forces consolidated and reorganized. Eventually the group moved back to Bridgewell. They made it back to civilization just in time to catch the last few days of Reverence, marking the transition from Winter to Spring in 861 DV. It was still a cold start to the spring season.
With the war over, everyone shakes hands and bids farewell to Lochagos Aethon and his crack team of Pylosean shieldmen. The Arkkadis, Thabo and Balungile, remain with the Borgh Riac team, having become close comrades and the Arkkadi having few other contacts in the region. They hoped to get assistance moving back through the Jeresian countryside to return to one of the southern ports.
Kray faces some further tension in more interchanges with his noble family members. The details of the drama are unclear to everyone else, save perhaps Thorn, but the end result is that Kray is reassigned to be under the command of his other uncle, Rison Lord Mercon, back in Poyam.
Moving first back to Austrel and then onward on the southbound roads across the Jeresian countryside, the group rides at a comfortable pace, on the backs of fresh saddled horses. Everyone has a fresh carrier box, heavy with Crown Markes. It was a tough winter, but the payout was strong.
Nov 26, 2017 8:46 pm
On a full detour, revisiting a memorial, and a renunion
While en route along the rural southbound roads through the Jeresian heartland, Kray calls a change in course. Breaking off of an eastern road, the group angles off into the countryside. Most of the camps before this were in small inns, farmhouses, and worker camps along the way. Now the group camps out in the open range. They drift over the rolling hills and patchy woods for several days, getting away from most of the villages and roads.
They come into a region that Thorn knows very well. It is the rugged march lands where he grew up. One afternoon, he leads the group up to an old cabin in the forest. It looks neglected, definitely uninhabited for many years. Thorn goes first to an old stone cairn gravesite, to pay his highest respects. It is the grave of Urdav, the man who served as a father to Thorn. This is the cabin where Thorn grew up, an orphan raised by a retired soldier hermit in a rugged life on the frontier, away from the pressures of civilization and politics and money and war.
Though the place is run down from its former prime, it is still a great shelter, and the hearth still holds a fire. It is a great night. Everyone is respectful of Thorn and let's him lead the way on how the night goes. The weather is fine. One of the first spring nights that is not exceptionally cold.
Leaving the next day, and riding two more days, the group reaches the Draw Gap region. They had passed north of the northernmost construction point of King's Wall. Now they were outside of the border, in the region that Kray and Thorn had traveled extensively over the last several years.
Stopping first at Melig Trade, they get some supplies, but then press on to Low Creek. This is the seat of the Chief of the Bardh Clan. Rine welcomes them into the camp and gives them a hut to stay in after Kray offers gifts. Soon they are at a cook fire, eating and drinking their fill after a long travel.
Sorcha Rhone has been living nearby for much of the recent months. She comes to the camp as soon as word is sent that Kray, Thorn and the others have arrived. It is quite a reunion when she joins. And another great surprise is that Doirind is with her as well. Doirind has a new look. She is as strong and fit as ever. There are no signs of pregnancy. That topic is not spoken of at all. That hardship and burden is over now. It is gone.
Doirind's New Look
It is a good night of fellowship, by the fire, out in the country among the Dannein allies, under the stars of a spring night sky.
While en route along the rural southbound roads through the Jeresian heartland, Kray calls a change in course. Breaking off of an eastern road, the group angles off into the countryside. Most of the camps before this were in small inns, farmhouses, and worker camps along the way. Now the group camps out in the open range. They drift over the rolling hills and patchy woods for several days, getting away from most of the villages and roads.
They come into a region that Thorn knows very well. It is the rugged march lands where he grew up. One afternoon, he leads the group up to an old cabin in the forest. It looks neglected, definitely uninhabited for many years. Thorn goes first to an old stone cairn gravesite, to pay his highest respects. It is the grave of Urdav, the man who served as a father to Thorn. This is the cabin where Thorn grew up, an orphan raised by a retired soldier hermit in a rugged life on the frontier, away from the pressures of civilization and politics and money and war.
Though the place is run down from its former prime, it is still a great shelter, and the hearth still holds a fire. It is a great night. Everyone is respectful of Thorn and let's him lead the way on how the night goes. The weather is fine. One of the first spring nights that is not exceptionally cold.
Leaving the next day, and riding two more days, the group reaches the Draw Gap region. They had passed north of the northernmost construction point of King's Wall. Now they were outside of the border, in the region that Kray and Thorn had traveled extensively over the last several years.
