The Blackmire Company: Campaign

Lafetha watches as Diadochi storms off in rage. She looks at the Elder, and tips her head to the side, " your words are helpful. Can I ask you something about your visions? "

"In Diadochi's vision, are you speaking of the place where the silver apple is? It's sealed off? It must be dangerous. Sounds like a lot of people died, and didn't make it out."

"In Sim's vision, you mentioned Yeth. We know of her, well did. Did her circle fight this beast we were told about? Seems like if they couldn't kill it then how could we?"

Lafetha sits back and waits to see how the Elder will (or if ) respond.

The Elder continues to put away his supplies.  Eventually placing the dagger back into a belt.  He sits, looking up at the heads before to where Diadochi was.  Then over to Sim.  

“I did not question your intention. It is fair.” He states.  His eyes turning over to Lafetha.  “We are the guardians of the temple. To ensure it is never opened.”  There’s a long pause.  His hand moving on to his dagger as he keeps a steady gaze on both Sim and Lafetha in the room.  “It is the sacrifice of all Hn’ti.”  He nods a moment after Lafetha asks about Yeth.  “I do not think you can do what we could not.” 

It’s in those moments that Yaalin comes into the tent.  (Yaalin, I need a WIS save DC 10)

(Hn’ti seeing if they notice Abigail: 4)

"I do not question your intent" Sim starts "I questioned the fairness of the trade.  You gained not only the story but the memory, the pictures.  I received only a story that was vague and without reference.  I appreciate the position you are in to guard the temple but we must recover an item from within.  If we approach the temple with little or no help then we may accidentally do something that would undo all of your sacrifice and work over the years.  My friend Shephard told me you are kind and good.  Please help us."  persuasion 22

Wisdom save 19

'i am here on behalf of a friend.  What he described to me was both unnatural to the laws of life and a trade of bad Faith.  I request a return of his memory. You have seen an experienced it now return it.  You may recall it the same as what you,' she sneers around the word, 'paid  for it. If not I will trade for its return.'

She will begin forming the image in her mind of taking the bone knife and taking it through the elders throat when he refuses but the thought feels like one of her stories she had gathered.  ((Her Faith and her friends have been insulted and she is mad.))

“You asked for our unity and what is in temple,” he states, before reciting your own question back to you.  “We do not help theifs and...” the Elder’s words are broken by Yaalin who barges in.

Yaalin, you enter and begin to talk, but soon find yourself in a panic.  The shrunken heads all looking at you.  Causing the room to spin a bit.  You find yourself [status]freightened[/status]. Unable to move closer.  “They gave freely and without question,” the Elder interrupts.  “They cut themselves and drew their own blood.”

It’s clear the situation is growing worse as he stands up in the room.  “We are done now.”  One hand stays on his dagger.  The other waives those in the room off, the same wave that the warriors gave outside.  Their gesture for ‘go.’

Sim looks at him and calm says. “I am no thief. A thief would have snuck up there and not asked for help.  You must know that evil is always trying to get out. An evil contained means it is not if it gets out but when. It will get out sometime and to believe otherwise is a foolish way to believe your mission complete. Not even one night past I saw something large and heard wings beating the night sky. What if something big like that wanted to roost in the temple would it unleash what you locked inside?  Would you even know before it was to late?  Anything could happen. Be well.” Then turns and gives yaalin a firm but gentle push toward the door before leaving himself. 

Once outside Sim heads to the others and says “I leave here. They claim to protect the mountain from what is inside but they do nothing except sit here and hope it never finds them. We waste our time here.” Then he heads out of the town. 

Sim & Diadochi: Are both out of the tent.

Yaalin: Is inside the tent with the Elder, just after Sim left.  But, frightened.  Unable to move further into the tent with all of those shrunken heads looking at her.

Lafetha: Is also inside the tent, having seen Diadochi storm off, Sim storm off, Yaalin come in but be afraid, and the Elder make a reference to you all leaving.

Abigail: You see your companions storm off to the tent.  You’ve managed to evade any prying eyes, giving you full range to explore.  But, it does appear that things are going south for your compatriots moments after to begin peering in and around tents..

"Why are they always so head strong about things?" Abigail thinks to herself as she watches everyone storm off the tent. "I suppose things with the elders are not going well, but they seem to be able to handle themselves up to this point."

((Not sure if my investigation pulled up anything... If not, then Abigail figures there is nothing more of interest - or to be gained here. If there was something interesting, I would probably see if I can find out more about it.))

Yaalin swallows against her fear, watching the shrunken heads stare at her. "The gave in good faith, you did not explain.  And then you took in Bad faith."  she spits on the ground, "Demon filth."  her hand now clutching the bone knife tightly both in fear and in rage.

