With the death of the Fang, everything feels like it goes quiet for Kulloda. The pounding of blood in his ears and his racing heartbeat slow and his breathing becomes more sedate. He looks around and smiles at this comrades, and laughs when he sees the Fang's head.
"Slaver king dead," Kulloda says. "Maybe Tempus amused."
He then looks around at the remaining, now ex followers of the old Fang.
He's about to start barking at them and threatening them to fall in line and release all their slaves but he pauses a moment before, trying to remember if he's come across any of these northerners in the gladiator pits or at the temple before to make sure he know's which way they tick.
Religion Check (to see Persuasion vs Intimidation): 16
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tristan keeps his rapier up in a high guard position, eyeing the warriors still standing against them warily. “I am not sure how much longer I can hold the others. This room may be about to get crowded. Amused or not, we should make our exit soon.” He gives Kulloda a bemused glance and studies the Fang’s warriors closely, trying to determine the best way to approach them.
Insight: 4.
.He hums briefly “Kulloda, the rise of the Warrior King. What do you think? Is that a catchy title for the day the Fang was killed and an empire overthrown?” (Gives Bardic Inspiration to Kulloda 1d12 added to saving throw, ability check or attack roll in next 10 minutes)
Kulloda has fought the people of The Fang before. While not exactly religious, he vaguely remembers they revere the gods of war, death, the dead, and maybe the gods of courage, protection, and justice. He knows they respect strength over politics but also that The Fang was a charismatic leader.
(That's all a 16 gets you on that check. Now either someone gives a help action or you can roll history successfully to get advantage on whichever roll you choose.)
Tristan does see the fury in the eyes of his frozen opponents. They are ready to fight and will only listen now, if at all, because they can do nothing else. They may have to listen but they are not obligated to hear Kulloda's words...unless he makes them very clear.
(Tristan can see that intimidation is going to be the more effective approach here.)
Martin - having lead several barbarians on a merry chase and striking down the Fang - steps up next to Kuloda to flourish his glamerweave cape, which begins to appear to drip blood at a swift pace.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kulloda feels energy surge into him from Tristan and his lips peel back revealing all his teeth and tusks.
He’s not going to inspire anyone but the sheer force of his rage and unwillingness to ever be beaten may be respected more.
With Martin and the others beside him he bellows out at the remaining Fang warriors.
”Old Fang strong but not strong. Prey on slaves not strong. Make weak. Now no head. No need slaves to take what want. You all submit new Fang. Keep heads. Much war to come. Much wealth. Tempus favour the Fang now.”
Intimidation (adv from help): 14 plus Bardic Inspiration of 12
A musical thrum resonates as Kulloda speaks giving him an almost otherworldly presence. The anger drains from the eyes of the barbarians left alive. As Tristan's spell wears off, a tense moment occurs in which the barbarians bristle, their weapons still raised. But there is no heart in it. They look to each other and see the fight has left them, then they look to the right hand of The Fang. This lieutenant is clearly furious, a white-knuckled grip on his weapon.
"You did not challenge The Fang as you should," he says. "He did not laugh at you and then fight you to the death."
It is clear that the protocol for usurping the throne of The Fang was not followed but these things can be overlooked if they must. Seeing the head of his leader held by the bloodied and tangled hair atop his head, the lieutenant understands his options. He fights to become The Fang himself against this outsider and the men who back him or he accepts new leadership.
"For now," the lieutenant says with a growl, and then he drops to a knee, keeping eye contact with the new Fang.
One by one, the barbarians follow suit, each dropping to a knee in silent acceptance of their new leader.
(Combat is ended, welcome to next level. What do you do next? Stay here for a few days, head straight back to deliver The Fang's head? Something else?)
Kulloda is happy with whatever the others want to do but would not want to keep the head here too long. Probably best to return it to the temple as fresh as possible. He would want to stay long enough to see the slaves being freed and ensure that the barbarians know they can still fight and plunder to their hearts content. Rindeth Mar (Kulloda's 'slave' will find he's getting used as a liaison between Kulloda and The Fang to keep an eye on what's happening and letting Kulloda know - he would let them know to expect Rindeth Mar as well).