Stopping first at Melig Trade, they get some supplies, but then press on to Low Creek. This is the seat of the Chief of the Bardh Clan. Rine welcomes them into the camp and gives them a hut to stay in after Kray offers gifts. Soon they are at a cook fire, eating and drinking their fill after a long travel.
Sorcha Rhone has been living nearby for much of the recent months. She comes to the camp as soon as word is sent that Kray, Thorn and the others have arrived. It is quite a reunion when she joins. And another great surprise is that Doirind is with her as well. Doirind has a new look. She is as strong and fit as ever. There are no signs of pregnancy. That topic is not spoken of at all. That hardship and burden is over now. It is gone.
Doirind's New Look
It is a good night of fellowship, by the fire, out in the country among the Dannein allies, under the stars of a spring night sky.
Nov 27, 2017 11:02 am
An Open Discussion
The night in Low Creek passes into the next day. The spring air is fresh and crisp, still with a chill early, but the sun burns it away as it rises.
Kray has been talking to Sorcha Rhone in private, off to the side. Perhaps others see as well, but if no one else, Thorn definitely knows that something has changed in Kray's mind. Thorn knows that Kray does not intend to go to Poyam. Kray does not intend to check in for service under his uncle, Rison Lord Mercon. He is leaving Jeres, but Thorn knows that he is contemplating where to go and how to bring it up to the crowd.
Thorn looks over at his buddy Maeriks, who is cooking by the fireside. Maeriks is talking through his recipe. He has a small audience listening intently: one elderly Bardh man, two women, and one adolescent girl. All of them know this traveler well, and his stew is a local favorite that everyone looks forward to.
Ivor is speaking with several of the Bardh clan Danneins nearby as well. The Bardh men ask questions about the war in the north, and the fate of the Nolgulors and the Black Wolf clans. They are intent on listening to any account that Ivor will give them.
Bryn reads over some scrolls, sitting on a rock by the creek. He has gathered a bag of several animal skin scrolls now. He gathered many of them up from the fallen among the Heshbaan. He has come to know that Heshbaans carry more writing mats and drawings than any other people he has ever known. Their religion is strange, and he has clearly been learning their ways and language as he can. Now he is looking at a drawing of a beautiful and grand temple, high on a hill overlooking a port whose name is written at the bottom. Bryn can read it, "Jabez. Crown of the Hodel."
Sorcha Rhone is with Kray. Doirind is speaking with Chief Rine Bardh. The Arkkadis Thabo and Balungile are nearby as well, smiling and laughing with some of the Bardh youth warriors who have come over to them to see demonstration of the kpinga, the exotic throwing sickle that both of the Arkkadi wield with great mastery.
Present time is 20 Raskine 861 DV. Later half of the first month of spring.
What I want to pin down: Where is the party 30-40 days from now?
We can work on details together. Interim time is still underway. But several of us have worked by PM on getting individual story lines developed and fleshed out. Want to take a moment now to pull them in here and see where they go.
Thoughts? Comments? Questions? From the characters' perspective, what are they talking about right now?
This is a crossroads moment. What road are they going to take?
The night in Low Creek passes into the next day. The spring air is fresh and crisp, still with a chill early, but the sun burns it away as it rises.
Kray has been talking to Sorcha Rhone in private, off to the side. Perhaps others see as well, but if no one else, Thorn definitely knows that something has changed in Kray's mind. Thorn knows that Kray does not intend to go to Poyam. Kray does not intend to check in for service under his uncle, Rison Lord Mercon. He is leaving Jeres, but Thorn knows that he is contemplating where to go and how to bring it up to the crowd.
Thorn looks over at his buddy Maeriks, who is cooking by the fireside. Maeriks is talking through his recipe. He has a small audience listening intently: one elderly Bardh man, two women, and one adolescent girl. All of them know this traveler well, and his stew is a local favorite that everyone looks forward to.
Ivor is speaking with several of the Bardh clan Danneins nearby as well. The Bardh men ask questions about the war in the north, and the fate of the Nolgulors and the Black Wolf clans. They are intent on listening to any account that Ivor will give them.
Bryn reads over some scrolls, sitting on a rock by the creek. He has gathered a bag of several animal skin scrolls now. He gathered many of them up from the fallen among the Heshbaan. He has come to know that Heshbaans carry more writing mats and drawings than any other people he has ever known. Their religion is strange, and he has clearly been learning their ways and language as he can. Now he is looking at a drawing of a beautiful and grand temple, high on a hill overlooking a port whose name is written at the bottom. Bryn can read it, "Jabez. Crown of the Hodel."
