Erik Soong's Call of the Netherdeep

Quote from TeethAgatha >>

OOC: Are the defenses of the bastions shared? For example, do Ylis' barracks protect everyone? (How safe is Ank'Harel?)

 Great question. The answer to this is no, Hirelings cannot be shared. You can have a single structure in which you and Ylis share the building, but if you are attacked and Ylis is not on your Bastion turns, it basically plays out like your section of the building was attacked and hers was not and her Hirelings were defending her property from the attack that was in the building, but focused on your area. 

OOC: Defenders work differently from other hirelings. HOWEVER the various party bastions have to be combined into one structure in order for the defenders to protect them all. So the mobile bastion (which sounds pretty cool) would need to have it's own barracks. Realistically speaking though, there is only a 5% chance that anybody's bastion is attacked...which the GM will roll for or choose 5 times =)

DM: Excellent catch. Bastions are new for me so I did miss that. 

DM: Still need Morgan's revised request. 

"All splendid ideas, my Lords. Young Lord Morgan? Your idea was spectacular and we can perhaps arrange to order you a wagon to suit your needs. However, do you have any requests for your property? We can, of course, hold off on your section of property until a time after you have been allowed to give it careful thought. Nothing need be rushed that can be done well instead." Vaht Tredell says with words that seem as starched and pressed as his clothes surely are.

"Thanks Mr. Tradewell!"

As they make their way to the Gatehold Barracks, Ylis asks passersby, "Hey, do you know the way to the Gatehold Barracks?"

"Hey, do you know where the Taskhand is at?"

"Hey, did you eat today?" and starts to hand out cucumbers (Good Berries).

Jacaranda watched Ylis and her ease of interacting with complete strangers with the slightest touch of jealousy, it took herself months....sometimes years....for the same level of comfort even with close companions....

"Thank you, sir, for your understanding."

Morgan’s eyes light up, practically sparkling.
"A small wagon for sleeping, and another — maybe a bit bigger — for the kitchen. Sleeping and eating… what else?"

He pauses, thinking aloud.

"I’d love an archive full of books… but then someone would have to read them." He shakes his head. "No, let’s say a mysterious-looking wagon for my arcane study. Maybe one day I’ll actually understand my powers. And a storehouse, to sell my trinkets… or get even more of them."

He smiles, clearly pleased with the idea.
"For the style, just keep it functional. I’ll handle the personalization myself when I have the time. Thank you again!"

OOC: Just to be clear, I’m not trying to exploit the fact that this would be a 'mobile' bastion. If, in the future, there’s a cool idea and the DM agrees, maybe we can do something with it, but for now it’s purely flavor. I see Morgan in a phase where he struggles to feel rooted or tied to one place.

Tredell takes a moment, presumably to take notes and then responds. "It is well to have now met you all. I look forward to meeting you in person at a future date, of course. I will check in at regular intervals with any meaningful updates and to ask for your guidance on how you would like your estate managed. Do you have any parting orders?"

"Ooh, right. Please ask Pigpen if he could grow some food type things and sell them [Harvest]." Ylis rubs her right eyebrow and thinks, "Ask Tommy if he can visit some bars frequented by The Watch. When a fight breaks out look for people that take on heavy odds or those that work together. Even if they lose, we'll take moxy and teamwork.[Recruit]" she smiles at the sky, "Thanks again!"

"Just tell my people to get comfy, stay safe, and start talking with folks. I’m sure Uncle Bob will already find some [trade] to get going."

OOC: For the storehouse, for the moment (since we’re far away) the idea is that Uncle Bob spends one week buying goods, then the following week selling them at a higher price. If I’m reading the rules right (not 100% sure), that should come out to about 50 GP every two weeks.

 "Very good, my Lords. Please enjoy your adventures." With that, you can feel Tredell's presence vanish from your minds. 

