Godabert (Todaaki)
A Hrin abandoned by his Father after his mother died in childbirth. Adopted by a Myoki merchant and raised to honor both cultures. A Champion and Blessed of the Wolf, swordsman and want to be prankster.
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Children
The Horse Saves the Day
After the assassination attempt I was a bit leery to leave Lord Setvori alone. Yes he had Elana and her stone but she was not trained in it. As per usual though something came up. An odd report about a Mjorn raiding party coming up totally missing and a scout saying the cats were acting funny. Not too long ago I would have been mystified but now it seems these oddities are just everyday occurrences. I decided to stay but the rest could go if they want to check it out.
I attempted to spend some downtime with Mora, maybe even take her to the small Lake we had been shown. Of course that was interrupted too. Something going on at the new mining community to the North. He said there is new spirit activity and that he is concerned it is a bad omen that could spread. Since I had roused a bunch of refugees that would be working there I felt it my duty to go check this out for Lord Setvori with a few soldiers just in case.
So I traveled up to the community and the mining had indeed been halted. I didn’t really sense anything ominous or any bad feelings about the place so we went in to check it out. The spirits pretty much scattered as we entered and weren’t menacing and didn’t seem dangerous at all. There was a sort of odd opening that was only available to crawl through. I got a feeling, some kind of pulling towards that area. I had a couple guards stay put and myself and one other went through in case something happened and he needed to go for help.
We crawled through and moved slowly down the passageway. As we moved down the tunnel I could feel energy building, it was almost as if the air was humming with it. Even my companion began to feel it. I assured him it was fine and not dangerous. Not sure he believed me though. I was not prepared for what we found inside that cavern.
In a crater of its own making it seems was a huge sphere that was like one of our mist stones. This one was a perfect sphere though and as I stared at it I was able to pick every color out of the endless swirling colors that flitted around inside. Anuundari seemed to almost be welcomed home by it, like it knew it somehow. Kaen was kinda unsure as it contained both fire and water? I was able to link to it similar to how I linked to Anuundari and could feel the massive potential energy from this.
Given the amount of power here I decided to try a spell. I was tempted with fire but decided against that which was greeted with a frown from Kaen. I created a basic illusion and it was very effective, did not drain me or my stone and was cast faster then normal. Through various testings I found that it also infuses the minerals around it though they cannot be covered up in any way. It also has the ability to give a normal person the power to cast spells as a mist stone. I don’t know for exactly how long but the stone did seem to make clear these were temporary.
I spent a night there and then headed back to Buryn excited to tell the others about this new discovery. I didn’t have to wait long for them to come back the next night with a most unusual package. They recounted their story which I will save for another time. Nonetheless it was another crazy ride because of spirits. I told them of the stone and that we need to travel up there to take a look.
Of course we didn’t get to do that right away because Mjorn were attacking a town near the pass looking for something, something outside of normal slaves and mayhem they were causing. Well if they were looking for something we should probably find it first. He did say they were smacking down House Grigor raids pretty handily which was good. I guess Setvori does have some of the finest rangers around.
We made our way down there to a group of very distrusting villagers shadowing us as we were coming upon their village. Luckily for us they recognized I was marked by the Wolf and didn’t just kill us! They brought us into town and after some discussion showed us what the Mjorn were after, For lack of a better term it was a….root egg? To a species that the Mjorn had stolen it from. They knew a little in the village that the creatures would be coming for it eventually. We could either help guard the egg from Mjorn or take it into the forest. They also said some of the Mjorn attacking had mist stone powers. Well that was it.
We came up with a plan to try and ambush these jerks, stop the raids and hopefully gain a stone or two in the process. Some of the villagers showed us the best spots to get a good ambush on them and we set up. Archers and Toblikai on the ridge, Hrena in the cart acting as the “cargo” under a blanket and the rest of acting as guards. Making it look like we were serious but not too well defended, hence leaving the giant man hidden until the trap sprung.
Plan was for Hrena to shake the cart and move around, we would stop and act like our attention was diverted to hopefully draw them in. We got so close to the ambush point when the chaos started. An explosion(?) of air blew up around us, stunning a good portion of the party and taking them out of the fight. It also scared the ever loving heck out of the horse who ran forward as fast as possible. Ultimately this helped us but in that instant I feared we were all dead. Where did the explosion come from? The same man who had been at our battle with the Grigor conscripts. I’m just going to call him “Jerkface” from now on.
I told Kano and Amaris to go after Jerkface and Toblikai sent his pet after him as well, hopefully keeping him distracted, Dogan seemed to be OK so I told him to keep after the others and I moved forward to meet the Mjorn on the pass in front of us. Their archers released causing minor damage, our archers released causing minor damage but the horse, the lovely horse won the battle for us. It plowed into the Mjorn line causing havoc and knocking most of them out of the battle. I lit up Jerkface with Guiding Mark hoping we would be able to find him later. The villagers told us he disappeared in the wind and left no footprints. Great.
The battle was over quickly with few injuries but once cornered Jerkface used his power and disappeared. We gathered everyone quickly and tended to the wounded and our party quickly left in pursuit. We found an empty camp and Jerkface continued to go east. He got away again. We need to find a way to contain him and make him pay for his crimes. We found a good number of prisoners. Hrin were treated OK but Myoki were actually being tortured. Come to find out that the Mjorn are making some kind of fire cloud for use in battle? Yet another thing to worry about.