Sorcha Rhone is with Kray. Doirind is speaking with Chief Rine Bardh. The Arkkadis Thabo and Balungile are nearby as well, smiling and laughing with some of the Bardh youth warriors who have come over to them to see demonstration of the kpinga, the exotic throwing sickle that both of the Arkkadi wield with great mastery.
OOC:
Alright, Players' Club. This is an obvious bounce pass. I'm shamelessly trying to illicit some comments and convo this week from you guys about what direction the story goes for the characters.Present time is 20 Raskine 861 DV. Later half of the first month of spring.
What I want to pin down: Where is the party 30-40 days from now?
We can work on details together. Interim time is still underway. But several of us have worked by PM on getting individual story lines developed and fleshed out. Want to take a moment now to pull them in here and see where they go.
Thoughts? Comments? Questions? From the characters' perspective, what are they talking about right now?
This is a crossroads moment. What road are they going to take?
Nov 28, 2017 11:02 pm
Shop Talk: Pressing Interim 1 to Completion, Planning for Episode 2
From AAR it looks like everyone is onboard for 5 December start date for Episode 2. That's great. Looking forward to it.
That's 1 week, so I want to really press to get Interim time wrapped up and move on to full planning mode for the new Ep.
So...Task 1: Wrap Up Interim 1
Request: Let me know any more story that you want to build in for Interim 1.
We've done quite a bit, but could insert more depending on your preference. I promoted the Conflict, Loss, Success format. Those who used it, I think it worked fine. That is still an option for anyone who wants to use it. But as you know it doesn't have to be that rigid. Anything can work. Just let me know or post up if you want to have any other items addressed or experienced by the characters in the time we've covered so far (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter 860 - Winter 861 DV).
Task 2: Determine site or at least general region for Episode 2
I don't know where the team is going yet.
This isn't a problem; I'm game for anything. I have talked offline with some of you about some ideas. There are some leads out there in circulation for sure that you can promote to the crowd if you like the sound of them. Also you can press on to something else, ask questions, or be willing to just pick a place, show up and see if you can get something going. That may have some success or some dead ends. Depending on where it is, you may fit in and find some adventure, or you may have a hard time. But overall the world is open-- I want you guys to talk it through and make the choice.
But I do need to get to it, building up some of the behind-the-scenes structure and detail of the show.
Required Action: Characters talk through and identify at least a starting point for their first adventure.
Clarification: This needs to be done in the next few days, not on 5 December.
If possible, I'd prefer to have something to work with by Thursday or Friday. If you are really struggling to generate something, send word and we can talk it out with more ideas.
Yes. I am being a bit of a Task Master. You hear that bullwhip snap?!
Planning out the schedj so that I can get this pyramid built up before Pharoah's deadline.
Thanks,
J-Matic
Majority Whip
From AAR it looks like everyone is onboard for 5 December start date for Episode 2. That's great. Looking forward to it.
That's 1 week, so I want to really press to get Interim time wrapped up and move on to full planning mode for the new Ep.
So...Task 1: Wrap Up Interim 1
Request: Let me know any more story that you want to build in for Interim 1.
We've done quite a bit, but could insert more depending on your preference. I promoted the Conflict, Loss, Success format. Those who used it, I think it worked fine. That is still an option for anyone who wants to use it. But as you know it doesn't have to be that rigid. Anything can work. Just let me know or post up if you want to have any other items addressed or experienced by the characters in the time we've covered so far (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter 860 - Winter 861 DV).
Task 2: Determine site or at least general region for Episode 2
I don't know where the team is going yet.
This isn't a problem; I'm game for anything. I have talked offline with some of you about some ideas. There are some leads out there in circulation for sure that you can promote to the crowd if you like the sound of them. Also you can press on to something else, ask questions, or be willing to just pick a place, show up and see if you can get something going. That may have some success or some dead ends. Depending on where it is, you may fit in and find some adventure, or you may have a hard time. But overall the world is open-- I want you guys to talk it through and make the choice.
But I do need to get to it, building up some of the behind-the-scenes structure and detail of the show.
Required Action: Characters talk through and identify at least a starting point for their first adventure.
Clarification: This needs to be done in the next few days, not on 5 December.
If possible, I'd prefer to have something to work with by Thursday or Friday. If you are really struggling to generate something, send word and we can talk it out with more ideas.
Yes. I am being a bit of a Task Master. You hear that bullwhip snap?!
Planning out the schedj so that I can get this pyramid built up before Pharoah's deadline.
