Round 3

Radions simply side-step the thorn whip, again, with a completely blank and expressionless face.

Somehow, what Renars just said seems to anger the 'bandits' even more instead of scaring them. Elvīns slams his blade against Renar's, the Eastern curved sword and the Western straight sword locks together dramatically. "Come on, then, kill me if you dare! At least I'll die free and not live as a slave to the system like you, isn't that what you Priyehans keep blabbering about? To rather die honourably than live in shame?" Elvīns pull his sword back and strikes for real this time, aiming Renar's shoulder, "Let me see your war face!"

Glorija flips her spellbook and summons another magic circle, this time red, "Sorry about that, Elvīns is just really passionate about his job. We all do, actually, but he takes it one step further than everyone else... at least compared to what we have left." The magic circle lights up, and Glorija sighs. "Can you continue this, Helene? The only person who would explain this kind of stuff is..." She points at the unconscious Veno. Then, she makes a hand gesture, three bolts shoot out of the circle, two heading towards Venet, one heading right at Alexander. "Scorching Ray!"

Helene sighs at the sight of her unconscious friend, "As he had already explained, we are trying to liberate Rauna from the influence of Mihailovs, that's the house that has owned this Duchy for thousands of years. He was the commander during the -1C 4969 CY rebellion against Duke Linus Mihailovs, father of the current Duke Elmars Mihailovs—he was one of the only two people who escaped arrest from the duke, along with our former leader, Alba." 

Helene takes a deep breath, she is about to continue before Elvīns shoots her a glare. The dwarf gulps, thinking she might get another lecture—luckily, though,  Elvīns just give her a thumbs up before returning to the fight. "I know Elmars hired you, and I know he wants the human artefact from you, but we don't think he'll use it on good terms. He'll probably ignore the poor again, just like his father did, and use all of those funds to either do something useless or appease the rich and the upper middle class. I know you all want to help this world a better place, and the first step is to ignore Elmars' request and maybe work with us instead. We never steal from helpless, defenceless people, we only steal it from the rich and give it to the poor—you know, like Robin Hood." She walks toward the nearest person in her sight, which in this case, is Bloom. She stows her hammer and sticks her right hand to the Tiefling... however, she hides her left hand behind her back and summons a teal energy—Inflict Wounds. They are still their enemy, and they shouldn't let their guard down even when asking for a parley.

Hearing Shugo's comments, Lavīze speaks up. "Come on, dude. I haven't had this much fun for ages, besides, we're kicking your butt right now, do you—ACK!" Shugo's blade slashes her arm and his unarmed strike connects with her chest, she coughs out blood from that. "Ow... ow, ow, ow, I take that back!"

She leans on the shaft of her spear, huffing, but still full of energy. "What I'm saying... the next time you see that bird, you should probably pluck his feathers out and use them to make a pillow. Screw Elmars and his family, right?" She points a spear at Shugo's face, the moment he says no, he'll get a face full of iron and blood.

There are a lot of options: you can betray Elmars and join the People's Army, you can pretend to join them, wait until 16th April, and turn them all in once they're caught off-guard, you can deny their request and arrest them right now, or maybe you have some sort of fourth-dimensional chess moves that will defy everyone's expectations? Only you can answer.

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 

Triggered action from Renars: 16 to hit, 5 damage.

Attack from Elvīns: 8 to hit, 5 damage.

 

Renar's attack misses.

[7] / [30] AC[13] [Restrained, Silenced]

Venet would probably cry out if she wasnt silenced, as the fire singes her skin. She struggles against the vines once more, but to no avail. Str Save: 4

Well this isn't going to plan at all! How am I supposed to help like this!

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

Round 3

Radions simply side-step the thorn whip, again, with a completely blank and expressionless face.

Somehow, what Renars just said seems to anger the 'bandits' even more instead of scaring them. Elvīns slams his blade against Renar's, the Eastern curved sword and the Western straight sword locks together dramatically. "Come on, then, kill me if you dare! At least I'll die free and not live as a slave to the system like you, isn't that what you Priyehans keep blabbering about? To rather die honourably than live in shame?" Elvīns pull his sword back and strikes for real this time, aiming Renar's shoulder, "Let me see your war face!"

Triggered action from Renars: 16 to hit, 5 damage.

Attack from Elvīns: 8 to hit, 5 damage.

 

Oh trust me, my friend. If Rixi doesn't want to see my war face, I'll make sure to make you eat your words too, sucker! Take this! *He swiftly slashes but hits his armour instead* Crap... I knew this wouldn't work- *Reflexively parries the orc's attack with a kick* Man this guy must be awfully tired. I could easily kick his blow away like it's nothing. But... they didn't seem to be in the mood to rob people today. So why did that Elmar bird-brain send us to-?

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 

Glorija flips her spellbook and summons another magic circle, this time red, "Sorry about that, Elvīns is just really passionate about his job. We all do, actually, but he takes it one step further than everyone else... at least compared to what we have left." The magic circle lights up, and Glorija sighs. "Can you continue this, Helene? The only person who would explain this kind of stuff is..." She points at the unconscious Veno. Then, she makes a hand gesture, three bolts shoot out of the circle, two heading towards Venet, one heading right at Alexander. "Scorching Ray!"

Scorching Ray:

At Venet: 22 and 15 to hit, 11 and 7 damage respectively

At Alexander: 10 to hit, 4 damage

Helene sighs at the sight of her unconscious friend, "As he had already explained, we are trying to liberate Rauna from the influence of Mihailovs, that's the house that has owned this Duchy for thousands of years. He was the commander during the -1C 4969 CY rebellion against Duke Linus Mihailovs, father of the current Duke Elmars Mihailovs—he was one of the only two people who escaped arrest from the duke, along with our former leader, Alba." 