Then - do they need to check in on the 'traveling circus' quest? Then another one of the 'dragon influencing' tasks? Do any speak to the other characters? If not, Kulloda would vote for more action oriented ones like killing the Elk (which understandably might not suit everyone's tastes), or retrieving the hammer, but also not opposed to a bit of theft and stealing a shard of moonlight.
The slaves are immediately freed, leaving little in the way of cooking or service available to tend to The Fang's retinue. A large breakfast is already made so the barbarians remain fed, albeit morose at the loss of their leader. Some of them opt to leave for the larger village beyond the fence of The Fang's compound. Others remain behind and attempt to garner good favor from the apparent leader of the tribes of The Fang.
The lieutenant remains at Kulloda's side, a permanent scowl on his face. "Should I send messengers to the tribal leaders announcing the... news?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tristan Religion check: 21.
Tristan will be up for heading back to the capital as soon as possible. As for the other quests, they do have a lead on the former priest of the traveling circus and they know when/where the others will meet. He is also open to any of the retrieval quests - the hammer, ice flame, etc.
He has not intention of imposing a religion on the tribes of The Fang, but also realizes that a shrine to Tempus here won't offend anyone either. Before starting to get one built so they can offer the head, Kulloda gets one of the soldiers to show the group where the old dearly departed Fang kept his treasure. After a quick inventory, Kulloda would move to have at least half of it shared and divided up among the lieutenant and other soldiers/barbarians, a small boon to each of the slaves to get them settled and some used to hire servants for the fort. Anything left after that he will suggest be used for the traveling circus.
After that's settled, and with Gash's help, he'll rope a couple of barbarians into helping him build the shrine to Tempus.
Kulloda distributes 17,000 gp in coins and treasure to the barbarians left in The Fang's residence. There is a lot of suspicion but some grudging acceptance by many of the men and a few that see opportunity where they had none before.
He then also sets up a shrine in the armory to Tempus, the God of war. On it, he places the bloody head of the former Fang and offers up a prayer. Before the prayer is complete, a solid hand finds his shoulder. Looking behind him, Kulloda sees Centulia looking down on him. She looks at him impassively, her expression difficult to read.
"The Fang? Arguably he was no king. But, Tempus' interest is piqued. You are the new Fang. You can perhaps do more to advance the causes of Tempus than any discord you could have caused with the untimely death of any other king. You have Tempus' vote. He welcomes your sword on the battlefield against the enemies of your kingdom."
A rush of warmth and the metallic tang of blood in his nose accompanies a brief word by the devil. A blessing of Tempus courses through the half-orc, his eyes closed as he receives it. He opens his eyes and Centulia is gone.
(Kulloda has a new feat: Martial Adept, which grants him the Commander's Strike and Maneuvering Attack abilities when using a superiority die.)
Kulloda feels like it will take several weeks to firm up his command of the people of the Fang. How will he do this? What will the rest of the party do in the meantime?
Martin looks to the new Fang. "Well, your majesty... I have to say, there are worse hero-kings to have ruled. Now I think it's time we move on, and quickly. I think it might be in our interest to go after Shaundakul's vote, and free the djinn from the spider queen."
Dog falls into a sort of happy supportive role with Kulloda. He's comfortable helping out a sovereign, and he's comfortable among martial, beefy types. He does his best to smooth things over with the barbarians, translating where he can. (Where are we, geographically, in relation to the goliath tribes we'd dealt with in the previous adventure? Do they have relations?) "Kulloda, I think this might suit you more than anyone else. When it comes to sense, and fairness, you've a good head on your shoulders. At least you've got a head on your shoulders." Half grin.