Thanks,
J-Matic
Majority Whip
Nov 29, 2017 3:52 am
Alrighty mother truckers, Bryn has been busy in his time off. He has been working hard, learning to read and speak different languages so that when he comes across items of unknown origin he finds while treasure hunting, he will be able to tell if it's bazooka Joe comic or whispered writings of treasure and priceless artifacts. Coincidentally, he has found exactly that. On some of the scrolls from these Heshbaan mother fuckers, Bryn has been piecing together clues pointing toward Gelshemish, the capital of Heshba and fortune/glory to be had for our Merc Squad.
So that is where Bryn wishes to venture toward.
Thoughts?
So that is where Bryn wishes to venture toward.
Thoughts?
Nov 29, 2017 8:32 am
Sand dunes, pyramids, scimitar-wielding crazies, silken-veiled hotties...what's not to like? Sign me up!
Nov 29, 2017 2:21 pm
Gains and Losses
Lanthan passes the cup to the man sitting at the table. "Here, Thorn. Port is on me. Not like you couldn’t afford it; you seem to be doing well for yourself. Not like the tough slogging it was working for Pandios, yes?"
Thorn shrugs. "I’ll take it anyway, Lanthan. A gift given in brotherhood, not charity. It’s true, Yshala’s smiled on me as of late. And frowned as well. As is her way."
"As is her way. But come, tell me, how has she blessed? And how has she cursed?"
"Do you want the blessing first, or the curse?"
"Always end in a blessing, my friend."
Thorn gives a small smile.
"Very well. About a month back, Kray found me at a tavern in Caerlleon, saying he had a small job to keep me occupied. I had been complaining the day before, and he doesn’t like to see his men bored, so he sent me on a trip with a mule train. Carrying some spice or rock, I don’t remember because I didn’t care; the job was just to get the mules and their drivers from Caerlleon to Gael Gap without any trouble. Seemed simple enough. I mean shit, we had just finished a job fighting demons that cost Talius his life, so I figured anything on this side of the Azan would be easy as a Poyamese whore, yes? So I went down and met the caravan master, a sweaty lump named Beadheard. Didn’t like him as soon as I saw him, but as long as he met Kray’s terms at the end of the trip, I wouldn’t complain.
"The first two nights were as trouble-free as I expected; inns in Bronspur and Bravel with warm stew and a bed. On the morning of the third day, we were about two or three miles south of Bravel and we were ambushed. I’ve encountered bands of desperate men before on the road to Poyam, but not as many as poured out of the trees and the bush south of Bravel. Somehow they decided to come straight at me, instead of any of the wagons or pack animals. I sliced a few of them up, Lanthan, but there were at least thirty of them, and they had me pinned down before too long.
"Expecting a knife across the throat, I was surprised to see fatty Beadheard step into my field of vision along with one of the bandits. The lad looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place him.
"Beadheard gestured to me and said to the kid, ‘Is this the one, young—’ and then he said the fellow’s name.
"I heard the name and knew exactly who he was then. This was the kid brother of a fellow who had died at my hand a few years back in a contract that had been poorly handled."
Lanthan interrupts.
"Poorly handled by whom?"
"By me. I killed his shit of a brother."
"What for?"
"Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I was fairly sure I was alone in this knowledge. It turns out I was mistaken, and now my mistake’s kin was after me for revenge. It was all fairly well put-together, now that I think about it.
"Anyway, they tied me up and threw me in the woods, and left me with Beadheard and the boy.
"The fat ass-driver asked the boy if he was going to kill me, and the boy said he was. Beadheard lowered his own blade to my throat and used it to pull out a pendant I had around my neck. Grasped it, sliced its chain, and said, ‘Well I suppose he won’t be needing this,’ and walked off."
"And the boy?" asks Lanthan.
"He stayed behind to kill me, I guess. I’ll never know, because by then I had the ropes off my wrists behind my back, and it was into the arms of the Gellir for him."
"Stupid boy," remarks Thorn’s friend.
"Yes."
"Now wait, Thorn. How is this a curse?"
"That fat fuck took my pendant, and I haven’t been able to find him this whole month. Kray knows little about him, surprisingly, but neither the man nor his asses have been seen in Caerlleon or Gael Gap as far as I’ve heard. They just vanished."
"A pendant is the curse? What’s so special about this pendant? ...Come now, don’t look so glum. Tell me about this precious piece of jewelry. Who gave it to you?"
"Nobody gave it to me. It belonged to the man who raised me. A pendant stone with blue swirls and green splashes in a near perfect copy of the Alornic Sea and everything surrounding it. Urdav used to teach me about the places far from us using it. Really, my only real treasure."