Helene takes a deep breath, she is about to continue before Elvīns shoots her a glare. The dwarf gulps, thinking she might get another lecture—luckily, though,  Elvīns just give her a thumbs up before returning to the fight. "I know Elmars hired you, and I know he wants the human artefact from you, but we don't think he'll use it on good terms. He'll probably ignore the poor again, just like his father did, and use all of those funds to either do something useless or appease the rich and the upper middle class. I know you all want to help this world a better place, and the first step is to ignore Elmars' request and maybe work with us instead. We never steal from helpless, defenceless people, we only steal it from the rich and give it to the poor—you know, like Robin Hood." She walks toward the nearest person in her sight, which in this case, is Bloom. She stows her hammer and sticks her right hand to the Tiefling... however, she hides her left hand behind her back and summons a teal energy—Inflict Wounds. They are still their enemy, and they shouldn't let their guard down even when asking for a parley.

Wait... what?! They're... who's Rauna? Alba? Never heard of him. And their leader Alb... Album- I don't even know how to pronounce that. But... Robin Hood? Isn't that the folk hero that Rixi and Ethan told me when were travelling in Japan? They know about him?! Wait no... they must be lying. Either that or...

I gesture to everyone in the backlines to pause. "WAIT! STOP! Lower your weapons!" If anyone else still tries to attack I will briefly restrain their arms before they can do so. That aside, I kept my katana locked in my sweaty clawed hands, though I for sure decided not to let my guard down. I then turned to the elf and dwarf girls who seem to know the situation they've been stuck in the most.

"Wait... I'm confused." I reply the two girls with a normal voice. "Who Rauna? And this um... whatever your leader's name is... Neither of us have any idea what you're talking about at the moment. At least, that's from my standpoint. Most of us probably haven't heard of your legends so uh... And besides we never intended on launching a full-on assault against you in the first place. I know Robin Hood though. And yes, I'm fully aware of his deeds since I've heard his story before. I'm not sure about the others..."

I noticed the others on my side still brimming with hostile intent. It seems like I was the only one that wasn't keen on battling in the first place. And... when I get the chance, I guess I'll write that my 'list of weaknesses to correct list' once this is done. But for now... I guess if we can't beat them... join them? I felt sceptical against all odds, but I guess I could avoid some brutal deaths if it means so...

"Just to clarify: We're not on anyone's side at the moment; Neither Elmars nor yours." Man Rixi would have been able to deal with faster than me but oh well. I guess we'll use facts and logic. "We only agreed to help that stupid bird brain because one: We're also afraid about him showing his dark side for the time being and two: His speeches were just straight up insignificant, if not unamusing and we wanted to get out of his face asap. And three maybe, depending but: Maybe to get him on our good side first whilst we work to expose the façade of his beneath his work."

"If you want to convince us to switch, let alone hear, your side of things..." I continue as I sort of sheath my katana. "...we need more details. As in, details that we need to believe in. Like I said before punks: We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Easy way is: We all drop our weapons or stop conjuring harmful spells and come to a standstill, but in return, we ask that you provide us some truthful and reasonable info for us to hear. If we even detect one lie from any one of you, that's it. Consider the potential truce over. As for the hard way well... *His katana sheath suddenly changes from a wispy blue to an electric yellow as his voice lowers* ...I don't have to explain do I? So last chance. If you decide to drop your weapons, we'll gladly do so as well. How's that?"

That aside, I've never ever let out so many words in one setting for centuries. Well, except the time where I had to argue with Tenebris about the how bowling works and the physics that backs up that human sport.  It was a disaster for both of us when we both got outskilled...

Alexander's eyes widen as Renar begins threatening the half-orc. He hadn't really expected such a bold move from the quiet fellow, but then again he could tell that Renar knew what he was doing... though, perhaps it was a little too bold to threaten the biggest and strongest enemy in the bunch.

Doing his best to listen to the bandit's speech, he dodges the ray of fire, this time managing to do so without letting out any sort of surprised sound. So they really weren't all that bad then? And the doubt he had regarding Elmars might be warranted? He lands as lightly as he can manage next to Renar as the shifter shouts for everyone to lower their weapons. Already way ahead of you buddy... well, not really but... anyways. 

He gives Renar a confused look when he says that he and the others don't know who Rauna and Alba are. "Wait... huh?" He says, turning to his comrade, "I've heard most of these names before... not sure about Alba but the others I have heard of. Well, as much as the next person does anyways. You really aren't from around here are you?" He had his suspicious, and it was getting pretty obvious that Renar was at least from the same country as Shugo... or some other nearby county. Just not this one. "It's alright. At least you've heard of Robin Hood." He chuckles, lowering his blade but not yet sheathing it. 

Looking to the opposing group, he says, "Uh... well, like my friend here said we aren't really taking sides yet. We just would sooner not get on Elmars's bad side, but none of us were all that keen on giving up whatever artifact can be found in the ruins." He hesitates, realizing that he had considered it in hopes that Elmars would do with it exactly what these bandits said he wouldn't do. "Well, to be honest I don't know much about the politics around here, but I'd hoped that Elmars would do what is best for his people... but considering you guys are out here I would assume that he isn't. We came out here thinking that you were a bunch of regular bandits, but I hadn't even considered you could be freedom fighters... I'm sorry..." He looks genuinely troubled, realizing that this whole adventuring gig might be a lot more complicated than he'd originally thought. His glowing wings sag slightly, almost as if he's forgotten they were there at all. 

Shugo looks confused as the enemy suddenly starts giving them a history lesson. He listens to what they say and sighs. This is honestly not surprising to him. Elmars had seemed a bit off from the start. He knows how nobles work, and Elmars was no exception. While he doesn't immediately recognize the names that the Helene drops, he does understand what is going on. If only Bloom hadn't struck first, maybe he could have come to this conclusion before any blood was drawn. Oh well, the past is in the past. This just goes to show that if he's going to keep working with those four then they need to learn to be a better team.

He turns his attention back to Lavize and smiles at her despite the blade pointed at his face. Lowering his sword he leans adopts a more relaxed stance, though he's still ready to spring back into action at the notion of more violence. He didn't need Renar to tell him to stop, he can tell that these folks at least think they are on the right side. He knows nobles, but he also has a good idea of how rebellions work. "Alright girly, I think you all have made your point. A truce sounds good to me." He looks over at the one who cast silence on the two women, "Though if you want to talk hows about you give them back their voices?" He gestures to Bloom and Venet, then nods to Renar. "Like he said, we only took this job because we didn't want to jump strait to Birdie Boy's bad side." 