He updates, through the sending stones, the crown and his people, with a mind to ensuring the regent, Nev, and Genny know they might have a new ally here, and asking for their thoughts. He checks in with his people, Gunnur, to see what's going on and asking if they've made progress on their tasks.
He spends a great deal of time with Althus, first making sure he is safe and healthy and can heal up quickly. Then asking him what happened, how he got here, what he learned. "What do you want to do now? You're welcome at my side any time, and of course you're welcome to go elsewhere, perhaps I can even help you get there through the teleportation helm."He's really curious to know what Althus thinks might be possible for this new kingdom, and how the aasimar queen might be able to use it to her advantage. He tells Althus about their current tasks and catches him up on what's happened since he left. He explicitly asks the paladin's thoughts on their current tactic of pushing the gods to vote in the dragon and the stranger.
In terms of loot, he's interested in a party use of the elemental gem, the wand, and the potion of growth.
When Martin suggests the djinn, he shudders, but nods. "That's likely one of our better shots at not causing a huge amount of harm. Seems daunting, but this did too. Do we have any intelligence on what we'll find there, should we just go? I don't know anything about the Spider Queen. We'd want to prepare... gather resources to not die immediately, and also information from the library or others who have been there so we know where to go. Happy to help on both of those fronts. If we want to ensure there are no chances for Finnegan to cause trouble, we could go for both the djinn and the traveling circus. That way we have margin for error and it's not a one-vote win."
Dog falls into a sort of happy supportive role with Kulloda. He's comfortable helping out a sovereign, and he's comfortable among martial, beefy types. He does his best to smooth things over with the barbarians, translating where he can. (Where are we, geographically, in relation to the goliath tribes we'd dealt with in the previous adventure? Do they have relations?) "Kulloda, I think this might suit you more than anyone else. When it comes to sense, and fairness, you've a good head on your shoulders. At least you've got a head on your shoulders." Half grin.
He updates, through the sending stones, the crown and his people, with a mind to ensuring the regent, Nev, and Genny know they might have a new ally here, and asking for their thoughts. He checks in with his people, Gunnur, to see what's going on and asking if they've made progress on their tasks.
He spends a great deal of time with Althus, first making sure he is safe and healthy and can heal up quickly. Then asking him what happened, how he got here, what he learned. "What do you want to do now? You're welcome at my side any time, and of course you're welcome to go elsewhere, perhaps I can even help you get there through the teleportation helm."He's really curious to know what Althus thinks might be possible for this new kingdom, and how the aasimar queen might be able to use it to her advantage. He tells Althus about their current tasks and catches him up on what's happened since he left. He explicitly asks the paladin's thoughts on their current tactic of pushing the gods to vote in the dragon and the stranger.
"I cam to minister and protect the people of north Poria," Althus says. "I was taken in a raid with an entire village of Porians. They were sold into slavery almost immediately. Me, they wanted to break first."
Althus gives non-committal answers to questions on his thoughts about the new Fang. It is clear, though, that he has no love for these barbarians. Many of the barbarians who tortured him remain lingering about. On more than one occasion, Althus grits his teeth in a harsh prayer at the jeering words of the Fang's men. Now that he is healed, he is definitely ready to return to Poria. He seems to be sticking around to see what will become of this new Fang but does so reluctantly.
"I don't wish to return to Alcion," he says when asked. "They do not need me. The people of Poria still do, though."
Dog has never been to Poria, although the capital in the south does have a teleportation circle.
"I may need a horse to make my way back to the people of north Poria," he says.
On the topic of the heavens and hells, Althus is left a little baffled. "I have always known the celestials and the devils to be opposed. I will have to pray on this to know Helm's thoughts," he says.
There is certainly a degree of devoutness that Althus has embraced more than when they traveled together a year ago. Dog might find it terribly curious that a paladin of Helm was not pulled into the mix.