The Elder continues to keep a steady gaze on Yaalin.  That one hand remaining on it's sheathed blade, while Yaalin grips her own bone dagger.  "I suggest you go, and take your friend."  The Elder speaks, seeming to be talking to Lafetha more than to Yaalin.  Sim is still outside the tent, and can hear the conversation between Yaalin and the Elder.  

Diadochi, as you sit in the tent where originally you had been trading, a few other Hn'ti are walking by.  Looking at you, before saying something.  The translator does speak between you and the other.  "This one is wondering if you had more wares for barter."  The small tent is still cozy, but you did notice Yaalin gathering the items before she stormed off to the Elder's tent.

Abigail, you notice the group but begin to investigate.  Slipping between tents and taking a peak inside a few with quick glances and opening flaps in their tents.  You see a lot of spears, but a lack of any sort of armor.  It seems that very few of the Hn'ti carry any sort of bows.  But based on the look of each tent, and those that walk by, you're positive that the entire tribe is equipped to hunt and to fight; regardless of gender.  If they're old enough to assist on the hunt, which you can attest they've been training for since they could walk, they could fight. 

A few minutes have gone by... with the tension between Yaalin and the Elder continuing.  Sim is outside the Elder's tent, with Lafetha inside of it.  Diadochi, you find yourself with the translator and a random Hn'ti tribeswoman, asking about barter while your friends are still off and have yet to return.  Abigail, you could begin to slip down some of the stairs into whatever is below ground - or continue to investigate some of the tents and find other information (no new role, just moving a segment of your investigation along)

What do you all do?

Diadochi sneers at the new hn'ti, "why? So I can give you a diamond, a piece of art, and you can give me a turd. That's your way isn't it? To take something and give nothing back of value. And expect me to smile and accept it. Let me tell you something. Your elder has put a great hole in my very being, and I' any of you speak to me again or even sit here trying to make your posioned trades then I will fill that hole with your corpses. I trade in fear, I trade in pain, and I trade in death. You want to make an exchange? Well step right up."  He turns to the translator "tell everyone if they come here I'll start my own skull collection, only I like them fresh." 

The Translator nods. And seem to take a lot longer than expected in figuring out how some of the words translate.  She tries to communicate with the tribeswoman but the translator shakes her head a few times.  She does turn back.  "This one needs clarification.  Are you asking to duel, or threaten?"

This snaps Diadochi out of his take a little. He turns his head to the side and ponders, "hmm, beating someone into submission or them beating me might be just what I need for catharsis." He says to the translator "what are the terms of this duel, how do they work? Leave nothing out." 

Quote from seanodonnelloneword >>

This snaps Diadochi out of his take a little. He turns his head to the side and ponders, "hmm, beating someone into submission or them beating me might be just what I need for catharsis." He says to the translator "what are the terms of this duel, how do they work? Leave nothing out." 

 "It depends on the type of duel..." she begins.  Holding up a hand to the other Hn'ti. Seeming to suggest for her to wait.  "Neither side can be children, unless they are both children.  But there are two types.  A challenge. And a," she says a few words in Hn'ti. Struggling to find the right words. "Fight."

"A fight is between two parties. They both take a stick, and their fists. First to yield, or be knocked out, loses. It is for fun, and rights, and assertion.  To prove something.  Hn'ti believe in fair, so other side may not be sick. Or unable to respond.  If someone killed, on purpose, then the killer is put to death."

She gives a firm nod at the last part.  "The other, a challenge, is to right a wrong. Or to be given something. The challenger issues it public.  The other must accept.  Either may chose champion to fight for them. The challenger where.  The challenged picks weapon and rules of dress.  Happens next day, sunrise or sunset.  If it far away, then parties both walk there with two friends.  Single combat until it is decided. If that be yielding, or death.  Accidental death is fine, as challenged chose weapons."

"These are duels of Hn'ti. And how one becomes First."

Diadochi is facenatend and says to the translator "first off of like to apologize to you and this nice lady. I was in the wrong and I'm not proud of my behavior. My people are more... Grounded than that normally. Secondly, I think the one with the sticks like just what I need. Surely there are some proud warriors amongst you. One who wants to boast about defeating the giant elephant-man. Would people trade for the opportunity to do so? If you can get people to pay me to fight me, then as my translator you'd be entitled to a third of what they give me. Actually I can see your a shrewd negotiator, half it is, but not a precent more. Of course I understand if that's bad form for your people I do not mean to offend. "

((If the translator thinks they can make a trade to fight diadochi, then he spends the next hour getting people hyped about it and then starts a bidding war to fight him. If not he will fight the first person who wants to (might be Abigail)))

"Not really the type of people you would want hunting you down," Abigail thinks to herself as she recalls the fierce competition of the children. Moving through the camp she stumbles upon a set of stairs leading down into the ruins. "What have we here?"