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

 

He gives Renar a confused look when he says that he and the others don't know who Rauna and Alba are. "Wait... huh?" He says, turning to his comrade, "I've heard most of these names before... not sure about Alba but the others I have heard of. Well, as much as the next person does anyways. You really aren't from around here are you?" He had his suspicious, and it was getting pretty obvious that Renar was at least from the same country as Shugo... or some other nearby county. Just not this one.

Crap! I nearly gave myself and my origins away again didn't I?! Better come up with a deflection... "Uh, well, I mean... we only just met so I have no idea about everyone else's knowledge obviously. And I wasn't even into history in the first place minus Robin Hood which I have heard since childhood!" No actually, I didn't hear about Robin Hood until the once-human boys talked about it during our Japan trip...

Sensing panic in Renar's voice, Alexander realizes that he might have embarrassed the shifter and says quickly, "Hey, not everyone's into history... but..." He leans over and whispers, momentarily forgetting that they are currently trying to parley with some armed enemies, and not thinking about the fact that they might assume he's trying to plan something with his friend, "Just so you know in the future. Rauna is not a who... it's the country we are currently in." Maybe the Priyehans just called Rauna by a different name? Oh he hopes he isn't just making things worse. 

Oh wait... Rauna is the country? But I thought Lancea was... hang on. No. I'm... I messed up. Again. Crap. "A-a-actually nevermind. Forget what I just said earlier... My mistake." I stutter to Alex in embarrassment after realising that I didn't think this one through. And again, this is is why I prefer to stay silent; Every time I try to talk to someone I unintentionally cause a verbal mess. Just why does it always happen to me?! 

Combat over

The 'bandits' all drop their weapons, not because of what everyone had said earlier, but rather, in shock.

"Wait... it actually works?" Helene says, slowly stowing her weapons and cancelling her Silence bubble. "The last time we tried this with other mercenaries Elmars hired, they just laughed at us or got really angry. I should've figured out you also didn't like that bird that much."

"Dang..." Lavīze stows her spear. "I was looking forward to a fun fight—ow!"  She clutches her arm, seems like moving too much opens up her wound too.

"We'll get that patched up, Lavīze. Anyways, sorry about that, I can't simply cancel my spells once I start casting it" Glorija looks toward Venet, who she almost 'accidentally' turned into a fried fish. "Our medical supplies might be a bit low, but we will definitely share with you. We'll all patch you up, think of it as an apology... or something." She fiddles with her hair.

Helene sighs, "It will be quite a while if we want to explain everything, and this isn't exactly the best place for us to do this—there will be even more explaining  to do if a random bystander wanders up to us." She waggles her hand, gesturing everyone to follow. "Follow me, we'll talk about this more at our base camp."

A few minutes later...

After a quick introduction of everyone's names and a short walk away from the road, our protagonist arrives at an open area in the forest. There are tents and a small makeshift shack set around a lone crabapple tree right in the centre of the clearing. Bloom might be a bit disappointed to see that the crabapple's iconic reddish-pink flowers are now replaced with small, rounded fruit that would later develop into extremely sour, inedible wild apples in early Autumn.

The bandit loads the crates they 'liberate' from the wagon into the small shack, a few words are exchanged, and Lavīze, Glorija, and Elvīns depart to the nearby village to retrieve a mule cart. Radions is busy setting up campfires and cooking supplies for tonight's dinner, and that leaves Veno and Helene available to talk (It isn't like Radions will speak anything anyway.)

Right now, Helene sits behind Veno, wrapping his wounded neck with a bandage. "Alright, it's your cue to lore dump now, enlighten us, Veno."

The Tiefling takes a deep breath, "Alright... It was -135C."

"Just skip it to the near past, we don't want to be here all night for an entire story of Lancea, friend." Helene giggles.

"Right, hmm..." Veno massages his temples, and after a moment of thinking, he speaks.

"The People's Army was founded in -1C 4965 CY by Alba, a green Dragonborn. Back then, when Linus was still the Duke the tax was much higher and the nobles were much more 'aggressive' with their tax collecting, they would send their lackeys to break into someone's house, smash their stuff, and even beat the residents if they couldn't pay in time. Of course, doing something like this wasn't exactly sustainable, people got angry quickly, and they wanted to fight back.

"Alba saw this opportunity to organise a rebellion, they wanted to send Linus a message that he should leave the poor alone, but the problem is it's a bunch of farmers against an entire duchy with professionally trained armies, she knew she can't fight them head on, she'll have to use guerilla tactics—using terrain as advantage and sabotage their supplies to weaken them before finishing them off. A year of robbing the noble's caravans and blowing up their gold reserves later, she thought it was time to hit the heart of Rauna: the Madura Fortress, that's the place where the Duke resides.

In -1C 4966 CY, after a year of preparation, she stormed the fortress, along with a few thousand disgruntled peasants. But... something went wrong and her allies were swiftly defeated by the guards inside. She was injured pretty badly too, but luckily, Elvīns was there, and he brought her to Paulis—who helped both of them flee the country and avoid persecution. She had to leave behind a lot of things, including her daughter,  Kārina—who thankfully is in an apprenticeship with Paulis right now, her headquarters, and her husband, Francis. Even today, we still can't figure out where he went, probably hiding in Arusa or something." Arusa is the green blob on the Perkwunos map, it's the homeland of dragons and many Dragonborns, Kobolds, Yuan-ti, and lizardfolks around Lancea originate from here.

Veno takes a deep breath, before continuing, "-1C 4968 came by, we were in an orphanage in Talnu, Platone, and Alba came in and adopted all of us. She trained us to be the next generation of freedom fighters. She came back to hide in Rauna and brought us there too, after all, the world still thought she had gone missing. There weren't many of us, because she couldn't simply go around and ask random people to join her cause anymore, they would never try anything like this again after the disaster in -1C 4966 CY, but we're very close-knit. Even though none of us are blood-related, we're like one big family."