He ensures Althus has what he needs, either by teleporting him to Poria if possible (or rather Gash could do so?) or, once he was stable, helping him kit out a horse and provisions. He also talks through which barbarians need to be... reformed. Addressed. Punished. Visited by the new Fang to gain a proper understanding of justice. Exiled. Whatever seems sensible. Althus will have a different take given how he came here, but his perspective is valuable. He'd rather Kulloda know which barbarians were the true sadists and which ones could be reformed and which ones are plausibly stable enough to leave in charge when Kulloda decides to depart.
He does ask to know anything Helm might wish to share, and tries to find a way for them to keep in touch, should Althus discover something new after leaving.
He checks in with his people, Gunnur, to see what's going on and asking if they've made progress on their tasks.
Gunnur reports in daily whenever Dog messages him. He has made the following progress:
Finding out about the stealing of moonlight has been nigh impossible thus far. most clerics look aghast at the idea at best and accuse him of blasphemy at the worst. One scholar took the problem on but not with much urgency.
The fey are cagey about the feywilds. Nobody has specifics about the white elk. He did get one detail that such elk escaped from the material plane long ago and that they do not originate in the feywild.
Gunnur is especially proud of what he found out about the eternal cold flame. He found the Porian expert on the mythological substance. It was apparently once a shared elemental of the planes of fire and winter. The hellish gods bickered over whose domain it belonged to. In a rare matter of truce, perhaps enforced by the other gods, they agreed to leave it in the hands of the wood elves in the cold forests of northern Poria. Stealing the flame from the elves and giving it to either Amaunator (fire) or Auril (winter) would break this truce but not actually give either god more power over the other. And both rule over hells, so they are not actually in opposition to each other. (Auril already supports the dragon. Amaunator does not but can be swayed with the flame.)
The hammer of the duergarian hero was difficult to pinpoint. There might be a lead in Harbach but the ties between Alcion and Harbach are frosty right now.
The drow queen and the djinn is akin to a fable from a child's storybook, according to Gunnur, but the librarians helping him have one scroll that may suggest there is some truth to the tale, although how much truth is difficult to say. He does know the tale originated in Harbach or the eastern tribes close to where the drow often raid from. The story goes that the drow queen captured the djinn in her web and he promised her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. After claiming two of the wishes, one for power and one for wealth, she grew content and told the djinn she would decide the next day. And she did so every day thereafter. By some accounts, she wed the djinn and by others drove him mad.
He ensures Althus has what he needs, either by teleporting him to Poria if possible (or rather Gash could do so?) or, once he was stable, helping him kit out a horse and provisions. He also talks through which barbarians need to be... reformed. Addressed. Punished. Visited by the new Fang to gain a proper understanding of justice. Exiled. Whatever seems sensible. Althus will have a different take given how he came here, but his perspective is valuable. He'd rather Kulloda know which barbarians were the true sadists and which ones could be reformed and which ones are plausibly stable enough to leave in charge when Kulloda decides to depart.
He does ask to know anything Helm might wish to share, and tries to find a way for them to keep in touch, should Althus discover something new after leaving.
Without knowing any location in Poria to teleport to, Althus is left to ride south. He does so on the second day. Before he goes, he points out three barbarians in particular that tormented him at the behest of the old Fang. Althus does promise to stay in touch, giving the name of a mystic among the wood elves that can find him in Poria. "Send a message to Kylvanus if you need me. He will know how to find me."
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With the death of the Fang, everything feels like it goes quiet for Kulloda. The pounding of blood in his ears and his racing heartbeat slow and his breathing becomes more sedate. He looks around and smiles at this comrades, and laughs when he sees the Fang's head.
"Slaver king dead," Kulloda says. "Maybe Tempus amused."
He then looks around at the remaining, now ex followers of the old Fang.
He's about to start barking at them and threatening them to fall in line and release all their slaves but he pauses a moment before, trying to remember if he's come across any of these northerners in the gladiator pits or at the temple before to make sure he know's which way they tick.