We got back to the town and the parents (?) had come for their egg. They were large but peaceful creatures to the point of total pacifism. The Mjorn had indeed stolen the egg and they were looking to get it back. They also were looking for a place to live since they had been driven from their home. They were good at quite a few things so I felt it a good idea to bring them back to Lord Setvori. So Here I come again bringing more people to protect and feed. I’m sure he’ll love that but I do think they will be powerful allies and we can both help each other out.
So we made our way back to Buryn with a full entourage. Of course Lord Setvori was taken aback by what we brought back but at this point what do you do? We all went to visit the large stone up in the new mining town. Kano made some wine that was so good it rivalled what our forest friend gave us in the thimbles. It was too good and he ended up actually giving it to Rhao.
We came back from the mine and Lord Setvori was most upset and disturbed, we needed to ride for the pass immediately. What we saw there was a wasteland. Utter devastation for miles. So this is what Rhao had told us? All life totally destroyed for Wolf knows how far? What could have caused this devastation? Apparently Amaris was working on a shrine to Rhao to help summon him more easily. Good, he had plenty to answer for.
In retrospect what I did was wrong but damnit the devastation wrought by what happened. The Mjorn were stealing life essence and pushing it into a stone to charge it. But Rhao couldn’t “tell us the full story”. Oh but he could spend some time making his own new circle of friends to help him do fuck whatever. I’m not happy with how I handled it but he knew full well what he did. The Wolf was tricked into her own demise, Rhao did what he did knowing the consequences. He has given us help so far but i just cannot comprehend his path was the best path. He asked if I could do better and honestly probably not I suppose. It’s not the most rational but I just don’t trust him and yes he’s helping us but he’s holding back too. I don’t know why Amaris is so beholden to him. I did apologize to her, it’s not her fault and I was kind of a jerk. I look back on our choices and the swathe of problems we have caused and maybe i didn’t make the right choices either. So maybe we’re not that much different but dammit I don’t have to like him!
A Battle of Benevolence
We left the swamp and went back to Biggins Stop to rest up for our long trip North. We decided most of us would go to Bavor’s Rest and ensure Mora and her family were OK and escort them North. Kano and Dogan would go South to Arras to notify my family and guide them North. We would wait in Bavor’s Rest for them and then all travel North together. I already wasn’t happy with having to split us up but it was a necessary evil. I lament that the people I love are in danger now but there’s not much I can do about it except ensure their safety.
We made our way North to Bavor’s Rest while the others went South. The journey was uneventful and I was relieved that Bavor’s Rest was not harmed nor any of its people. Mora and her family were all OK. I explained the situation and apologized but this was the safest thing for everyone. Once we are able to stabilize the Valley they can return if they wish.
While we were waiting for Kano we found out there were some Servori Rangers in town checking out a few things. To the northwest a young lady said she saw lights and shadows moving in the woods near their farm.. No one else saw it and the Rangers had already been there and scouted a bit but saw nothing. There was also some smoke to the east that they were going to check out. I was more concerned with the smoke but they were fairly certain it was nothing major and they would handle it. So they went East and we went to check out this rumor to the northwest since we had some time before Kano got there.
It was a large farm run by a family. As we approached a teen boy was in the barn working. He kind of rolled his eyes when we talked to him about the lights and shadows his sister (I’m guessing) saw. He said she was just jumpy because of everything going on. So we went to the house and talked to her directly. She said she was sure she had seen something but not sure exactly what it was. She asked if wanted lodging in the barn for the night. Maybe, it depends if we find anything.
Stian went out (I figured this was pretty low risk) and found some tracks. I guess the Rangers couldn’t find anything because of the rain and the delay in getting there. We started following them and noticed some odd marks on trees high up. It was getting dark so we headed back to the rest of the family wondering what we were doing there. We explained we just wanted to follow up and see if there was anything to this. We also paid for a night in the barn and decided to watch and see if we could capture these lights and shadows.
Sure enough there they were. Stian went out to try and see if he could sneak towards them. The rest I’m not sure but will summarize. He went out and something stopped the lights and everything went dark. Hrena is pretty small and quiet so she went out to make sure Stian was OK. He was and they both eventually came back. Too bad Kano wasn’t there, his dark vision would have come in handy. We would have to wait until morning, no sense getting ambushed in the dark.
In the morning the family provided a nice breakfast and we headed out to follow these tracks down. Stian tried to sneak up to the camp but was discovered and started running back towards us. Once again we lost any surprise we had. We took a defensive position and started backing away slowly. We exchanged words and found that they were bandits paid to stay off Grigor land. Even at that point I didn’t believe that, these were definitely Grigor trying to expand their territory. Well they picked the wrong area and the wrong time. Nonetheless I didn’t want to kill anyone and would try and save as many as we could. I told them they could either join us and help the Valley, disarm and return home or die a bandit death. Well they thought the odds were in their favor so they laughed. Most wouldn’t laugh again. They said we had three hours and they would attack.
We used the giant logs around in the area to make some defensive fortifications to funnel them towards us or at least provide an obstacle. I set up to drop an area of fire and we would use Toblikai’s shield to negate their archers. Stian and Hrena perched up on the roof and Amaris joined us down below. Kano showed up just in time for the fun with DOgan and the mercenaries. Figuring they were watching we ushered them in the barn as if to hide them there. Then Stian snuck them out the back and into the house unseen for a surprise attack. Thank the Wold they were not seen.