Veno looks down, his hands shaking. "Everything was fine until June last year when Alba had to step down as a leader, she-she..." He doesn't hold it back anymore, tears start dripping from his face, and even Helene looks visibly distraught by the whole debacle.

"S-she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer."

Helene didn't even bother to correct Veno, this whole time, he didn't even talk about what is actually the main objective of the People's Army, it's just their backstory. He'll definitely get to this sooner or later.

Oesophageal cancer is only detected at stage 3 or stage 4, and patients only have a 15% chance of survival with proper treatment. According to the dates, she only has a year or two left before Alba dies, and there is nothing that can be done. Greater Restoration can only cure a disease with a known cure, and cancer isn't one of them. And even if a miracle happens and Alba somehow survives, cancer will never disappear from her body—just like a hydra that grows two more heads when one is cut off.

Bloom's eyes widen in panic as Venet is badly hurt, and they glisten with tears upon seeing the Triton so badly captured and unable to move. These were not normal bandits, they were strong and powerful enemies. She did not want to lose an ally, even just having them go unconscious, it was not an option for her, especially Venet who has been nothing but kind to her! As the dwarf attempted to send necrotic energy through Bloom's body, the tiefling nibly jumped, ricochetting off the dwarf's shield and disengaging before she sent a wave of healing energy towards Venet. Giggles echoed around the Triton as fairies slowly healed her wounds (Healing word on Venet: 9 hitpoints regained).

"I think we should stop fighting also...I don't like being hurt so much! Its not very fun...", says Bloom before running over to Venet and giving her a hug, "I don't like seeing Ven Ven hurt either!". 

It seemed that tensions were dying down now, and a truce had been struck. Good, Bloom went back to her cheerful self and began to skip after the bandits. Well, to her they were just the ugly people who hurt her and her friends but now they were NICE ugly people. She ran up to the tree and plucked a couple of fruits before running back to Venet, handing her one with a cheerful smile. 

"Have some food Ven Ven, you worked very hard!", she says cheerfully before taking a bite of her own, "Just like everything, the flowers grow and become yummy apples before they become old and die".

As they gather to listen to the story, Bloom looks around and begins to yawn slowly, before she eventually puts her head on the ground, curls up, and goes to sleep, the ground beneath her filling with grass and small little flowers (Druidcraft). 

[16]/[30]

Venet sighs in relief as the small fairies soothe her wounds. Quite lovely creatures, fairies. Her arms wrapping around Bloom in turn as the tiefling hugs her.

"Thank you, Bloom, that was particularly unpleasant. Next time we should just talk first, mm?" 

Venet tries her best not to seem too put out, giving a small smile towards the bandits, if they even are that. She stays relatively quiet as they make their way to the camp, her skin still hurts a bit and her scales feel a tad dry. Overall, feeling uncomfortable to say the least, and wishing she was able to do more in the fight. She takes a seat, listening to their new compatriots talk.

She cocks her head at the fruit as Bloom hands it to her. "Are you sure this is ripe?" she asks, whispering the question as to not talk over the explanation of the peoples army. 

Obviously these people have been through a lot. The Duke seems to be as full of it as he seemed.

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

Combat over

The 'bandits' all drop their weapons, not because of what everyone had said earlier, but rather, in shock.

"Wait... it actually works?" Helene says, slowly stowing her weapons and cancelling her Silence bubble. "The last time we tried this with other mercenaries Elmars hired, they just laughed at us or got really angry. I should've figured out you also didn't like that bird that much."

"Dang..." Lavīze stows her spear. "I was looking forward to a fun fight—ow!"  She clutches her arm, seems like moving too much opens up her wound too.

"We'll get that patched up, Lavīze. Anyways, sorry about that, I can't simply cancel my spells once I start casting it" Glorija looks toward Venet, who she almost 'accidentally' turned into a fried fish. "Our medical supplies might be a bit low, but we will definitely share with you. We'll all patch you up, think of it as an apology... or something." She fiddles with her hair.

Helene sighs, "It will be quite a while if we want to explain everything, and this isn't exactly the best place for us to do this—there will be even more explaining  to do if a random bystander wanders up to us." She waggles her hand, gesturing everyone to follow. "Follow me, we'll talk about this more at our base camp."

Phew. I'm glad we were able to come to a reasonable standstill. Whilst may appear to be on the outside, I'm not the one who tends to jump into battles. At least, not anymore. Seeing how my teammates repeated my past actions makes me feel a lot more thankful about meeting Rixi and becoming a part of his team... Wait. 

"I'm not gonna say much, but I'm thankful for the truce that you can agree on too." I reply with a sigh as my katana inside my sheath stops crackling with electricity. And then I turn to the dwarf and elf who's... um. Uh... I wasn't paying attention. What were their names again? "And no, if anything, we're the ones that should be saying sorry. For jumping into combat without thinking this one through."

So they're gonna lead us to their stronghold? Despite knowing that we're still their enemies of some sort? Well, I mean, not that I'm complaining but, I guess I'll take it? And at least they haven't fully seen my true self yet. I'll also take that.

("I think we should stop fighting also...I don't like being hurt so much! Its not very fun...", says Bloom before running over to Venet and giving her a hug)

Yeah uh, maybe if you didn't charge into their territory without having any sort of conscious thought then NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED?! Geez. To me, you're basically a more reckless version of my proposed girlfriend...

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 

After a quick introduction of everyone's names and a short walk away from the road, our protagonist arrives at an open area in the forest. There are tents and a small makeshift shack set around a lone crabapple tree right in the centre of the clearing. Bloom might be a bit disappointed to see that the crabapple's iconic reddish-pink flowers are now replaced with small, rounded fruit that would later develop into extremely sour, inedible wild apples in early Autumn.

The bandit loads the crates they 'liberate' from the wagon into the small shack, a few words are exchanged, and Lavīze, Glorija, and Elvīns depart to the nearby village to retrieve a mule cart. Radions is busy setting up campfires and cooking supplies for tonight's dinner, and that leaves Veno and Helene available to talk (It isn't like Radions will speak anything anyway.)