Religion Check (to see Persuasion vs Intimidation): 16
Tristan keeps his rapier up in a high guard position, eyeing the warriors still standing against them warily. “I am not sure how much longer I can hold the others. This room may be about to get crowded. Amused or not, we should make our exit soon.” He gives Kulloda a bemused glance and studies the Fang’s warriors closely, trying to determine the best way to approach them.
Insight: 4.
.He hums briefly “Kulloda, the rise of the Warrior King. What do you think? Is that a catchy title for the day the Fang was killed and an empire overthrown?” (Gives Bardic Inspiration to Kulloda 1d12 added to saving throw, ability check or attack roll in next 10 minutes)
Kulloda has fought the people of The Fang before. While not exactly religious, he vaguely remembers they revere the gods of war, death, the dead, and maybe the gods of courage, protection, and justice. He knows they respect strength over politics but also that The Fang was a charismatic leader.
(That's all a 16 gets you on that check. Now either someone gives a help action or you can roll history successfully to get advantage on whichever roll you choose.)
Tristan does see the fury in the eyes of his frozen opponents. They are ready to fight and will only listen now, if at all, because they can do nothing else. They may have to listen but they are not obligated to hear Kulloda's words...unless he makes them very clear.
(Tristan can see that intimidation is going to be the more effective approach here.)
Martin - having lead several barbarians on a merry chase and striking down the Fang - steps up next to Kuloda to flourish his glamerweave cape, which begins to appear to drip blood at a swift pace.
(Help on the intimidation for Kuloda?)
Paladin - warforged - orange
Kulloda feels energy surge into him from Tristan and his lips peel back revealing all his teeth and tusks.
He’s not going to inspire anyone but the sheer force of his rage and unwillingness to ever be beaten may be respected more.
With Martin and the others beside him he bellows out at the remaining Fang warriors.
”Old Fang strong but not strong. Prey on slaves not strong. Make weak. Now no head. No need slaves to take what want. You all submit new Fang. Keep heads. Much war to come. Much wealth. Tempus favour the Fang now.”
Intimidation (adv from help): 14 plus Bardic Inspiration of 12
A musical thrum resonates as Kulloda speaks giving him an almost otherworldly presence. The anger drains from the eyes of the barbarians left alive. As Tristan's spell wears off, a tense moment occurs in which the barbarians bristle, their weapons still raised. But there is no heart in it. They look to each other and see the fight has left them, then they look to the right hand of The Fang. This lieutenant is clearly furious, a white-knuckled grip on his weapon.
"You did not challenge The Fang as you should," he says. "He did not laugh at you and then fight you to the death."
It is clear that the protocol for usurping the throne of The Fang was not followed but these things can be overlooked if they must. Seeing the head of his leader held by the bloodied and tangled hair atop his head, the lieutenant understands his options. He fights to become The Fang himself against this outsider and the men who back him or he accepts new leadership.
"For now," the lieutenant says with a growl, and then he drops to a knee, keeping eye contact with the new Fang.
One by one, the barbarians follow suit, each dropping to a knee in silent acceptance of their new leader.
(Combat is ended, welcome to next level. What do you do next? Stay here for a few days, head straight back to deliver The Fang's head? Something else?)
Kulloda steps up very close to the old lieutenant and meets his gaze.
"For now?" Kulloda says. "For as long as Kulloda say."
But then he extends a hand and pulls the man up from his knee and claps him hard on the shoulder.
"Release slaves and pillage neighbors as much as want. Share wealth with soldiers and people of Fang."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kulloda is happy with whatever the others want to do but would not want to keep the head here too long. Probably best to return it to the temple as fresh as possible. He would want to stay long enough to see the slaves being freed and ensure that the barbarians know they can still fight and plunder to their hearts content. Rindeth Mar (Kulloda's 'slave' will find he's getting used as a liaison between Kulloda and The Fang to keep an eye on what's happening and letting Kulloda know - he would let them know to expect Rindeth Mar as well).