"But he never gave it to you?"
"Nah. His murderers took it from his body after they killed him."
Lanthan ponders this.
"And you found his murderers and took it back?"
A pause.
"Yes. On the other side of the lake. Fighting demons. Rescuing small children."
Lanthan breathes, "Yshala … What about the blessing?"
"Strangely enough, it involves the child I helped rescue. When we came back from the Drakkenmire, she was with us in Poyam under Kray’s uncle’s protection. Kray and I decided to move back to Caerlleon, and she didn’t do so well without us, I guess, because a short while later and she came and lived with us at his estate for a while. She never did adjust to the city and its enclosure, but slowly she began to feel more comfortable around us, I suppose, to the point where she began talking more about the things and people she had lost on the other side of the lake… pondering the life she had lived thus far.
"I suppose I was also thinking more about the strange experience I had over there, because one day I remembered that her mother had spoken to me of my own mother. My own mother, whom I had never met, and for all I know abandoned me or died when I was a babe. This girl’s mother had told me at one point that she could show me an image of my mother, if that’s what I wanted. We had been on our way from one shithole to the next, and I had promised her that I wanted to see this image once we were all out of that hell and safe… well, she ended up dying, I guess, so I never got to see what she’d promised.
"I was walking in the estate garden with Sorcha, the child, one day, and I brought it up with her. She said it was a difficult thing to get to these images; that her mother could most likely do it, but that she was unsure as to her own abilities, at least in Jeres. She said she would have a better chance of success in the very shithole her mother died in.
"I told her that was not going to happen any time soon, and that was as much as we talked about it that day.
"A couple weeks later, Kray and I were on a trip through the Draw Gap with Sorcha. We camped for the night near Melig Trade, I think. It was late summer, and storms were in the area; one had just passed and the ground was soaked. She sat next to me at the fire and told me she could try the images that very night. I shrugged. Nodded. We went a little way away from the camp and began setting up her drawings for the ceremony; she was telling me where to draw what, and then telling me where to sit and what to do and how to think. She’s a child, but Lanthan, she has one of the biggest personalities I have ever witnessed. I had no problem doing exactly as she bid. She told me to focus, and I focused. She asked me to listen to her voice. I already was.
"She spoke some ancient words.
"My eyes opened, and I was no longer at the campsite. I was in the back of a wagon. Night had switched to day. Summer to spring, apparently, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The wagon was riding down a trail, and I had a stick in my hand. Looking down, I realized I was a child. I was using my stick to hit a hay stuffed doll before me—a toy, painted with scary facial features to make it look like a Gandish Goblin.
"I heard a voice behind me. A woman."
A tear leaks out of Thorn’s eye. Lanthan watches, mesmerized.
"A beautiful voice. ‘Well done!'"
"Who was it?" asks Lanthan softly.
"Mother," whispers Thorn. "She crawled over the front of the wagon and sat with me in the back. Thick black long hair. Bright eyes. Strong hands covered in Dannein swirls and tattoos. Smile as radiant as the sun overhead. I was so happy.
"I heard another voice from the front. A man, driving the wagon. My father. I couldn’t see him, but the voice was strong, and I knew I was loved and protected."
The tears are streaming from Thorn’s eyes.
"Then what happened?" Lanthan asks.
"She held my hand. Then she put her thumb on my forehead, then on my lips, then on my heart. Made some sort of sign, I think. Then she smiled and said, ‘I love you, Aemlar. I bless you for all of your days, strong little hero."
Lanthan smiles and the two sit in silence for a minute.
"Yshala, but that’s beautiful."
Thorn nods and wipes his eyes. He finishes a second cup of the port that Lanthan has put before him. He sways slightly.
Lanthan grins. "Aemlar, eh?"
Thorn looks up at him, no smile on his face. "Nah. Thorn for me. Aemlar’s the name of a hero."
Lanthan passes the cup to the man sitting at the table. "Here, Thorn. Port is on me. Not like you couldn’t afford it; you seem to be doing well for yourself. Not like the tough slogging it was working for Pandios, yes?"
Thorn shrugs. "I’ll take it anyway, Lanthan. A gift given in brotherhood, not charity. It’s true, Yshala’s smiled on me as of late. And frowned as well. As is her way."
"As is her way. But come, tell me, how has she blessed? And how has she cursed?"
"Do you want the blessing first, or the curse?"
"Always end in a blessing, my friend."
Thorn gives a small smile.