Unaware of the rising tensions between her group and the elders, Abigail continues her investigation.  

Lafetha grabs Yaalin's hand (?) holding the bone knife, "maybe we should get out of here before something happens that we can't get ourselves out of." She yells for Sim to come back into the tent to help her with Yaalin ((since he is not as angry as Yaalin and Diadochi)) She says to them both, " can we just get out of here and figure out what we need to do without this tribe?" She stands in between Yaalin and the Elder, "I'm sorry, hopefully we will be going now."

Sim hears Lafetha yell for him and turns back to go into the tent.  He hesitates a second and sighs before going back in.  "Yallin, it's time to go.  There is nothing you can do to undo what we chose to do."  

He then nods to the Elder "He never lied to us and it is our fault if we didn't ask either enough questions or the right ones." Once again he tries to guide Yaalin toward the tent flap.  Then if Yaalin moves toward the door Sim will look back and say "Just remember what I said.  It will get out eventually.  Evil always does.  You have to kill it while it is contained in the temple."

Seeing both Lafetha and Sim come to assist in Yaalin heading out of the tent, the Elder let's go of the knife.  Heading over to the drying heads to tend to them.  When you head outside, you begin to hear a bit of a commotion coming from the direction of the tent the translator had set you all up at.

Diadochi, people seem rather glad to the idea.  The idea of having some kind of payment for it, though, is totally foreign to them.  After a brief discussion with the translator, you begin to see that they have no currency or concept of the idea.  It takes some discussing, but you firmly believe you have set up... some kind of system.  But, it's more of two people putting in a item, and the winner taking both.  The translator at first telling that nearly anyone in the village would be happy to fight due to their own pride and wanting to prove standing in their community.  But, they would not pass up a trinket for their win, or food for their win.  It seeming that something as simple as rations, food that won't spoil as easily, has a bit of worth.  However, at every time, the Translator dismisses the ability for you to pay her.  Replying that it is not right to do so.  But, a small crowd of men and women seem interested and eager at the idea.  Especially with a creature so much taller and different then they are.

They do show the standard fighting sticks; made of the mountain reeds and reinforced with layer and layer of reeds.  It'll definitely leave a bruise, and is designed to inflict pain rather than injure or kill.  Do you agree to what the Translator is able to do for you; a fight in which you offer a ration, they offer something else, and you all begin? 

Abigail sneaks down a set of stairs.  The hatch in the ground not locked, and while it creeks, nobody comes by to check it out.  You head down a narrow staircase that's in disrepair, some of the stones falling off as your foot touches them.  Faint light comes from the ceiling, cracks in the cobblestone and support structures giving a dim light to the room.  While others may have had a hard time seeing down here, you are able to notice the connecting doorways, and items.  By the spots for torches on the walls, along with some torches lining up along a few racks, you don't believe the Hn'ti can see in the dark.  At least not like you can.  The first room is designed for storage.  Pickled meats, harvested reeds, piles of bones (some of which are definitely humanoid, and could very well be Hn'ti), some mostly used supplies that probably got them through the winter.  Overall, nothing of note.  It does appear that the doors that connected room to room have long been ripped off and destroyed.  As you sneak around further, you see several connecting rooms and passageways.  Some having their own stairs leading up, into tents and other parts of the village.  You do some across what seems to be a workstation, thread, small beads, and a few mashed coins (3 silver, 6 copper) with a few holes in them.  The few coins being prepared to make a trinket of some sort, instead of being kept as a monetary device. 

Before you get the chance to look around further, someone comes down.  Ducking behind some of the boxes, you hear two Hn'ti talking to eachother for a few minutes.  They talk and jest as they take their time to search for what they're trying to find. You stay hidden for what probably feels like hours, while it's only seven minutes or so, before they finished grabbing some supplies and heading back up to the surface.  While you wait, you feel a faint warm breeze coming from one of the pathways.  A odd smell being carried on the air.  After they leave, you also hear the faint sound of water.  Do you search the room that has a few coins in it further, head down to the odd smell, try to find the water, or do something else?

With 2 people urging her to leave Yaalin whirls and storms out of the tent, muttering under her breath.

'Where is Abigail? I either want to leave this place our do the job we were asked by Orta and take that things head off.'

She will look around to see where Diadochi and Abigail are while staying near Sim and Lafetha.