Once the battle started it was plain that most of these men were not warriors. Kain did a fantastic job scaring some of them. I asked over and over again for them to surrender. One man tried to run and was cut down by a Grigor man. I tried to urge them to fight against their captors and focused my attention on one of those. It was then that Hrena, or her stone, unleashed onto the battlefield in a rage. That was truly terrifying. I don’t know about these stones aligned with Chaos.
We had the battle well in hand. Kain and some well placed oil torched more men (unfortunately one of the conscripts burned to death). We were getting flanked around the house so I pulled an illusion through Anuundari of the Wolf staring at them and did a damn good job this time. Much better than my Fawn in Riverwatch. This stopped that group pretty much outright. Some others tried to come around through the garden in front of the house but they were attacked in the rear by Dogan and the others. Stian took out most of the archers.
During the battle a Grigor officer or someone watched from atop a horse. Too late I realized what was going on and was about to shout to Stian to shoot the horse but he ran off. Now they know some of our powers. We’ll have to change it up next time.
Anyways the battle was winding down and many were now finally surrendering. That was when Yui decided to attack (or play?!) one of the men that had stopped but didn’t fully surrender. His brother (we found out later they were brothers) attacked Yuki because the thing had attacked his brother. This sent Toblikai into a rage and he went after them. I had to literally run over and put myself between him and them to stop him. They were just scared kids and thought we were worse than Grigor.
After the battle we quickly cleaned up and, unfortunately, had to tie these men up with the promise that they would be freed but we had to check the camp. It was abandoned and there wasn’t much there anyways. We returned and untied them and learned that they had been conscripted and if they were found to have joined us then their families would be killed or worse. This was a real conundrum. I wanted to help these people but we needed them on our side. Someone suggested maybe the Rangers could help as they were from different villages and we could escort everyone around. Sneak in, help their families escape and come to Setvori land to be truly taken care of. It was a good plan. Even if we could save half of them it was better than zero.
After that we headed to Buryn to meet up with Lord Setvori. Before then a few things happened. First we ALL entered some dream realm and met Rahao. He spoke his usual riddles. Something about the pass between the Valley and Mjorn territories being “taken care of” soon and to not be there. We needed to learn to hide our stones to be safe but not telling us how to. He did give us some great knowledge for the future school. Plus I learned that Amaris is actually quite adept at teaching. Oh and the new mine Setvori was populating was important as well.
Second Toblikai thought we could try and help Hrena with her stone. Apparently she needed to “:tame” it or it would overtake her like in battle. Anuundari was none too happy to be part of that so I had to bow out. The others tried to help but Hrena said they couldn’t actually, she had to do it or the stone would think she was weak. So what does she do? Rip it out of her gut, By herself. I REALLY don’t understand Chaos. Toblikai healed her and that seemed to do the trick for her stone but what in the name of the Wolf. Oh and my stone is a “goody two shoes”.
Last I meditated to gain guidance from the Wolf and I was literally pulled through something to be directly in front of her. She was a bit surprised but gave me good info, The Laadar name had to end. The son was important and the Wolf said specifically I needed to teach him. Saeti would never be happy until the Laadar name was finished. She also said the Mjorn would march for Riverwatch and it was only a matter of time. When that happened we needed to fight together to defeat them or else all was lost. Battle is straightforward. I don’t know what to do about the boy. How do we even get close to him with his Mother on the verge of insanity? So another thing to worry about I suppose.
With that out of the way we met with Lord Setvori. Just before we met the Advisor that is suspect. Kano was able to “read” him and it was odd. There were parts of him that weren’t there? He did say Lord Setvori was in much better spirits and had some hope for the future. He already knew of our victory and we gave him the spirit root. He also said that one of his people found a stone and, well, we’re kinda the experts right now. It was a long trip so we didn’t spend much time talking about details but he did invite us on a hunt to view his lands. Now that one job was done it was time to get right back to work.
Ruminations of the Heart
After my last journal entry and during our travels I have thought about how to structure a school to teach others to use their stones and what ideals we should value. Protecting the people would be high on the list. Protecting innocents as well. This got me thinking about the great fire we caused. How many died from what we did? Were they all evil, greedy men looking to plunder the land? Or were they simply there because it was a job and that’s what everyone was doing? Were they forced to go along or simply too afraid to speak out? If they had a choice would they have abandoned what their Lords were ordering them to do? I am beginning to regret those actions. Yes we dealt a blow to House Grigor and we got some much needed coin from the venture. But what have we done? Are we no better than them in resorting to their tactics of burning people alive? And what of Kaen? I don’t want her thinking it’s fine to just burn people anytime they disagree with us.
I realize there must be Chaos with Order but I must strive to defend Order. It is Kano’s and others' to move in the realm of Chaos. I accept I cannot control everything but if I ask people to swear oaths to this I must myself be following those same ideals. Every situation will be different and it will be up to that person to make the choice. Sometimes the choice will be wrong and all we can do is reflect on it and learn. We must be strong when others are weak.