The people that Ylis pulls aside from their daily task politely take a moment and point in the general direction. This confirms what Ylis already knows about where the Gatehold Barracks are from what Foghome indicated on the map. It only takes a few moments for the parties to arrive there. This is the command center of the Aurora Watch's senior officers as well as providing lodging for regular soldiers. The barracks are filled with the sounds of chatter, voices shouting orders, and clanging metal. Like most buildings in this city, the Barracks are in a constant state of repair. There are crumbled walls that have been patched with sheets of metal, fresh tiles on roofs where some demon had previously burrowed in and let some blood, and doors that hang loose on broken hinges, not quite repaired.

Armored Aurora Watch soldiers go about their business, performing drills and sharpening weapons. The smell of steel and oil compliment the iron-like smell of blood. Some soldiers wear bandages fresh and those in need of changing, but if they can carry a spear, they are working on some task. A dull spear or poorly maintained armor means instant death in this literal hell hole.

A soldier with a bandage over one eye, darkened from old blood, takes note of the heroes and sets aside the spear he was sharpening. He approaches. 

"Hold. State your business."

Morgan tips his hat.

"We're here to speak with… Velin Themyss—no, Venin Theryss—no..."

He sighs and waves it off. "The Taskmaster of this outpost. Handsome drow... quite tall. Bit melancholic."

He winks.

"Said he might have a job for us."

Then his expression settles, the humor fading.

"I don't know if we can actually fix anything. But we're here to help."

(Persuasion: 12)

 The overly friendly approach seems to be poorly received by this particular guard. Perhaps it is the plucked out eye, or the stink of at least several days without a bath that have soured his mood, but he looks down at Morgan, standing a full head taller than him, and he sucks his teeth as he considers the gentle sorcerer. 

"Taskhand Verin Thelyss," the guard growls. "Is expecting you." He turns and walks away without looking back. He marches toward one of the smaller buildings and enters through its broken door. It is one of the more heavily damaged buildings and many claw marks mar the front doorframe. From the look of it, it is either a major target of many attacks or one major attack. 

Ylis raises her hand as the man walks away and instead of calling out to him to ask for directions, she rubs her hands together as if scrubbing a cloth and says, "Clean." casting Prestidigitation on the man's clothes.

Then she shrugs and walks into the building. Surely somebody will point them in the right direction.

 She keeps her ears and nose open for signs of a kitchen, she's feeling like she needs a snack.

Randa gave Ylis and Morgan a wry grin and followed the freshly laundered man within.

"It seems my smile didn't work on the man. Well..."

He shrugs, the smile lingering, as if refusing to leave. As he follows the others, his gaze lingers on the scars of the place, and his fingers brush the claw marks carved into the door frame.

God knows how long these people have lived like this.

He wonders what kind of fear hardens someone into a face like that. What kind of days turn smiles into luxuries. Maybe that grumpy, unwashed scowl is what actual heroism looks like.

With that thought, Morgan lets his hand fall and moves on with the group.

The one-eyed soldier moves through tight, windowless tunnels of the building. As the crews work their way through the sharp corners inside, the heroes note guards posted as various depressions in the walls. Between them, occasionally, are levers. Above their heads, strapped to the ceiling, are various grates hinged on one side. Each gate has an array of frighteningly dangerous blades affixed to them. From the looks of it, the levers release a fastener, causing these iron gates to swing down, long spear-like blades designed to harpoon a tunnel full of creatures.

The tunnel opens to a small, sparsely furnished office with a circular table meant to comfortably seat five or six people has been repurposed. It sits in the center of the cramped room covered in various maps of Bazzoxan. One is a full city map that spans the table, while others have specific pieces of it or feature a single structure broken down by levels. Every map has notes scribbled all over them. Updated barricade designs on one, redoubts another, notes of various horrid creatures, the rifts they spawn from, and which places tend to be targeted.