Right now, Helene sits behind Veno, wrapping his wounded neck with a bandage. "Alright, it's your cue to lore dump now, enlighten us, Veno."

The Tiefling takes a deep breath, "Alright... It was -135C."

"Just skip it to the near past, we don't want to be here all night for an entire story of Lancea, friend." Helene giggles.

"Right, hmm..." Veno massages his temples, and after a moment of thinking, he speaks.

"The People's Army was founded in -1C 4965 CY by Alba, a green Dragonborn. Back then, when Linus was still the Duke the tax was much higher and the nobles were much more 'aggressive' with their tax collecting, they would send their lackeys to break into someone's house, smash their stuff, and even beat the residents if they couldn't pay in time. Of course, doing something like this wasn't exactly sustainable, people got angry quickly, and they wanted to fight back.

"Alba saw this opportunity to organise a rebellion, they wanted to send Linus a message that he should leave the poor alone, but the problem is it's a bunch of farmers against an entire duchy with professionally trained armies, she knew she can't fight them head on, she'll have to use guerilla tactics—using terrain as advantage and sabotage their supplies to weaken them before finishing them off. A year of robbing the noble's caravans and blowing up their gold reserves later, she thought it was time to hit the heart of Rauna: the Madura Fortress, that's the place where the Duke resides.

In -1C 4966 CY, after a year of preparation, she stormed the fortress, along with a few thousand disgruntled peasants. But... something went wrong and her allies were swiftly defeated by the guards inside. She was injured pretty badly too, but luckily, Elvīns was there, and he brought her to Paulis—who helped both of them flee the country and avoid persecution. She had to leave behind a lot of things, including her daughter,  Kārina—who thankfully is in an apprenticeship with Paulis right now, her headquarters, and her husband, Francis. Even today, we still can't figure out where he went, probably hiding in Arusa or something." Arusa is the green blob on the Perkwunos map, it's the homeland of dragons and many Dragonborns, Kobolds, Yuan-ti, and lizardfolks around Lancea originate from here.

Veno takes a deep breath, before continuing, "-1C 4968 came by, we were in an orphanage in Talnu, Platone, and Alba came in and adopted all of us. She trained us to be the next generation of freedom fighters. She came back to hide in Rauna and brought us there too, after all, the world still thought she had gone missing. There weren't many of us, because she couldn't simply go around and ask random people to join her cause anymore, they would never try anything like this again after the disaster in -1C 4966 CY, but we're very close-knit. Even though none of us are blood-related, we're like one big family."

Veno looks down, his hands shaking. "Everything was fine until June last year when Alba had to step down as a leader, she-she..." He doesn't hold it back anymore, tears start dripping from his face, and even Helene looks visibly distraught by the whole debacle.

"S-she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer."

Helene didn't even bother to correct Veno, this whole time, he didn't even talk about what is actually the main objective of the People's Army, it's just their backstory. He'll definitely get to this sooner or later.

I didn't really pay attention to the 'bandits' much as they and my teammates introduced themselves. In fact I didn't even realise they asked for our names because I was again busy writing crucial information in my notebook. So I may have missed the entire intro thingy. But on the bright side, at least we somehow gained more allies. And they were generous enough to their base. I guess they trust that we're not going to harm them? That's a plus?

But after hearing their backstory though, I guess it sounds kind of believable. Damn. So even these people have gone through things that Rixi and Ethan's people on Japan had to go through. And after learning about cancers with them, I can already tell that whenever I hear this disgusting word, things aren't going to end well, even if we find cures for it. And they were previously caught in a failed rebellion too against Elmar. I mean, not that I'm disinterested in what they have to say but, the more I try to piece things, the more I picture their failed past as my team's own. I mean seriously, that rebellion they wound up in is exactly the same as my first major mission: To overthrow the corrupt nobles that once plague the cities of the Sword Coast. It was a goal that took almost two years plus a lot of willpower... and yet... we succeeded, despite the fact that there were only five of us shapeshifters that day. They have an entire army plus. like us, a handful of terrains to use to their advantages and yet they didn't. After hearing this, I wonder what the fate of my group would have been if we ended up in the soles of these poor fellows...

"I see. So you guys are the people's army that the bird brain himself fears." I reply with a stoic expression after they finish and end up in tears. Ugh, I mean, the majority of the shifters, minus me, Daisy and Tenebris are very emotional, but even then I still cannot see why feelings and values have to be priority over logical reasoning. Still, they've at least proven their innocence. "I'm not sure how to deal with your sorrows right now since I'm not good with them, but dealing with cancer is the last thing anyone would have to hear. And I express my conern for you guys as well. Right now it will be tough for us to get on the good side of both you and the duke himself without stepping over the thresholds of either side. Like a man-in-the middle situation. That was my original train of thought since we still want to be on good terms, but I will have to rethink this with the others." 

They also mentioned the Tortle Paulis and already, that name rings a bell for us. "Paulis huh? That's funny. The bird brain also told to head to his location to receive um... A *Quote signs with his claws* 'lecture' from him. That was what threw me off during his monologue. He thinks that unless if he write him a 'friendly' note, the tortle might blast us upon first sight since he hates visitors. And it's also why we decide to investigate your own scuffle instead." Hmm, judging by their current states both physical and mental though, it seems like they're not really in the mood to converse. I mean that's fine. I dislike meaningless conversations too but, I was hoping to go into more detail with them if they were still feeling it. "Alright... I notice you all need time to recover. If you all want we can settle this matter together at a later point in the day or tomorrow. " As I finish, I began to walk away in search of somewhere quiet so I could plan for what throw at us again as usual... hmm... *He glances back to the distraught teens that are injured or are still weeping*

Maybe I should cheer them up as I leave them be... With a little Loveless Act II. I hope this works... "I'm not if this helps to raise your spirits a little but: There is no hate, only joy, For each and every one of you are beloved by the goddess- uh I mean god, Heroes of the dawn, Healers of worlds." 

