The Dawn of the Hunt
After spending some time with the Sarana Tribe, Potha and the squad set out on their first quest: to investigate a group of bandits the robbed a neighboring tribe's merchant expeditions.
First stop was visiting with the robbed merchants, who reported a weirdly disciplined and focused robbery that focused on the weapons and medicine they were transporting for sale in the Kingdom of Analona. The squad then headed Southeast to try and find these bandits, who were possibly stationed in a recently made walled camp in the hills near the border.
Akata scouted out on her eagle and spotted the camp - which seemed a very likely candidate, as the merchant's stolen draft horse was there. Unfortunately, Akata was also spotted, putting the camp on guard. The group dismounted and scouted on foot to approach stealthily, but they began to suspect that someone else was watching and stalking them. When the birds spotted something and began making noises, the squad retreated from the camp to hide and scout out a camp.
The bandits, having been alerted that Meako were poking around the edges of their camp, put out Analonan flags and called out a message of peace and willingness to trade. Potha decided to cautiously approach to start negotiations, and the bandits claimed to be Analonan soldiers hunting bandits in the area. Negotiations were tense, but Potha was able to retrieve the stolen draft horse from these "soldiers". She and the girls made camp and debated how to approach the situation, and agreed to set up a second meeting with the bandits to try and get a better read on whatever presence had been watching them. This time, negotiations were more productive and Potha was able to connect with their leader. They were welcomed into the bandit camp and their leader came forward with the truth: that they were bandits, but that they hadn't killed anyone and they wanted the best for the island.
The girls and the bandits slowly talked each other into an alliance, and the two hidden presences revealed themselves as two Zesheko chaos agents. Apparently, these bandits were smugglers that had fled a new tyrannical regime in Analona. Analona was recently taken over by a new overseer (selkie overlord) who spoke of the end of the world and was dissapearing arrested non-humans. These bandits were hoping to provoke a war between Analona and the Loanuan tribes before Analona had the chance to absorb the other colonized kingdoms and conquer the island itself. Once that war had started, they hoped to help the Zeshem assassins kill the new Analonan overseer.
Potha and the squad agreed to help them start this war and possibly assassinate the overseer (though Potha did want to talk to them first). Eora and Akata headed West to rally the tribes to war through diplomatic means, the Zeshem headed East to procure assassination supplies, and Potha stayed with the bandits to help them live off the land. This continued for nearly a month uneventfully.
After three weeks of chilling with the bandits, Potha stumbled across a group of heavily armed poachers where the forest meets the grasslands. These poachers spotted her and attempted to kidnap her to possibly ransom back to the tribes. She resisted, starting a tense chase through the forest. The poachers were unlucky on a number of their arrows, but Potha was still wounded and outmaneuvered. She had to call in her Moa, which the poachers immediately set upon and wounded grievously. Potha quickly mounted and fled, with the poachers chasing on horseback. The lead poacher, a foreign adventurer who seemed quite experienced in combat, was in hot pursuit and seemed primed to either cripple the moa or kill Potha. Luckily, Potha and her moa were able to slay his horse before he was able to strike again. After killing the remaining attendant and scattering their horses, Potha fled back to camp.
Rather than hunt down the adventurer, Potha and the bandits agreed to just move their camp North to a better-hidden location. They scouted out a nice, secluded area near a small spring and rebuilt their little fenced encampment. After several weeks in this new spot, the girls and the Zeshem finally returned.
The time to wait and train is over. The time to fight is here! Next time: the war begins, this time gayer and with more fighting imperialism.
Components
Goals
QUEST GOALS
- Investigate the strange trespassers on Keamara land (Complete)
- Figure out what is going on in Analona
- Leave Loanua to join up with the others
- Fight the Apocalypse
- Be Gay (try a little more next time? we have a quota to meet)
- Fight Imperialism
- Protect the Southside Sirens/Ladies in Black/Girls Be Smuggling
- Infiltrate Analona
- Start a war
- Talk with and/or assassinate Overseer Kova of Analona
Relations
Allies
Eora: Daughter of the Priestess of the Sarana tribe, Eora is a charismatic beacon of joy (if a little unused to being outranked by someone). Very attached to Potha and aware of her nature as Halycon incarnate. Grappling with the terror of knowing the world is ending. Former member of Rabbit House
Akata: A daughter of a Meako officer in the Western military state of Huaka, Akata was the model girl of the Huakan military elite. Still deconstructing the trauma of growing up in a militarized society, Akata is learning to give others their space and communicate in a healthy way. Akata is still be disciplined, courteous, and ambitious, and sees Eora and Potha as inspirations to always improve herself. Currently stuck between her identity as a Meako and her desire to follow her crush(es?) out of the country. Former member of House Eagle.
Coco and Cobi: Potha's moa and falcon respectively. Coco is a moa with a sweet tooth that is unusually friendly for a moa; Cobi is a falcon with a sense of determination.
Erelia: Guardian Meako of the Sarana Tribe. Stern, scary, only really respects fellow Meako, but has her priorities right.
Neutrals/Bystanders
"Sergeant" Kevara: The leader of the smugglers, Kevara is a Half-Dryad smuggler with a sense of style and bravado that often leads her into dangerous situations. A self styled "badass pacifist" that seems to love throwing weapons around but squirms at the idea of killing people, Kevara is the party face and self-appointed leader. Perhaps she was an effective leader back when they were smugglers instead of bandits, but her inexperience in robbery and distaste for lethal violence means that she basically just follows the directions of Virtue.
The Smugglers: The smugglers are a group of coincidentally all-lady smugglers who go by many names. This includes The Southside Sirens, the Ladies in Black, and many more. They have excellent branding and a reputation for professionality and effectiveness, but their need for panache has been a major problem evading the notice of law enforcement. All but one of these eleven women are non-human, and they just barely escaped being black-bagged by the new regime. They are now desperate, vengeful, and lost.
Virtue: A Hunter of Norinar of the religion of Zesheko, Virtue is an expert assassin whose job is to take down corrupt or imperialist Selkies. Virtue has scouted out Loanua as a prime candidate for their operations, and hopes to eventually attract other Zeshem to their cause once they are able to do something big. Virtue is restrained and friendly for a Zeshem - they treat foreigners as ignorant children rather than unclean outsiders, and seem curious as to whether Loanua could be brought into the Zesheko fold. Despite Virtue's unusual curiosity and affinity for foreigners, they still do not value foreign lives and seem absolutely willing to kill any Loanuan who gets in their way. Virtue has only been seen using a specially crafted scoped crossbow and seems adept at mechanical traps.
Keen: Virtue's apprentice, who prefers a more hands-on and personal approach to assassination than their master. Keen is less well-controlled and actively seems disgusted by non-Zeshem, but is fiercely loyal and obedient to Virtue.
Adversaries
Rozko the Steely and his merry band: Rozko the Steely is a human adventurer from far away who has come to Loanua in search of a moa bird to call his own. He was poaching in South-Keamara territory and accidentally stumbled upon Potha - losing his warhorse and several of his "merry band" in the process. Rozko's time as an adventurer has helped him purge his personality of empathy, and he seemed willing to kidnap or kill a stranger just to get what he wants.
Overseer Kova: A new overseer that has recently seized control of the Kingdom of Analona. Paranoid and has been targeting non-humans.
Plot type
Session
Parent Plot
Subplots
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Related Locations
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