"Very well. About a month back, Kray found me at a tavern in Caerlleon, saying he had a small job to keep me occupied. I had been complaining the day before, and he doesn’t like to see his men bored, so he sent me on a trip with a mule train. Carrying some spice or rock, I don’t remember because I didn’t care; the job was just to get the mules and their drivers from Caerlleon to Gael Gap without any trouble. Seemed simple enough. I mean shit, we had just finished a job fighting demons that cost Talius his life, so I figured anything on this side of the Azan would be easy as a Poyamese whore, yes? So I went down and met the caravan master, a sweaty lump named Beadheard. Didn’t like him as soon as I saw him, but as long as he met Kray’s terms at the end of the trip, I wouldn’t complain.
"The first two nights were as trouble-free as I expected; inns in Bronspur and Bravel with warm stew and a bed. On the morning of the third day, we were about two or three miles south of Bravel and we were ambushed. I’ve encountered bands of desperate men before on the road to Poyam, but not as many as poured out of the trees and the bush south of Bravel. Somehow they decided to come straight at me, instead of any of the wagons or pack animals. I sliced a few of them up, Lanthan, but there were at least thirty of them, and they had me pinned down before too long.
"Expecting a knife across the throat, I was surprised to see fatty Beadheard step into my field of vision along with one of the bandits. The lad looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place him.
"Beadheard gestured to me and said to the kid, ‘Is this the one, young—’ and then he said the fellow’s name.
"I heard the name and knew exactly who he was then. This was the kid brother of a fellow who had died at my hand a few years back in a contract that had been poorly handled."
Lanthan interrupts.
"Poorly handled by whom?"
"By me. I killed his shit of a brother."
"What for?"
"Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I was fairly sure I was alone in this knowledge. It turns out I was mistaken, and now my mistake’s kin was after me for revenge. It was all fairly well put-together, now that I think about it.
"Anyway, they tied me up and threw me in the woods, and left me with Beadheard and the boy.
"The fat ass-driver asked the boy if he was going to kill me, and the boy said he was. Beadheard lowered his own blade to my throat and used it to pull out a pendant I had around my neck. Grasped it, sliced its chain, and said, ‘Well I suppose he won’t be needing this,’ and walked off."
"And the boy?" asks Lanthan.
"He stayed behind to kill me, I guess. I’ll never know, because by then I had the ropes off my wrists behind my back, and it was into the arms of the Gellir for him."
"Stupid boy," remarks Thorn’s friend.
"Yes."
"Now wait, Thorn. How is this a curse?"
"That fat fuck took my pendant, and I haven’t been able to find him this whole month. Kray knows little about him, surprisingly, but neither the man nor his asses have been seen in Caerlleon or Gael Gap as far as I’ve heard. They just vanished."
"A pendant is the curse? What’s so special about this pendant? ...Come now, don’t look so glum. Tell me about this precious piece of jewelry. Who gave it to you?"
"Nobody gave it to me. It belonged to the man who raised me. A pendant stone with blue swirls and green splashes in a near perfect copy of the Alornic Sea and everything surrounding it. Urdav used to teach me about the places far from us using it. Really, my only real treasure."
"But he never gave it to you?"
"Nah. His murderers took it from his body after they killed him."
Lanthan ponders this.
"And you found his murderers and took it back?"
A pause.
"Yes. On the other side of the lake. Fighting demons. Rescuing small children."
Lanthan breathes, "Yshala … What about the blessing?"
"Strangely enough, it involves the child I helped rescue. When we came back from the Drakkenmire, she was with us in Poyam under Kray’s uncle’s protection. Kray and I decided to move back to Caerlleon, and she didn’t do so well without us, I guess, because a short while later and she came and lived with us at his estate for a while. She never did adjust to the city and its enclosure, but slowly she began to feel more comfortable around us, I suppose, to the point where she began talking more about the things and people she had lost on the other side of the lake… pondering the life she had lived thus far.
"I suppose I was also thinking more about the strange experience I had over there, because one day I remembered that her mother had spoken to me of my own mother. My own mother, whom I had never met, and for all I know abandoned me or died when I was a babe. This girl’s mother had told me at one point that she could show me an image of my mother, if that’s what I wanted. We had been on our way from one shithole to the next, and I had promised her that I wanted to see this image once we were all out of that hell and safe… well, she ended up dying, I guess, so I never got to see what she’d promised.
"I was walking in the estate garden with Sorcha, the child, one day, and I brought it up with her. She said it was a difficult thing to get to these images; that her mother could most likely do it, but that she was unsure as to her own abilities, at least in Jeres. She said she would have a better chance of success in the very shithole her mother died in.