Alex still isn't sure about the whole 'liberating' supplies idea, but at least these people seemed to want to do the right thing. As they walk to the makeshift shack, his wings slowly vanish. Leaving behind a few glowing feathers, which linger just long enough to catch the breeze before vanishing as well. He listens attentively throughout the whole history lesson, and stays quiet for a moment after its over. 

He is a bit surprised when Renar speaks up, considering that the shifter has been rather quiet up to this point. Perhaps getting into the fight encouraged him to be more vocal? It is interesting that the people's army has connections to Paulis as well... assuming it really is the same Paulis. That seems rather strange. What could Elmars's plan have been in that case? Or is there more to Paulis than just him being a wise old tortle? 

"I... honestly don't know where to stand just yet," he says after a while. "I'm really sorry to hear about Alba though... that has to be really hard for all of you." He hesitates, rubbing one arm as he considers his next words, "I just want to help make the world a better place you know? But all this is so complicated..." He sighs, trying to put on a smile, "Like Renar said, we're going to have to talk about this with our team. We don't want to step on anyone's toes at this point, and that probably means not taking sides." Maybe it would have been best to head straight to the ruins after all... but that wouldn't have solved the problem at hand. Clearly there are people who need help right now, and whatever is in the ruins may or may not be of use to them. "Though... I would like to know this... Does your group have a plan for how to handle things if you manage to overthrow Elmars? What happens after that? How are you going to maintain order? Or is your mission simply to make a statement?" He's read enough history and lore to know that rebellions scarcely ended well for anyone involved, no matter how noble the cause or how bad things were to begin with. They needed a sure plan of action of how to keep things from falling into chaos in the absence of the once-leader. 

When Renar gives a little... well whatever those words were supposed to be, Alex gives him a surprised look. Goddess? There is only one God. Everyone knows that. He might not interfere with the mortal realm all that much, but... It doesn't matter, perhaps he has his own beliefs about the creator--perhaps that's normal in his country. The last thing he wants to do is make his friend uncomfortable again. 

Shugo doesn't say anything about Renar's severe lack of knowledge about countries other than his homeland. Instead, he just raises an eyebrow at the guy then shrugs. Seriously? How could he not know where he is right now? Huh, maybe he just used to live under a rock or something.

"Dang..." Lavīze stows her spear. "I was looking forward to a fun fight—ow!"  She clutches her arm, seems like moving too much opens up her wound too.

"We'll get that patched up, Lavīze. Anyways, sorry about that, I can't simply cancel my spells once I start casting it" Glorija looks toward Venet, who she almost 'accidentally' turned into a fried fish. "Our medical supplies might be a bit low, but we will definitely share with you. We'll all patch you up, think of it as an apology... or something." She fiddles with her hair.

 Shugo sheaths his curved blade and looks at the girl with the spear. Raising his hands in front of him, which clearly shows his bloody palm, he gives a nervous sounding laugh, "Eheheheh...Sorry about that." Then he stands smiling, "Well, if you think fighting is fun, maybe we can spar sometime. It would be good for me to get more experience defending myself against foreign fighting styles."

Looking to Glorija he says, "Oh, ahah I sometimes I forget how magic works. It's not really my area of expertise....Wait why are you apologizing? We should be the ones apologizing! You lot are just trying to do what's best for your country and we almost ruined it for you!"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The elf makes sure to sort of apologize to everyone while getting all of their names and giving his in return. Best get on these people's good sides as fast as possible. They DO seem like better people than the Duke, but that doesn't mean they can't turn on him just as easy. When he gets the chance, he asks for a small piece of cloth to wrap his hand. Wouldn't want that to get infected.

Once everyone starts to gather around the campfire, Shugo finds a place to sit. Plopping down in a cross-legged position next to Venet opposite of Bloom, "You two doing alright? You looked like you took the brunt of that fight." He asks as he finishes bandaging his hand, then turns to look at them as he ties off the cloth. However, he has to wait for a response when Veno starts his info dump.

The elf listens intently, most of this is new information to him. Though...he's not really sure how much he should care about the woes of these folk. They aren't his people, so none of this really has anything to do with him. He bows his head as the tiefling trails off. Cancer, that's always hard. Nothing short of a Wish spell can cure such an illness, and the likelihood of finding a wish scroll is next to nothing....unless there is one in those ruins. GAH! Stop thinking about that! This Alba person is probably already dead and gone. That's sad to think about but it really isn't his business. Besides, if he found a wish spell he knows exactly what he'd do with it. Cure his sister. Give her a healthy body so that she can be an even stronger leader.

The shifter's voice breaks his train of thought, and the elf nods. "I too am sorry to hear about your leader. Knowing a family member is sick and knowing there is nothing you can do about it...that's it's own kind of torture." He falls silent for a moment, then looks up when Renar starts speaking again. Paulis? Oh right! That's what the turtle guy's name is...or is it? Shugo squints at the shifter. Renar doesn't seem to have the best memory when it comes to names, Sooooo maybe he'll just wait for these freedom fighter folks to respond before he opens his mouth.

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

 

Once everyone starts to gather around the campfire, Shugo finds a place to sit. Plopping down in a cross-legged position next to Venet opposite of Bloom, "You two doing alright? You looked like you took the brunt of that fight." He asks as he finishes bandaging his hand, then turns to look at them as he ties off the cloth. However, he has to wait for a response when Veno starts his info dump.

 

"I could be much better." She absently rubs one of her singed scales with a slight frown. "I was trying to hide behind a rock, but it didn't seem to help very much.." she whispers to him.

If these guys can get them in with Paulis then at least that's something.

Veno buries his face into Helene's lap, he stops crying, but probably feels mentally tired from all of this.

Helene gently strokes Veno's head, it's her turn to speak now. "I know Elmars wants you to bring that artefact to him, well, we want that too, everyone in the world wants it. With it, we'll make Kerwos a better place, we will eliminate poverty and make sure the upper class won't be able to abuse their powers ever again... assuming that the artefact actually has a price, that is. And yeah, Paulis really doesn't like visitors, his mailbox was probably flooded with people asking him about the ruin, but maybe one written by Alba might catch his attention, though, these two have a lot of history together. That might be your only shot at meeting him, either a letter from Elmars or a letter from Alba."