I don’t know what the right choices are. I believe defending and helping House Setvori to be the right thing. Looking back now I have to wonder if Galrix could not have been redeemed somehow. It’s too late but I should remember in the future that what we see as evil they may not see the same. I wish I could help redeem the Son but I fear the Widow is too far gone now. She will eventually learn I have the sword and we were the ones who turned him over to Saeti. I must look harder at my choices and determine what the consequences could be.
Life before Death - the lives of ourselves and others should be protected utmost. Strength before Weakness - we must defend the weak, sometimes even if we don’t agree with them. Journey before Destination - we need to understand the consequences of future actions. It’s a start. I must follow these ideals more from now on if I expect others to live up to them.
Flame and Flight
It was good to feel "normal" for a bit. Just having fun at the Festival of the Fawn with a lovely lady and taking it all in. I was even able to get in a pretty funny prank. I gave about a dozen kids a few coins to just follow a hungover guard around, walk in circles around him and talk his ear off. He'll probably be wondering for years why that happened! Mora even got in on it, swapping out Kanos clothes to something extremely gaudy. I am glad she decided to come but I fear her attachment to me may cause her harm now but more on that later. Unfortunately Hrena got pranked as well which I felt bad about. She had been through so much and now she was stuck with us. Too many out there would simply cut her open and take the stone. We needed to help her stand on her own two feet again.
Note - most of the party was pointing fingers at me for pranks on them. I swore to them I would not prank them ever. So I really need to remember that.
We discussed as a group my visions from them Wolf, more precisely the two banners I was shown. If Rojorn is "spirit touched" as Kano keeps saying it could be a good thing possibly? Is he the boy from my other vision in the ruined city with the pool of water with the reflected moonlight? Unfortunately for us the Widow was not allowing her son out at all which was causing quite the controversy. Not as big as the coming one but big for the time. We had to get Kano close so he could determine what was happening with the boy. Toblikai gathered up a bunch of kids to try and distract the guards but they weren't having any of it. I used my stone and the Illusion magic I had learned, plus some artistry Mora helped me with, and created an illusion of the stag which caused quite the stir. Then Toblikai was talking to the guards about letting Rojorn out to play. He wasn't making much progress so I stepped in to help "persuade" him a little to let the kid out.
I should probably take a small amount of time and put this note in. Though I was swaggering about town a bit I was also getting fairly nervous. It was only a matter of time before we would be found out as something or one of the major houses just wanted us gone or our stones. I was trying to keep a low profile somewhat which I MAJORLY broke myself but that is coming soon. Just so I remember myself correctly, inside I was not as confident as I was acting.
Back to Toblikai and the guard I was able to fast talk him a bit into letting the kid come out for at least a peak at this wondrous miracle of the doe. Kano then stepped in and gathered the children around for a story. For telling a story he asked a lot of questions of the kids but I found out later it was for a purpose. The answers given by Rojorn definitely were drastically different someone of his age would answer. He also made a remark there were octopus in the a cave off a cove which was really odd as this is freshwater! He said the other children didn't believe him. Well I was pretty skeptical too and a little worried. Maybe the boy had nothing to do with Galrix banner being restored?
We decided we would see if Rojorn was telling the truth and under cover of night we went looking for it. This freaked me out...apparently not everyone can see this cave opening and it looked like we were going to just be dashed upon the rocks and have to swim back. We sailed through the stone as if it wasn't there. I was finally able to see that something wasn't right there. We made our way in slowly and Kano did some kind of offering I think? These Octopus arm tips that were glowing were coming out of the water around us. Well we were already in it may as well just continue on! We eventually made our way onto a small beach and a...living area?
Turns out this is one of Cadya's daughters. A woman’s body by octopus tentacles for legs. She was actually fairly polite and after we let her know that we were not hunting her a sort of game started. I don't get the rules really but it's an exchange of information. She doesn't really give much. Rojorn had been down there but nothing really happened, she said. Kano told me she was likely lying and that there was something more profound going on. She also said her mother had interest in him which Kano said could be a lie or mistruth. So difficult to work with these shadow spirits. This was concerning though. It does lead me to believe that maybe Galrix banner remade has nothing to do with the boy? We definitely need to check this other house out which wasn't all that difficult.
Kano was able to quickly track down who they are and I was able to use the guiding gift of my stone as I was able to find them first. They are primarily miners in the northern part of the valley. House Setvori. The leader of the House died and his wife was assassinated soon after leaving a teenage boy as the eldest. Awesome. So it's either try and deal with Galrix Widow and this General or try to prop up this house that is falling apart. I know the Wolf has set this path before me but I'm really not sure what to do here. It was time to roll the dice and just simply ask for an audience.
That's exactly what we did. Of course there was an old "friend" there, one of the guards who was in the caves when we fought Galrix. He was of course very wary of us showing up but I insisted Galrix had to be done away with. The Wolf led me down that path. Now she has led me here not as a kidnapper but as a protector. I don't know how much he believed but he did let me see him. Just me alone. I get it, I would be overly cautious too and, as I said, the dice had rolled and now they will land however they will. It turns out the kid had a great deal of information on us already. I think he believed me when I told him that I was there to help. He said his advisor was telling him to cower in his rabbit hole and take a defensive position. Who was this fool? I told him yes you can do that but it's sure death. Run out through the field! Yes you may die but you may also escape and live to fight another day. At the very least you would die a free man rather than a rabbit in a hole. He also said his House motto is pretty literally help the people because the people help us. I know the Wolf was right about this House and it's the right one to back but how? He also let me know House Grigor was starting to raid his lands. By raid I mean literally burn down villages and slaughter people. One last thing - apparently they are having some "misunderstanding" with the Tiila. We need them as allies so need to get this resolved quickly. I sent word that we need to meet with Vigil Galaea and work out terms that would benefit both sides.