Then - do they need to check in on the 'traveling circus' quest? Then another one of the 'dragon influencing' tasks? Do any speak to the other characters? If not, Kulloda would vote for more action oriented ones like killing the Elk (which understandably might not suit everyone's tastes), or retrieving the hammer, but also not opposed to a bit of theft and stealing a shard of moonlight.
The slaves are immediately freed, leaving little in the way of cooking or service available to tend to The Fang's retinue. A large breakfast is already made so the barbarians remain fed, albeit morose at the loss of their leader. Some of them opt to leave for the larger village beyond the fence of The Fang's compound. Others remain behind and attempt to garner good favor from the apparent leader of the tribes of The Fang.
The lieutenant remains at Kulloda's side, a permanent scowl on his face. "Should I send messengers to the tribal leaders announcing the... news?"
(Everyone give a religion check.)
Martin religion 2
Paladin - warforged - orange
Kulloda Religion Check: 17
Tristan Religion check: 21.
Tristan will be up for heading back to the capital as soon as possible. As for the other quests, they do have a lead on the former priest of the traveling circus and they know when/where the others will meet. He is also open to any of the retrieval quests - the hammer, ice flame, etc.
Kulloda nods at the lieutenant. "Tell everyone."
He has not intention of imposing a religion on the tribes of The Fang, but also realizes that a shrine to Tempus here won't offend anyone either. Before starting to get one built so they can offer the head, Kulloda gets one of the soldiers to show the group where the old dearly departed Fang kept his treasure. After a quick inventory, Kulloda would move to have at least half of it shared and divided up among the lieutenant and other soldiers/barbarians, a small boon to each of the slaves to get them settled and some used to hire servants for the fort. Anything left after that he will suggest be used for the traveling circus.
After that's settled, and with Gash's help, he'll rope a couple of barbarians into helping him build the shrine to Tempus.
Treasure found in the coffers of the fang:
34,000 gp in various denominations and currencies.
An urn, a bronze statue, a marble bust, and a decorative sword (dull and mounted), each worth about 750 gp.
2 x potion of healing
A scroll of burning hands
A scroll of snare
A wand of secrets
A potion of poison
An emerald elemental gem
A potion of growth
Kulloda distributes 17,000 gp in coins and treasure to the barbarians left in The Fang's residence. There is a lot of suspicion but some grudging acceptance by many of the men and a few that see opportunity where they had none before.
He then also sets up a shrine in the armory to Tempus, the God of war. On it, he places the bloody head of the former Fang and offers up a prayer. Before the prayer is complete, a solid hand finds his shoulder. Looking behind him, Kulloda sees Centulia looking down on him. She looks at him impassively, her expression difficult to read.
"The Fang? Arguably he was no king. But, Tempus' interest is piqued. You are the new Fang. You can perhaps do more to advance the causes of Tempus than any discord you could have caused with the untimely death of any other king. You have Tempus' vote. He welcomes your sword on the battlefield against the enemies of your kingdom."
A rush of warmth and the metallic tang of blood in his nose accompanies a brief word by the devil. A blessing of Tempus courses through the half-orc, his eyes closed as he receives it. He opens his eyes and Centulia is gone.
(Kulloda has a new feat: Martial Adept, which grants him the Commander's Strike and Maneuvering Attack abilities when using a superiority die.)
Kulloda feels like it will take several weeks to firm up his command of the people of the Fang. How will he do this? What will the rest of the party do in the meantime?
Martin looks to the new Fang. "Well, your majesty... I have to say, there are worse hero-kings to have ruled. Now I think it's time we move on, and quickly. I think it might be in our interest to go after Shaundakul's vote, and free the djinn from the spider queen."
Paladin - warforged - orange
Dog falls into a sort of happy supportive role with Kulloda. He's comfortable helping out a sovereign, and he's comfortable among martial, beefy types. He does his best to smooth things over with the barbarians, translating where he can. (Where are we, geographically, in relation to the goliath tribes we'd dealt with in the previous adventure? Do they have relations?) "Kulloda, I think this might suit you more than anyone else. When it comes to sense, and fairness, you've a good head on your shoulders. At least you've got a head on your shoulders." Half grin.