Veno gets up from her lap and sits beside her, he's in a much better state now, but Helene's turn isn't done yet.

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

 

 "Though... I would like to know this... Does your group have a plan for how to handle things if you manage to overthrow Elmars? What happens after that? How are you going to maintain order? Or is your mission simply to make a statement?" He's read enough history and lore to know that rebellions scarcely ended well for anyone involved, no matter how noble the cause or how bad things were to begin with. They needed a sure plan of action of how to keep things from falling into chaos in the absence of the once-leader. 

Helene massages her forehead at that statement, "That's the problem, politics in Kerwos is complicated... I guess this will serve as an introduction to our two Priyehan friends here too." She looks at Shugo and Renar.

"The 'country' you're in right now technically isn't a country, it's a duchy, and a kingdom is often comprised of several of them. Duchies can enact their own laws and policies, but they still have to follow kingdom-wide laws the king or queen set up—the king or queen also has the power to veto a law set up by a duchy, but that usually doesn't end up very well, a disgruntled noble is the last thing anyone wants.

"Once we overthrow Elmars, we aren't out of the water yet, because we only get control of the Duchy of Rauna, not the Kingdom of Kerwos. Conflicts between duchies can happen, but it's relatively short because the king or queen will always be there to stop them... except for this time. As you already know, Vladimirs XII, the current king, is bedridden and is barely conscious most of the time. The good news is he won't denounce us for overthrowing the duke, the bad news is he also won't be there to help us when another duchy sets up a coup or tries to invade us."

Helene stretches her arm. Veno knows what to do, it's time for him to chime in. "Unlike other kingdoms you're familiar with, Kerwos is an electoral monarchy, which means the title of the king or queen is voted by a group of people instead of being inherited through the bloodline. Not everyone can simply be the king or queen, though, only five dukes or duchesses from the five duchies of Kerwos can apply. If we win this revolution, we'll make Zelta the new Duchess of Rauna, she's our current leader and she's also our most capable fighter. Once that's done, we have to act fast and deal with other dukes before they can do the same to us. If enough dukes resign the election, we'll automatically win."

Veno crosses his arms, "Elmars will probably attempt to do the same thing too, the nobility in Kerwos is pretty corrupted, some people just want to be a king or queen just for the sake of it. This is exactly what happened when Vladimirs XII was elected, he did some things for a few months then he got so sick he was essentially in a vegetative state for the rest of his reign. Both of us aren't exactly popular with other nobles too, so if we don't do this, we essentially will never get to rule Kerwos."

In short, Elmars and The People's Army want to rig the election and 'eliminate' the competition, but first, they have to solidify the control of this duchy first.

Helene sighs, "Yeah, I know, all of this is a headache. You don't have to focus that much on the political side of things, though. For now, you should probably meet Paulis and learn more about the ruins first, then overthrow Elmars later." She stands up and holds Veno's hand, "We'll go help Radions prepare tonight's dinner now, I'll leave you to discuss this among yourselves." With that, the two walk over to Radions, leaving you all alone with your thoughts again.

There is a saying: In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. One side wants equality, the other wants prosperity, and both of them hate each other's guts. It will be next to impossible to convince both of them to just shake hands and settle this down, something like this rarely ever happen in the history of everything that has existed.

But whichever side they choose, they both offer a way to know more about the artefact, and that is a plus.

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 

Helene massages her forehead at that statement, "That's the problem, politics in Kerwos is complicated... I guess this will serve as an introduction to our two Priyehan friends here too." She looks at Shugo and Renar.

 

"The 'country' you're in right now technically isn't a country, it's a duchy, and a kingdom is often comprised of several of them. Duchies can enact their own laws and policies, but they still have to follow kingdom-wide laws the king or queen set up—the king or queen also has the power to veto a law set up by a duchy, but that usually doesn't end up very well, a disgruntled noble is the last thing anyone wants.

"Once we overthrow Elmars, we aren't out of the water yet, because we only get control of the Duchy of Rauna, not the Kingdom of Kerwos. Conflicts between duchies can happen, but it's relatively short because the king or queen will always be there to stop them... except for this time. As you already know, Vladimirs XII, the current king, is bedridden and is barely conscious most of the time. The good news is he won't denounce us for overthrowing the duke, the bad news is he also won't be there to help us when another duchy sets up a coup or tries to invade us."

Helene stretches her arm. Veno knows what to do, it's time for him to chime in. "Unlike other kingdoms you're familiar with, Kerwos is an electoral monarchy, which means the title of the king or queen is voted by a group of people instead of being inherited through the bloodline. Not everyone can simply be the king or queen, though, only five dukes or duchesses from the five duchies of Kerwos can apply. If we win this revolution, we'll make Zelta the new Duchess of Rauna, she's our current leader and she's also our most capable fighter. Once that's done, we have to act fast and deal with other dukes before they can do the same to us. If enough dukes resign the election, we'll automatically win."

Veno crosses his arms, "Elmars will probably attempt to do the same thing too, the nobility in Kerwos is pretty corrupted, some people just want to be a king or queen just for the sake of it. This is exactly what happened when Vladimirs XII was elected, he did some things for a few months then he got so sick he was essentially in a vegetative state for the rest of his reign. Both of us aren't exactly popular with other nobles too, so if we don't do this, we essentially will never get to rule Kerwos."

In short, Elmars and The People's Army want to rig the election and 'eliminate' the competition, but first, they have to solidify the control of this duchy first.

Helene sighs, "Yeah, I know, all of this is a headache. You don't have to focus that much on the political side of things, though. For now, you should probably meet Paulis and learn more about the ruins first, then overthrow Elmars later." She stands up and holds Veno's hand, "We'll go help Radions prepare tonight's dinner now, I'll leave you to discuss this among yourselves." With that, the two walk over to Radions, leaving you all alone with your thoughts again.