"I told her that was not going to happen any time soon, and that was as much as we talked about it that day.
"A couple weeks later, Kray and I were on a trip through the Draw Gap with Sorcha. We camped for the night near Melig Trade, I think. It was late summer, and storms were in the area; one had just passed and the ground was soaked. She sat next to me at the fire and told me she could try the images that very night. I shrugged. Nodded. We went a little way away from the camp and began setting up her drawings for the ceremony; she was telling me where to draw what, and then telling me where to sit and what to do and how to think. She’s a child, but Lanthan, she has one of the biggest personalities I have ever witnessed. I had no problem doing exactly as she bid. She told me to focus, and I focused. She asked me to listen to her voice. I already was.
"She spoke some ancient words.
"My eyes opened, and I was no longer at the campsite. I was in the back of a wagon. Night had switched to day. Summer to spring, apparently, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The wagon was riding down a trail, and I had a stick in my hand. Looking down, I realized I was a child. I was using my stick to hit a hay stuffed doll before me—a toy, painted with scary facial features to make it look like a Gandish Goblin.
"I heard a voice behind me. A woman."
A tear leaks out of Thorn’s eye. Lanthan watches, mesmerized.
"A beautiful voice. ‘Well done!'"
"Who was it?" asks Lanthan softly.
"Mother," whispers Thorn. "She crawled over the front of the wagon and sat with me in the back. Thick black long hair. Bright eyes. Strong hands covered in Dannein swirls and tattoos. Smile as radiant as the sun overhead. I was so happy.
"I heard another voice from the front. A man, driving the wagon. My father. I couldn’t see him, but the voice was strong, and I knew I was loved and protected."
The tears are streaming from Thorn’s eyes.
"Then what happened?" Lanthan asks.
"She held my hand. Then she put her thumb on my forehead, then on my lips, then on my heart. Made some sort of sign, I think. Then she smiled and said, ‘I love you, Aemlar. I bless you for all of your days, strong little hero."
Lanthan smiles and the two sit in silence for a minute.
"Yshala, but that’s beautiful."
Thorn nods and wipes his eyes. He finishes a second cup of the port that Lanthan has put before him. He sways slightly.
Lanthan grins. "Aemlar, eh?"
Thorn looks up at him, no smile on his face. "Nah. Thorn for me. Aemlar’s the name of a hero."
[ +- ] Thorn Character Sheet
Thorn
Red text indicates recent changes
Vitals
Combat Proficiency Setting (+3 available): Attack Bonus +3 / AC +0
AC: 15
HP: 73/73
Status Effects: None
Death Saves: +0/-0
Hit Dice: 7/7d10 (Fighter)
Loadout
Equipped
Armor: Chain Shirt
Weapons:
* Great Sword / Attack Bonus: 9 (Str 5 + 3 Prof. Bonus + 1 VW) / Damage: 2d6+7 (Str 5 + 1 WSG + 1 VW)
Tactics
Refresh rest times noted in parentheses
Combat Superiority Maneuvers: 5/5 (short rest)
Action Surge: 1/1 (short rest)
Second Wind: 1/1 (short rest)
Commitment to Contract: 1/1 (once per day)
Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting (reroll 1’s & 2’s on damage rolls, keep new roll, on melee attacks using a weapon with two hands)
Weapon Specialty Group: Heavy Blades (When using a weapon within the Specialty Group, the Fighter delivers +1 Damage on Attacks)
Martial Archetype Feature: Know Your Enemy (after 1 minute of observation, know whether an enemy is equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following: Str, Dex, Con, AC, current HP, total class levels, fighter class level)
Venerated Weapon: receive +1 to Attack and Damage rolls when using a specific legacy weapon that has exceptional meaning and is an integral part of the character's history.