One more thing - apparently Galrix house owes them fair sum of money they do not plan on paying back so their house is in a bit of a financial slump.
My journal is a bit out of order. I met with Sabin Setvori before we went on our midnight excursion to check out Rojorns story. I also should expand on House Grigor. Apparently they were literally a band of mercs with a heavy hand that got stuff done for Galrix. They amassed quite a bit of wealth and basically asked Galrix for Lord title and were given it. They haven't stopped their heavy handed ways and it must be put to a stop quickly. I don't care who's in power, killing innocent people like that is unacceptable.
The next day we all met with young Lord Sabin. He knew about everybody and gave some pretty specific details. If he had this info what info did the Widow have on us or any of the large Houses? I was liking being here less and less. The talk went well but he said that he had a personal favor to ask of me in private. One thing led to another in discussion and he asked me if I trusted my companions. I responded with “I trust them with my lives” which will be important in a bit. He explained he believed his adviser was being controlled or spirit touched or something along those lines. His alchemist said there was an extremely rare root that could be used to brew a drink to determine if he was or not. Rare as in RARE. Like expensive and difficult to find. We told him we would find this for him. We also decided the refugees we accumulated might fare better with his people then anywhere close to Riverwatch and he agreed to take them. After that we went our separate ways for now.
As for trusting everyone, Hrena told me to my face I was an idiot to say that. I didn’t know her, I didn’t know for sure I could trust her, you’re dumb for saying that. I see why she would say that but the Wolf led us to her. That’s it I don’t need anything else.
We enjoyed the rest of the Festival until the children were chased inside. Soon after a child was saying the Fawn was here prancing in the fields and he was! The Wolf was also here and I knew it was her implicitly. Then a huge wash of emotions came over me. Sadness and remorse literally driving me to the ground. I thought this was a bad omen for the land. Maybe the Wolf caught up too early and the harvest would be horrible on top of our issues? We would later find out that wasn’t the case but that wash of emotions...it was frightening. The rest of the night I was merely present. I let Kaen play in the fire (we got her a new lantern!) and spent the last peaceful night we will likely have for some time.
We learned the next morning there was an extremely botched assasination attempt on the Widow but no further details. We met with Lordling Sabin and he was booking it out. We got the refugees to him and I also asked him to get Mora out of here. Toblikai wanted to stay and though I was itching to get out maybe we did need to stay and gather information. It would be a blessing and a curse. We did get something out of it but the cost may have been too high.
We ditched the Warehouse and Kano had a guy who found us a new place. Goes by the name Gilz but I doubt that is his real name. He is also a “simple fisherman”. OK and we’re just simple farmers and nothing else. This is also when we found out that a “new House” was rising and was being considered as the ones who sent assassins. Oh ya and that new House is me. It seems Kano’s stories have caught up to us and I knew we needed to get out QUICK. Also House Grigor put out a hit on me! That’s when we came up with a plan so crazy it worked to perfection even with my added touch and we all got out. We would hit House Grigor and the Widow with one blow. It would take Kano promising favors and Galrix torque. If we could have sold that for half what it was worth that would have been great. This would end up being worth it though in the end and the Widow would get it back.
House Grigor has multiple buildings in the city including two warehouses and a barracks on the docks. Gilz and Kano came up with a plan to hit burn down the warehouse, have Kano’s ship captain and crew hit the warehouse and we would plant the torque and a note on a high ranking person out of that barracks as if he was trying to sell it and implicate the Widows General in it as well. I was kind of leery about it because they wanted to light the warehouse on fire but they assured me they had a plan to collapse it into the water. Not sure about Gilz but I trust Kano so I was in. House Grigor needed a hurting put on it anyways.
Like I said the plan went off without a hitch. Kano was able to get this high ranking man and drown him and plant the torque and note (which I wrote earlier but didn’t mention). We lit the fire, I let Kaen feed it a bit faster so it would burn quicker and all went great. I grabbed Kaen and turned to run to the end of the docks to the rendezvous point but it almost felt like something grabbed me and stopped me. These people need to see me. They wanted to declare war on me covertly, I would show them we were here and not to be trifled with. I turned back and came out from behind a corner and several of them saw me clearly. I smiled and turned and ran to the rendezvous point. That’s when it hit me what a bad idea that was. Now they knew for sure that it was me. We were already in some danger but I just heightened it. No turning back now I guess. Like I told Lord Sabin, run free and you might make it but at least you’ll be free if you die. I also thought about Mora. She had been seen with me surely so we would need to gather her and her family and bring them to Setvori lands as well. I can;t force her but I really hope they decide to come.