Verin pours over the maps. He shifts tokens over the major map, likely squad units, to order the mobilization of units to his officers to key areas of the city. He breathes hard through his nose has he reluctantly wipes several tokens from the map. Recent losses.

He puts on a reassuring smile as he sees the Fellowship enter the room and crosses to meet them. With a warm, gentle (and well-practiced) concern, he greets the parties.

“Welcome. I hope you all are well. I know that you had struggled with our most recent invasion. I trust wandering the city has helped you regain your strength. The immediate danger has passed, I assure you. I was going to send someone to fetch you, as you have been on my mind since the battle, but I am glad that you have found your way here yourselves. Please, what brings you here? Are you interested in earning some coin? We could use every arm capable of holding a spear that we can get and will pay fairly for your services, of course."

"What exactly would we be expected to do? Fighting demons is hard work!" Ylis starts with a defiant stance but quickly deflates. She is fully aware of how these people have been living their lives day in and day out with constant threat of death. Her heart wants to help them but there are things need doing also.

In a more subdued tone, "We'd need someplace to stay and supplies while we're here. We're not gonna stay too long too, we need to figure out the amulet mystery, you know?"

Ylis is aware that the demons are coming from someplace in the city but not sure about how to solve that problem. She has an inkling that the amulet is some kind of important bit for that.

"Yes, I remember you mentioning the jewel before. It sounds important." He huffs, a mix of exhaustion and ironic laugh. "This city is currently flush with visitors on mysterious missions. Only one so far has the potential to be useful to us-an archaeologist named Prolix from the Allegiance of Allsight in Ank’Harel also recently arrived. He's at least helping us in researching possible ways to close the rifts. His mystery has yet to be shared with me, but he was caught lurking around the Crematorium." Verin's brow furrows as he contemplates why Prolix may have been doing that. "My apologies, my thoughts were called away for a moment. It is my hope that you might find a way to similarly pursue your own ambitions while also helping to benefit our city.

"We can give you a... recently vacated home to stay in. It will be a little damaged. If I recall, the doors and windows are down. You won't need to worry about any thieves however; we don't have prisons to fill here. Minor theft might earn someone house-arrest, but major theft, such as the theft of your impressive beast, is swift and sure." He glances at his overly large lance, which bears a shadowy portal dividing the blade into halves and lengthening the blade somewhat.

"There is a visitor here who learned this lesson herself, actually. A foreign elven woman by the name Aloysia. She is on house arrest for the next day or so for trying to bride my men into offering her protection, the fool. Bribery does not cast a positive light on her or the organization she represents and my people are beyond something so petty as greed. The... Consortium of the Vermilion Dream is who she represents, if I recall. Do you know it? Anyway, she is looking to enter Betrayer's Rise to search for some holy site. I can tell you right now the only thing she will find in there is death.

"We already sent a man with researchers from the Cobalt Soul into Betrayer's Rise. That took a lot of discussion, to be sure. I normally wouldn't send one of my people into that hellhole; if we enter at all, it is with an entire squad. However, the researchers emphasized the need for stealth and speed and demonstrated their own ability in both for me. I was... impressed. I let one of my men volunteer for the mission to protect them. Hopefully both the researchers and my man will return unscathed..."

Verin clearly has a lot on his mind and the pressure of leadership in this town rests on his shoulders like a physical weight. He forces himself to strand straight and looks at the two parties. "There is something specific you might help me with. It may even help you. I am troubled by the sudden interest by various foreign parties. I trust the Cobalt Soul, even if they work for a hostile government, and you have proven yourselves by protecting our people here from the demon horde, but Aloysia and Prolix are unknown elements. Would you be willing to investigate them, find out their motives, and report back to me on them? If that is agreeable, state your terms and compensation."

OOC: I personally have no idea who those organizations are so...Oh except for the Cobalt Soul which has a famous Monk.

The bunny girl's brows furrow as she tries to recall past knowledge.

Ylis History Check 7

Ylis Religion Check 21