Saving Throws
Blue text indicates proficiency
Strength: +8
Dexterity: +1
Constitution: +7
Intelligence: +3
Wisdom: +0
Charisma: +0
Feats
Observant
Martial Adept
Sentinel
Skills
Blue text indicates proficiency
Acrobatics: +1
Animal Handling: +0
Arcana: +3
Athletics: +8
Deception: +0
History: +3
Insight: +3
Intimidation: +3
Investigation: +6 (Passive 21)
Medicine: +0
Nature: +3
Perception: +3 (Passive 18)
Performance: +0
Persuasion: +3
Religion: +3
Sleight Of Hand: +1
Stealth: +1
Survival: +0
Maneuvers
* Distracting Strike
* Feinting Attack
* Lunging Goading Attack
* Menacing Attack
* Riposte
* Trip Attack
* Precision Attack
Languages
Yuoric - Native
Dannein - Fluent
Carried Gear
* Bedroll (7 lbs)
* Explorer’s Pack
* Coinpouch (37 plates, 10 markes, 12 bridges - 1.2 lbs)
* 7 sky-blue gemstones (~1 lb)
* Large necklace & pendant stone with swirls and colors that make an almost perfect copy of the Alornic Sea (.2 lbs)
Red text indicates recent changes
Vitals
Combat Proficiency Setting (+3 available): Attack Bonus +3 / AC +0
AC: 15
HP: 73/73
Status Effects: None
Death Saves: +0/-0
Hit Dice: 7/7d10 (Fighter)
Loadout
Equipped
Armor: Chain Shirt
Weapons:
* Great Sword / Attack Bonus: 9 (Str 5 + 3 Prof. Bonus + 1 VW) / Damage: 2d6+7 (Str 5 + 1 WSG + 1 VW)
Tactics
Refresh rest times noted in parentheses
Combat Superiority Maneuvers: 5/5 (short rest)
Action Surge: 1/1 (short rest)
Second Wind: 1/1 (short rest)
Commitment to Contract: 1/1 (once per day)
Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting (reroll 1’s & 2’s on damage rolls, keep new roll, on melee attacks using a weapon with two hands)
Weapon Specialty Group: Heavy Blades (When using a weapon within the Specialty Group, the Fighter delivers +1 Damage on Attacks)
Martial Archetype Feature: Know Your Enemy (after 1 minute of observation, know whether an enemy is equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following: Str, Dex, Con, AC, current HP, total class levels, fighter class level)
Venerated Weapon: receive +1 to Attack and Damage rolls when using a specific legacy weapon that has exceptional meaning and is an integral part of the character's history.
Saving Throws
Blue text indicates proficiency
Strength: +8
Dexterity: +1
Constitution: +7
Intelligence: +3
Wisdom: +0
Charisma: +0
Feats
Observant
Martial Adept
Sentinel
Skills
Blue text indicates proficiency
Acrobatics: +1
Animal Handling: +0
Arcana: +3
Athletics: +8
Deception: +0
History: +3
Insight: +3
Intimidation: +3
Investigation: +6 (Passive 21)
Medicine: +0
Nature: +3
Perception: +3 (Passive 18)
Performance: +0
Persuasion: +3
Religion: +3
Sleight Of Hand: +1
Stealth: +1
Survival: +0
Maneuvers
* Distracting Strike
* Feinting Attack
* Lunging Goading Attack
* Menacing Attack
* Riposte
* Trip Attack
* Precision Attack
Languages
Yuoric - Native
Dannein - Fluent
Carried Gear
* Bedroll (7 lbs)
* Explorer’s Pack
* Coinpouch (37 plates, 10 markes, 12 bridges - 1.2 lbs)
* 7 sky-blue gemstones (~1 lb)
* Large necklace & pendant stone with swirls and colors that make an almost perfect copy of the Alornic Sea (.2 lbs)
Last edited November 29, 2017 2:24 pm
Nov 29, 2017 4:03 pm
Dang, X. What a masterpiece scene.
Will there be a Thorn novel released in 2018? If so, I would like to pre-order.
Will there be a Thorn novel released in 2018? If so, I would like to pre-order.
Nov 30, 2017 10:31 am
Heshba sounds great to me! Pretty much the opposite of wading through a gator-infested swamp, right? This will be a good change of scenery.
Nov 30, 2017 6:13 pm
Admittedly, I was leaning toward the jungles of Arkaddi. Love the idea of jungle action and hidden ruins etc. However, I am very much on board with some desert action.
If things work out, which I think episodic adventuring lends itself toward, we hit Arkakddi later.
In sum, I'm for Bryn's Heshba plan. Sounds dope.
If things work out, which I think episodic adventuring lends itself toward, we hit Arkakddi later.
In sum, I'm for Bryn's Heshba plan. Sounds dope.
Nov 30, 2017 6:14 pm
And that was a nice piece X. Good stuff. Cool to get some more insight on Thorn's background.
Nov 30, 2017 11:31 pm
OOC:
Y'all, sounds like everyone is generally onboard. I'm going to post up a short entry next which will kind of stage it up for more development that we can mess around with over the weekend coming up. Still Interim time, so it's going to stay flexible to insert story development or more comments as you want.load next