We got out and met up at the old Lighthouse we had found before. When we arrived there was some spirit there weeping. At first Kano thought it was some woman who had lost her husband at sea but no it was a spirit. This is getting all too common now but the spirit went away after a fre minutes. Kano’s shipmates arrived and our share, EACH, was 5,000 coins. Hrena didn’t even know what to do. I knew it was a nice help but we are going to need every coin we can get. We camped there for the night and got word from the city. My House was now at war with House Grigor and Galrix. The Widows General was set to be executed. Well Kano set out to make me known and I am now Known. It was time to get even further away from Riverwatch. It would be impossible to try and settle down around here. Our best bet was to find this spirit root and get to Setvori lands quickly. I think we all had the same idea at the same time. It was time to find our trickster friend in the forest.
Since Biggins Stop is right by the forest I figured it would be a great place to find him since we’re kind of a big deal there. They welcomed us but we didn’t have time to have a party though we would pretty much end up doing that anyways! They also let us know the Fawn had been through so I was much relieved there. We went out of town to find our friend and quickly did so. He gave us some more of his wine (just a drop is all that is needed) and after all we had been through I was ready to relax for at least a few hours. He tried to flick it into Amaris mouth but it hit her eye. Apparently it is WAY more potent that way. Kano was plastered drunk. I was drunk. Hrena didn’t want anything to do with wine after she found out that people with ill intention will sometimes drug it. I don’t remember much except for somehow Hrena was...talking to our friend somehow and suddenly she was like he’s leading us to the area it is. OK let’s do this!! I sobered up as nightfell and realized, again, this was yet another bad idea.
We got the area and started searching for the root. That’s when the balls of light started showing up. Light spirits Hrena said through our guide. I could feel the tension in Kaen as she wanted to lash out at these things. Our campfire wasn’t very big so I tried to pull fire through the stone and initially it didn’t want to but it worked the second time. She leaped out and quickly destroyed two of the things absorbing their...explosion I guess is the right word? Toblikai is able to make his weapon flame (I NEED THIS!) and that was effective against them. We quickly destroyed them and continued searching for the root. Hrena told us she was tired of doing all the work (well don’t be the only sober one….) and was going to take a rest. No worries she deserves it. We searched for almost an hour when she stood up and said oh….woops are you guys looking for this? That I already found? I laughed out loud. Now that was a good prank!
Fortuity and Repose
We helped clean up the dead around the fort. So many dead. It took us three days to get everything taken care of. We resupplied the fort with all Kaldir gear and left some of the loot with the people in the fort. Kano was able to negotiate some horses so we can finally return these horses back to the people we borrowed them from. It had taken a while but we did stay true to our word, dealt with the immediate problems at hand and returned them when finished. It felt good to finally fulfil my agreement on that, little did i know the immediate future would be filled with greater and far more costlier agreements.
We stopped by a few villages. Kano had a great idea that we should try to sell some of the weapons and armor to villages along the way even if it wasn’t much they could afford. I agreed but was pretty skeptical as most villages had very few fighting men. Most were already conscripted and sent to service fighting the Mjorn. Well now fighting each other but still, not many able fighting men left. We did find a few before we parted ways. Most of the group heading to Riverwatch and Stian and I heading to Bavor’s Rest. We agreed to meet back a few days before the Festival of the Fawn. Finally some time to relax.
On a side note I should write this down so I do not forget. The Wolf showed me visions. Of what I am assuming is the Festival of the Fawn and I believe we MUST be there. Then a vision of a hooded figure running through the forest and I am viewing them from behind. Then a boy I do not recognize with dark hair sitting inside an old stone ruin. There is a large basin of water reflecting the light of a full moon. The events do NOT seem to be connected. I should share this with the others. Amaris has a knack for solving riddles.
Mora was happy to see me and we finally had some time to spend with each other. Not sure what Stian was up to, barely saw him. Though it was great it wasn’t all long walks and long nights. I had work to do with this stone. Kaen was excited and together we were able to figure out a few secrets of flame and practiced some powers that could come in handy together. It also seems to be able to create illusions which can be great for a good many things. I also helped Kaen to try and more….physically manifest herself so she can “touch” things. We also worked on language. I don’t really know how to teach language between different...species? but we made some progress I suppose. I did ask Mora to accompany me to Riverwatch for the Festival of the Fawn and she agreed. I just hope I’m not putting her in danger by being next to me.
We made our way to Riverwatch and my plan was to find a nice Inn with a great room for Mora and I. Well it seems my plans are always sidetracked as we came upon a caravan of Myoki which just so happened to be Amaris caravan. Oh and of course guess who her Father is? The leader of the caravan! Guess who takes some of the brunt of the anger? Us! Oh yes, everyone was there (as in Kano, Toblikai, etc). Well I guess Mora should see what she’s getting into if she’s going to stick with me. To top it all off Amaris told her father we could get him favorable deals with whomever comes into power. How did a simple job mapping out the hills in the pass come to this? Now we’re expected to help find a leader capable of leading the people and also convince them to give all these different groups favorable status and honoring old traditions.
On that note - I did ask the Wolf for guidance on that as well. She showed me two banners - a silver stag over a dark green field and Galrix banner “pristine” as if it was made anew. I’m not quite sure what that means. Apparently his widow and General have been quite ruthless taking power. Kano did say the son was “spirit touched”? Maybe that could be something? Could be worth looking into.