He updates, through the sending stones, the crown and his people, with a mind to ensuring the regent, Nev, and Genny know they might have a new ally here, and asking for their thoughts. He checks in with his people, Gunnur, to see what's going on and asking if they've made progress on their tasks.
He spends a great deal of time with Althus, first making sure he is safe and healthy and can heal up quickly. Then asking him what happened, how he got here, what he learned. "What do you want to do now? You're welcome at my side any time, and of course you're welcome to go elsewhere, perhaps I can even help you get there through the teleportation helm." He's really curious to know what Althus thinks might be possible for this new kingdom, and how the aasimar queen might be able to use it to her advantage. He tells Althus about their current tasks and catches him up on what's happened since he left. He explicitly asks the paladin's thoughts on their current tactic of pushing the gods to vote in the dragon and the stranger.
In terms of loot, he's interested in a party use of the elemental gem, the wand, and the potion of growth.
When Martin suggests the djinn, he shudders, but nods. "That's likely one of our better shots at not causing a huge amount of harm. Seems daunting, but this did too. Do we have any intelligence on what we'll find there, should we just go? I don't know anything about the Spider Queen. We'd want to prepare... gather resources to not die immediately, and also information from the library or others who have been there so we know where to go. Happy to help on both of those fronts. If we want to ensure there are no chances for Finnegan to cause trouble, we could go for both the djinn and the traveling circus. That way we have margin for error and it's not a one-vote win."
"I cam to minister and protect the people of north Poria," Althus says. "I was taken in a raid with an entire village of Porians. They were sold into slavery almost immediately. Me, they wanted to break first."
Althus gives non-committal answers to questions on his thoughts about the new Fang. It is clear, though, that he has no love for these barbarians. Many of the barbarians who tortured him remain lingering about. On more than one occasion, Althus grits his teeth in a harsh prayer at the jeering words of the Fang's men. Now that he is healed, he is definitely ready to return to Poria. He seems to be sticking around to see what will become of this new Fang but does so reluctantly.
"I don't wish to return to Alcion," he says when asked. "They do not need me. The people of Poria still do, though."
Dog has never been to Poria, although the capital in the south does have a teleportation circle.
"I may need a horse to make my way back to the people of north Poria," he says.
On the topic of the heavens and hells, Althus is left a little baffled. "I have always known the celestials and the devils to be opposed. I will have to pray on this to know Helm's thoughts," he says.
There is certainly a degree of devoutness that Althus has embraced more than when they traveled together a year ago. Dog might find it terribly curious that a paladin of Helm was not pulled into the mix.
Dog's rather wide-ranging to do list for Gunnur, who ideally has worked with a bunch of people to look into the quests.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/67079-the-high-court-of-the-aasimar-queen?page=144#c2875
He ensures Althus has what he needs, either by teleporting him to Poria if possible (or rather Gash could do so?) or, once he was stable, helping him kit out a horse and provisions. He also talks through which barbarians need to be... reformed. Addressed. Punished. Visited by the new Fang to gain a proper understanding of justice. Exiled. Whatever seems sensible. Althus will have a different take given how he came here, but his perspective is valuable. He'd rather Kulloda know which barbarians were the true sadists and which ones could be reformed and which ones are plausibly stable enough to leave in charge when Kulloda decides to depart.
He does ask to know anything Helm might wish to share, and tries to find a way for them to keep in touch, should Althus discover something new after leaving.
Gunnur reports in daily whenever Dog messages him. He has made the following progress:
Without knowing any location in Poria to teleport to, Althus is left to ride south. He does so on the second day. Before he goes, he points out three barbarians in particular that tormented him at the behest of the old Fang. Althus does promise to stay in touch, giving the name of a mystic among the wood elves that can find him in Poria. "Send a message to Kylvanus if you need me. He will know how to find me."