 

"Right. So it isn't an actual country. A duchy huh. Thanks again for clarifying." I politely respond. I mean I was half-right. I'm totally familiar with the monarchical systems since the Sword Coast have these too. Neverwinter, Luskan, Silverymoon, Icewind... each of the cities that suffered from the humongous damage dealt by me and my friends now have one that is less corrupt. But... I should probably pay more attention to what this world has to offer; I never thought my fish-out-of-water scenario would be this severe. Or am I exaggerating this? I can't tell. In fact, I'm more concerned about the potential states of my teammates... now that we're still reeling from this mess. After hearing their sides of the entire story, particularly Alex and the elf Shugo's (Finally I got his name), maybe we might have a chance, despite trying to adapt to their own unique quirks of theirs. *He scans each and every one of them without turning his head just to not make it obvious*.

Alex is still the one I enjoy hanging out with, though there were times where I thought I might have offended him based on my careless choice of words. I wonder how old he actually is? Is he around the same age as Rixi or Ethan? Maybe I could ask him that. That aside, still have no info about Shugo, thought his direct, if not blunt, manner of speech reminds me of myself. Maybe we might have something in common, other than the fact that we both seem stubborn and are from Prihyeh; No I'm not. I'm just residing there. There's also the mermaid girl who I cannot even make eye contact with at all in fears of being charmed again. I haven't fully seen what she's like but she's unusually quiet right now. I thought being a music girl, no sorry, a bard, since she has a lyre, that she would be more outgoing or something? Or do I have to wait for that flower to blossom later throughout the journey? Or is it just because she's injured? Or am I misunderstanding stereotypes? *Punches himself* I don't want to answer that myself... And speaking of Flowers (or Sakura), my nickname for that petty girl, she's the person I despise the most. Seriously, if even Yurime was here to witness this she would have done something worse to her than a slap in the face for that reckless behaviour. Something that even I wouldn't dare imagine. And lastly there's myself...

But... maybe I'm being too negative. Maybe they've yet to display their true selves just like me. It makes sense that we need time to warm up after all. I should probably... should I ask them about who they're currently thinking of siding with...?

Nah better yet... *He nervously glances at his supposed teammates, wondering what on earth he could do to re-forge the unsteady relationships* I might as well leave them be. I guess they're not the ones to chat unless their open wounds have fully restored. Sigh... This is supposed to be the one opportunity for me to try and lead a group for once. To finally get over the past, my gruelling lesson, and overcome my fears... Without Rixi by my side to break me out of my shell. Yet... I still can't... I-I just can't. Why? Or is it... it's because of my social anxiety isn't it? *He walks off as Veno and Helene finally finish the history behind their formation to find a quiet spot to recharge* I actually think that allying with these kind fellows would be the better way to go. I actually have an idea on how we can deceive Elmars thinking that we did our jobs when in fact, this was an entire setup planned by the entire army plus us five. But once again... My actions will depend on where the others are headed. *His stomach growls* Or... maybe after I eat whatever's on the menu... I'm starving.

Bloom eventually wakes up with a yawn, stretching like a cat before rising like a blooming flower. She eyes the bandits as they go make food, excitement showing in her eyes as they have finally stopped talking. Who cared about them? Not her. Animals in the forests were being killed all the time, does anyone care? No. Trees are chopped everyday, does anyone care? Yet again, no. She would rather the two factions left her and her new friends alone than have to listen to each jibber jabber about why they deserve to be king. She didn’t even need to go ask a turtle where the ruins were, she will just ask her animal friends and they will lead the way. 

“That was a nice nap! Can we pulease go now? This is so boring and these people talk too much. Everyone wants to be king but none of them deserve to be anything. Except maybe food for trees…”, she says, getting up and twirling in order to ensure her dress was in ship shape. 

“We don’t need help from the turtle man, we can find the place on our own! Besides, that is what adventure is. Not running around doing work for stupid dukes and yucky bandits”, she adds.

Quote from MrsAnjou >>

"I could be much better." She absently rubs one of her singed scales with a slight frown. "I was trying to hide behind a rock, but it didn't seem to help very much.." she whispers to him.

If these guys can get them in with Paulis then at least that's something.

 Shugo nods in understanding, "I'm sure you'll feel better tomorrow. A little food, a little rest and you'll feel much better. If not, maybe some healing magic would help?"

Then he turns his attention back to the crying tiefling. Of course everyone wants it. Wait...why is everyone acting like there's only one artifact? Shouldn't there be multiple? Staying silent, he continues to listen as Helene starts talking. Ah, right. A duchy, that makes sense. Why didn't he put that together earlier? Birdie Boy had said he was the duke after all.

The elf stays silent through the politics lesson, then nods in understanding when it comes to an end. No matter how convoluted they sound, when they're boiled down most all politics are pretty similar. If there's one thing he knows, it's that he really doesn't want to entangle himself in this countri--er duchy's affairs. He's got his own to deal with. Though, since he seems to be looking for the same thing that all of these folks are, then it doesn't seem like he has much of a choice. As he starts thinking, he leans forward placing his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, as he squints at the ground in front of him. They all are acting like there is one big price waiting at those ruins. A price the entire world wants. There HAS to be more than one artifact there, but that does not mean that there is one in particular that has more power than the rest. Clearly they know a bit more about this place than he does. Do they know something about a particular artifact? Is that what this tortle guy is supposed to tell them? If they even get to talk to him anyways...

Besides that, what exactly are his current companions trying to gain from this endeavor? Without moving his head, he glances at Renar. He's the one the elf is the most curious about. Alex and Bloom seem like thrill seekers, they are just there for the journey. Venet could very well fall into that category as well. But Renar? It seems odd for someone to travel this far alone, just for the thrill of it. Hmmm, maybe he'll open up more as time goes on. So long as he wasn't hired by one of his brothers to foil his plans, he doesn't mind the shifter hanging around at all.

He looks over at Bloom as the girl wakes up. She clearly doesn't care about anything that's been said. "Perhaps we should take a vote on what to do? I personally think it would be a good idea to have a bit of insight on the ruins before running in blindly..." He sits up strait again, "I-uh I also think the five of us should talk about next steps and maybe even the plan once we get to the ruins? I really don't want us all to get there and then suddenly turn on each other heheh."