Now Amaris caravan (the Aolid) was not as horrible as I put out. They seem to be a fantastic group of people and even brought food and other items for trade. The food we will sorely be needing in the near future. Kano also picked up stragglers in the villages and we put them up currently in a warehouse by the docks. I’m not quite sure I want to know the whole story there so we’ll just leave it at that. We will probably need to find a more permanent place for them. We did find a couple of men who can fight though so that’s good and we definitely have the means to equip them. We didn’t hardly sell any of the weapons and armor along the way.
Now that we have people to take care of we will need somewhere to put them, they can’t live in a warehouse forever and we can’t afford to house refugees forever. So we set out to find a place nearby where maybe we could have a small estate and put these people up and to work. Little did I know it would almost lead to our deaths.
Back when we first got together and were trying to appease the spirits so they wouldn’t rampage across the land killing everyone we ran into a very anti-Myoki barkeep. He had a reason to be though as a woman (his daughter maybe? Something like that) was kidnapped by Myoki. Amaris said it was some caravan of really arrogant jerks who worked in slavery. This was apparently their caravan. ALL. OF. THEM. They seemed to be looking for someone or something so Stian went out to scout and we waited. And waited. And waited. He did not come back and we found out he had been captured.
Note - Remember to talk to Stian. This isn’t the first time, We need to know if we need to hire an actual scout for gathering intel. We’ll likely always be outnumbered and in the “not so greatest” situation so we need solid intel for making plans.
It was someone they were searching for and it was fast. We chased after it but of course that drew attention from the caravaners as well. Kano stopped first, I second after and then Toblikai. Thankfully his little pet was able to trip up this person and stop her (didn’t know at the time but it was a her).
To backtrack quickly I explained (as best I could in limited terms) to Kaen what these people were and she was MAD. Not like when Amaris got shot but she was angry. I didn’t want to fight but if we had to I wanted a show of force to scare survivors so badly they would tell others in the caravan. Thankfully it didn’t come to that.
They explained they wanted the girl and what she had. Kano was able to get them to tell us it was stone that the girl had stolen from the caravan leader. Oh and this was no coincidence. This was the girl that the barkeep had told us about...and she had a stone! We needed this and to keep it away from people who may use their power for nefarious purposes. I asked Hrena if she felt the stone. All of us had felt the stone in some way when we had it so if it had bonded then that was it. They would have no claim to it over the bond. She said No. I asked her again and that this was life or death - did she feel the stone. Amaris said she nodded.
I told them they had no claim. The stone would bond with who it felt best and once that bond was made there would be no more claim over it lest the spirits grow angry,. I held up my lantern with Kaen and told them THIS spirit in particular is very angry and I suggest you not let loose that anger. They debated some and agreed to go back without the stone or Hrena.
As we made our way back we were quickly overtaken by a messenger from the caravan demanding an audience. Fine. We picked a open spot nearby for the meeting. There was no good spot for this. Ya open field was great for cavalry but a secluded area was great for their numbers to ambush us. We had little to bargain with so them talking to us was great. Long story short we now owe them a stone and I gave them my word we would fulfill it. Though we did gain a stone!
Hrena told us some of what happened and was very reluctant. Toblikai had the best of luck with her as well as Amaris. She wanted to leave but we need to help her. I’m not going to force anyone out but her leaving with the stone by herself is a death sentence. We need to assist her and help her learn to use it. We gave Amaris some of the group funds to help Hrena get cleaned up and some clothes for the festival. Afterwards we can help get her some equipment for whatever she does.
We looked at a few areas that would be a good place to settle these refugees. A small village owned by the Widow (of course) that was mostly empty homes except two families. The farmland was good as well as the herding. It was a bit off the beaten path which is probably why is fell into disrepair. An old fort, largely abandoned and rocky ground and finally an old, small Myoki lighthouse that was largely intact. It would take a lot of work to get up and going so I think the first little village is a good place to settle people.
Mountains and Shadow
Saying goodbye to Biggins Stop we rushed west to find the next stone. On the way we found a small village or hamlet that had been razed and some killed. We found four dead and obvious that the others have fled. We buried those and Toblikai gave them their last rites. Stian and Amaris tried to track where the attackers went to but they were moving and not stopping. The worst part about this is it seems to be all Caldere. Our people are turning on themselves. If we had time we would track this band of brigands down but we don't have the luxury at the moment to be tracking down every single group of brigands around and we continued on.
We got to the mountains and met up with Kano, Dogan and a band of Myoki? Of course my first thought was "what did Kano get us into now?" He said they were just there to map out the area and look to see if there were any Vigal settlements to trade with. I hope that's all it is and we don't owe them anymore... He was able to get most things we needed, primarily the cold weather gear. Unfortunately the situation is deteriorating in the city and everywhere. The noble houses are barricaded and they are stealing each other’s land. A chunk of Galrix men have gone to banditry. Trying to unload his torque was not going to happen at this point. He did say there was a marriage offer to me from the widow but I think that's just Kano. Well I hope it's just Kano.
Kaen was terrified of going up the up the mountain so we left Dogan, Toblikai and her at the base. Toblikai offered to stay behind due to his sized which may have been helpful in some spots but not so much in others. Thank the Wolf we had these warm clothes because when I say mountains I don't mean a pass through the mountains, I mean UP onto the tops of mountains. During the travel to the first peak Amaris broke or twisted her ankle. So much for leaving Toblikai behind. We distributed the load for Kano and I to carry more and Stian would carry her. We got to the top of the first peak and Stian spotted something of interest on another peak "close" by. Luckily there was also a ridge that went there so it was the worst travel but still bitter cold. Yes Kaen would have hated this. I don't like it and I'm positive Kano doesn't either. In fact I've heard it more times than I can count.
