Toblikai's Stone

After saying goodbye to Mora, yet again, and gathering needed supplies we set out for the next stone in the mountains. Perhaps someday we will have more time but now we must try and secure what we can. Kano took Dogan with him to take care of the amethyst and I believe he has his own personal journey for his stone. So we only have four of us but all we need to do is recover a stone that maybe some local villagers scooped up?
 
We headed west towards the mountains. On the way we came across a merchant and his family with a broken wagon wheel. Talking to him while helping him fix the wagon he said the Mjorn had set up around a village to the northeast. It also just so happens that a stone fell in that direction too. So we could help with two different things at once there so it was time to take a detour. If we could find a stone and deal a blow to the Mjorn in the area that would be fantastic.
 
Getting close to the village of Biggins Stop we found four separate camps with at least 25 Mjorn ready for battle. The village was on a hill with a wall around it but unfortunately Galvarix had taken just about all able bodied men already to the east for the war. We arrived at near nightfall and setup a camp in a inconspicuous location to hopefully hide ourselves. If any Mjorn approached we would just play dumb and hopefully lure them in for an ambush. It wasn't needed as we soon heard shouts and demands for surrender of the village which were refused.
 
Since all the camps were likely empty and it seems they didn't know we were there this was a great time for a surprise attack. We went to the first camp which was indeed empty. To try and draw them away from the village or distract them I let Kaen free on their camp. Unknown to me one of the tents had a large quantity of oil which she immediately set up in flames. Well we could have used it but she seemed happy though it wouldn't be for long. Stian went off to scout and we wouldn't see him until after the Mjorn had been driven off.
 
Quickly the Mjorn noticed and headed our way. We setup as best we could for amn ambush and waited as they came in. I underestimated the Mjorn. They had managed to get behind us as we were waiting and shot Amaris in the back and she was out. I felt a flurry of rage and anger from Kaen who wanted nothing more then to lash out at the Mjorn who had hurt her. It nearly overcame me as well but someone had to keep their cool.
 
The battle was short and we were able to quickly defeat the six Mjorn who came at us. Kaen burnt two Mjorn to almost nothing. The anger she focused on them was actually somewhat terrifying. I'm not sure what I could do if she somehow lost control and innocent people were hurt. All told we had slain five and one was chased off by the creature Toblikai bonded with. With Amaris hurt we gathered her up and ran for the nearest entrance to the village. After a quick exchange they let us in.
 
There we met Captain Holt. He said the Mjorn said they merely wanted "supplies" but he sensed they needed something else. When the Stones came up he said a local family had found one and he let them keep it. We explained (vaguely) the significance of the Stones and we all put together that's what the Mjorn were truly here for. This would be confirmed after the battle. We said we needed the stone and would compensate the owners appropriately. We also explained that we were working hard to gather these stones and then attempt to stabilize the region so they would be used for good. He took us to the family who agreed to hand over the stone for the good of the our people. It is good to see that even after all Galrix has done there are still good people in this land.
 
The Stone secured (which bonded with Toblikai) it was time to drive off or kill these Mjorn. Little did we know an old ally was in the village. There was a group of Tiila in the village armed and were helping to defend the people. They were also in their own little corner away from everyone. Our friend Busari (from the centipede creepy caves) was there with the Tiila who were escorting him back for trial. We spoke with him for a bit and he wanted to get away from his brethren and join us to help with everything going on. Whole he seems genuine I'm not sure. I can't tell if he just wants to get away from his people and the trial or genuinely wants to help. We will have to let him prove himself.
 
We spoke with a Vigil Gailaea who was the leader of the Tiila here. She said they had come out to help stem the flow of Mjorn and also were escorting Busari back for his trial. Amaris spoke to her first trying to convince her that Busari should come with us to help but she was having none of it. Afterwards I spoke with her. She explained Galrix had broken treaties his father put in place and the Tiila were upset about this. Side note - this seems to be coming up everywhere. It's going to take a long time to fix the damage done. Anyways she wanted promises that we would do the best for the land. I see the Tiila as a stong ally who should be on the same terms as any humans and not below. I promised we were helping to right the wrongs done by Galrix and as soon as possible we would work to stabilize the power vacuum and do our best to ensure the Tiila are treated fairly and we coexist peacefully. Another note their spear/pike formations are quite adept. If we could get a few Tiila to teach us their tactics it could be helpful.
 
The Vigil also had a great plan. They had dug a secret tunnel out of the village and wanted to surprise the Mjorn. If we in the village could keep them focused on us then they could sneak out, come up behind and we would trap and crush them. It sounded good to me but we would need Holt on our side. I took the plan to Holt and again had to promise the Tiila would keep their word. They have to know the Tiila hate the Mjorn too so why would they be so against them helping? He agreed and we set a plan in motion that would not come to fruition but we won the day anyways.
 
First thing in the morning the Mjorn again came up to demand the surrender of the village. I told him to basically piss off and we weren't afraid of his pathetic attempts. We set up the best defense we could against their overwhelming numbers but we just had to hold out until the Tiiila got out and snuck up behind them, Their archers were deadly (i had to drop as multiple arrows came at me and I was stil hit) but we had our own weapons. Toblikai was learning how to use his stone and summoned some kind of magical wall. I got plenty of oil on the ground for Kaen to take more revenge on the Mjorn. Between his wall and Kaen exploding onto the scene (literally) it confused the Mjorn. After some archer volleys and some bloody shield wall fighting we drew to a standstill. Desperate to keep them focused on us I went down and join the line. It seemed this would be resolved by one on one combat Toblikai seemed the best to be able to handle their leaders massive two handed axe. Just thinking about that hitting me made we remember the pain of Galvrix blow. I helped him focus more power into his stone and he met their leader in a short but brutal combat. Eventually both men hit at the same time but he went down while Toblikai stood. Since we had won technically the Mjorn could pack up and leave but I wanted to keep their attention until the Tiila got behind them. Unfortunately they noticed them coming up and fled. We chased a few down as prisoners and the Tiila said they would take care of the rest. Fine by me.
 
We helped with first aid and cleaning up after the battle. Unfortunately one of the farmers died from wounds and two other had lifetime injuries. It is unfortunate but better than the alternative which was butchery at the hands of the Mjorn. We killed 17 and took 5 hostage. 4 of those killed were pretty badly burned as well. Her power and fury is frightful sometimes. We gathered up all the items and left them with the village for now. In those items we also found a note written in Myoki. Something about how Kalfos wants the stones. The name doesn't ring a bell but it does sound like some type of spirit. Maybe Kano knows when we meet up with thim.
They said they would help sell some of it and we will be offering some of that back to the village as compensation for what happened. The people were very grateful. We did eventually find Stian who been slowly picking off the Mjorn that were chasing him.
 
So we were able to secure a stone, defeat the Mjorn, secure more loot for funding and I believe we have a good ally with the people of Biggins Stop. Now we need to continue back to the mountains and the next Stone.