One night Kano found some weird creature that was living in a skull, four of them in total actually. I don't know what they were but he seemed fascinated by them. He tried to put them in a sack but they tore through it in the night and escaped. I kicked at least one of them down the mountain. No helpful creature would live in a human skull right? Another night is when the real horror began. Kano woke us up to some crying/pleading child outside. He tried to offer it a lit torch and the creatures arm shot out and grabbed him and tried to pull back. It moved oddly, jumping in odd distances away. Each jump was farther the last. I cut into it a few times but it didn't seem to do anything to the things. It was almost out of reach when Kano was able to wrench free from the thing and it resumed its pitiful stance but didn't seem to try to attack again. I guess the show of force was enough to make it think twice! (at least that's what I thought until the Vigal told us otherwise. Apparently all we had to do was ignore it and it cannot do anything to us. I like my story better!)
Finally we got close to the peak where Stian saw something out of the ordinary. He was talking about going up alone but that was insane...Kano should definitely go with him! So they went and they returned worse for wear but they go the stone and it bonded to Stian. Hopefully this last one we saw will bond to me otherwise I suppose I'll be the odd man out. (Spoiler it did bond to me!) I didn't ask what happened up there. They can keep their frozen memories to themselves.
We started to make our way down the mountain and ran into a group of Vigal! They were pretty friendly and helped us get down the mountain. They stayed at our camp for a bit and shared their wine which was EXCELLENT. They shared with us that they hate the Mjorn too and have been fighting them. They could be great allies. They are excellent with their bows and can literally just walk up the steepest of slopes. It would amazing to have a unit of Vigal with any force. I don't know that they would do something like that but it may be worth talking to them further about it. They mentioned Kalphos who is apparently one of these Princes of Rot and maybe the primary one? Not sure. The Myoki Kano brought were pretty excited and drew up a map of where they were for future trading. We, as Hrin, need to just uphold our bargains unlike too many rulers in the recent past.
The Vigal took off, some of us were fairly slow the next morning but we eventually struck camp and made our way Southeast. On the way there we came across a group of what we found to be Galrix soldiers. They fought a battle against another group that was trying to take some land that wasn't theirs. At least that's what they said. Not wanting to draw unwanted attention to ourselves we both carried on with our days. We had to find this last stone quick so we could make our way back and help to ease tensions.
When we got close to the place where the stone had fallen it was a complete warzone. Land tilled and planted but no one around to tend the fields and smoke surrounding the fort in the area that has been taking a brunt of the Mjorn attacks. The weeping child shadow thing was NOTHING compared to this. Dead bodies strewn around the ground, some on large stakes watching towards the keep with their eyes gouged out and innards hanging all over the place. Well at least it's not cold.
There were some men still there and they told of some creature that attacks and can "jump bodies". Well there were plenty of bodies around here to jump into. Apparently it is the cause for this whole mess. We got to work immediately building a fire and starting to burn these bodies starting with the ones lashed to the stakes. They were still alive somehow. We decapitated them and burned them which was probably far preferable to whatever state they were in. We could only do so much and night was rushing in so we made our way into the Fort.
We were taken to their leader Spigval who was in very bad shape. Most of the men were in very bad shape either physically or mentally. I asked around about a stone falling from the sky but no one knew anything. Apparently there had been fighting that night so better to watch in front of you then upwards. In a show of the power of the Wolf Toblikai healed Spigval in front of the group that we could muster up and I gave the most convincing speech I could give. It seemed to help but a lot of these men were just broken. It was going to take a lot to turn this around and we were no closer to the stone (at least that we knew at the time).
Once night fell the thing attacked. A body would jump/flop up on the rampart and attack whatever was near it. We moved into attack and were able to stop it but it would just jump and do it again. I kept trying to rouse the men and get them to fight. We needed to do something more than react and that's when it hit me. "Find the beacon and shine the light on this puppet". At first I thought it meant like something summoned the creature and was in the fort but it must mean the stone was in the Fort! I asked Kaen if she knew where the beacon was and she pointed to the location where they were burning the bodies.
I ran full speed to that building and Spigval opened the door asking what was going on. "Something is in here that can help us!" I rushed in and Kaen jumped out and parted the flames to a stone sitting on the pyre. I grabbed it even though it burned like heck and ran out poking a glimpse at it. It was shining a bit and, not knowing what else to do, begged it for help. Since it was lit I held it aloft and tried to rally the men and it worked! More of them got out of their stupor and were realizing what was going on. Apparently it helped others see this shadowy creature as well though I could not see it immediately. Stian was able to somehow push some power through his stone into the bow and that power was able to hurt and pin the creature. I figured what they heck and drew my sword and tried to push fire onto it thinking that could hurt it. Didn't work. Wil have to work with this stone and Kaen and figure out its uses. Stian was able to kill the thing and it had some kind of "bond" that spanned all the way back across to the East into Mjorn territory. Spigval said the Mjorn called this thing a "weapon of Kalphos". Well there it is, now it is no question, the Mjorn are corrupt.
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.
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