"Oh! Those circus folk! Yes, I remember. They were even on our short list of suspects for a time. I must still be foggy from the battle."
"What about these Orc attacks? What do you know about them?"
"I know that one of those orcs almost killed me. I know that they attacked the Southtower recently and now Ambersilt itself. I know that they must be stopped!"
Getting worked up to the point of over-exertion in his weakend state, Thruk groans before almost droping his bowl of soup. Leaning back as he calms down, the smith continues,
"The orcs of these lands, who were once my people's traditional enemies, long ago fell beneath the power of the Jade Empire. If they are attacking Heartstar communities and hunting its people in the swamplands, then I fear... I fear that even darker days may be ahead."
At that moment, you all hear an upstairs window opening loudly, the shutters *banging* off the outside of the house. That noise is followed by a barely audible ruffling of wings and a loud *CAWWWW*.
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D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
As Mazin walks a small blue-grey dappled cat leaps down onto his shoulder from a nearby roof and settles into place....
Approaching the two-storey house on her new perch, Cat-Dewi digs her claws in and almost leaps off as a window opens loudly on the second floor, spilling bright lantern light out onto the street. The transformed druid instinctively crouches lower and *hisses* as a goodly-sized raven explodes from the open window with a loud *CAWWWW*. The black bird dissapears overhead into the night as the shutters are once again closed.
Looking about, you notice that the front door of the house is slightly ajar. You also notice a familiar looking short, elvish figure trailing behind the goliath and yourself in the darkness.
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D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Kestrell looks up at the loud CAWW, "That must be the raven."
"So, you think the murders that we were investigating wer done by the Orcs?"
"At the end of the battle, we saw four robed figures on horses in the distance. They rode off when it was clear we had defeated the orcs. Do you know anything about those figures?"
"Someone's made a friend, it seems..."Sylmerisappears, making her way towards the inn.
She goes to fold her arms and lean on something, but winces ever-so-slightly and just places her hands on her hips instead; helping on the manual labour has taken its toll on something with a lithe figure. "Call me wrong, are you one of the... valiant warriors who help save these people? Because..."Sylmerispresents an arrow, "I was doing my part."
The playfulness in her words come to an end, "I... would like to help. To put an end to them... once we finish up, if there's time."
Kestrell looks up at the loud CAWW, "That must be the raven."
"So, you think the murders that we were investigating wer done by the Orcs?"
"At the end of the battle, we saw four robed figures on horses in the distance. They rode off when it was clear we had defeated the orcs. Do you know anything about those figures?"
"I... well, yes. Who else would do such a thing? And orcs attacked the Southtower this week and the town tonight. Surely it was them... unless you have discovered something else?
Riders you say? More orcs or their leaders, maybe? Many yuan-ti cannot ride due to their snake like natures, but others walk on two legs like you and I. It is even rumoured that there are some that can change back and forth between snake and humanoid form."
A moment later, Revis returns from his brief foray upstairs. Nodding his head and pleased to see that Kestrell and Thurk have both partaken of the soup, the town's alcalde must have caught the last bit of discussion, asking,
"Ehh, snakes? Yuan-ti? My goodness! It seems this conversation took a turn for the worse while I was away. As if blood-thristy orcs weren't enough to deal with."
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
As Mazin walks a small blue-grey dappled cat leaps down onto his shoulder from a nearby roof and settles into place....
Mazin, in his exhausted and focused state, is surprised when the cat lands on his shoulders. "Oh, hello there, little one. You are a friendly one, aren't you. What interesting coloring you have. I've never seen a cat quite like you before." He will scratch the cat behind the ears and continues. He winces as the cat (Dewi) digs her claws him. "It's okay, little one. It's just a raven. It will not harm you."
"Someone's made a friend, it seems..."Sylmeris appears, making her way towards the inn.
She goes to fold her arms and lean on something, but winces ever-so-slightly and just places her hands on her hips instead; helping on the manual labour has taken its toll on something with a lithe figure. "Call me wrong, are you one of the... valiant warriors who help save these people? Because..."Sylmeris presents an arrow, "I was doing my part."
The playfulness in her words come to an end, "I... would like to help. To put an end to them... once we finish up, if there's time."
Mazin stops and looks to the newcomer with a warm smile on his face. "Hello. I helped where I could, yes. I don't know if I would call myself a ... valiant warrior." A pained expression passes over his features as he looks to the Alcalde's house. He then turns back to Sylmeris and smiles again. "Ahh, I saw some of those arrows flying, now I know where they came from! Well met! I am called Mazin! If you don't mind, I want to check on my friend. Would you care to join me.... well I guess, us. Isn't that right little one." He pat's the cat-Dewi on the top of her head.
He will go to the Revis's house and knock on the door. "Hello, is anyone home?" As the door swings open, he will step inside.
OOC: If the club the Ogre had is still lying around on the street, he will pick it up as he goes. He might carve something into it later.
As Mazin walks a small blue-grey dappled cat leaps down onto his shoulder from a nearby roof and settles into place....
Mazin, in his exhausted and focused state, is surprised when the cat lands on his shoulders. "Oh, hello there, little one. You are a friendly one, aren't you. What interesting coloring you have. I've never seen a cat quite like you before." He will scratch the cat behind the ears and continues. He winces as the cat (Dewi) digs her claws him. "It's okay, little one. It's just a raven. It will not harm you."
"Someone's made a friend, it seems..."Sylmeris appears, making her way towards the inn.
She goes to fold her arms and lean on something, but winces ever-so-slightly and just places her hands on her hips instead; helping on the manual labour has taken its toll on something with a lithe figure. "Call me wrong, are you one of the... valiant warriors who help save these people? Because..."Sylmeris presents an arrow, "I was doing my part."
The playfulness in her words come to an end, "I... would like to help. To put an end to them... once we finish up, if there's time."
Mazin stops and looks to the newcomer with a warm smile on his face. "Hello. I helped where I could, yes. I don't know if I would call myself a ... valiant warrior." A pained expression passes over his features as he looks to the Alcalde's house. He then turns back to Sylmeris and smiles again. "Ahh, I saw some of those arrows flying, now I know where they came from! Well met! I am called Mazin! If you don't mind, I want to check on my friend. Would you care to join me.... well I guess, us. Isn't that right little one." He pat's the cat-Dewi on the top of her head.
He will go to the Revis's house and knock on the door. "Hello, is anyone home?" As the door swings open, he will step inside.
OOC: If the club the Ogre had is still lying around on the street, he will pick it up as he goes. He might carve something into it later.
Seeing the ogre's large club lying discarded at the side of the road, Mazin picks up the thick, heavy length of hardwood. Noticing the aged, red-brown colouring of the gnarled weapon, the experienced carver is fairly certain that the wood is mahogany and likely from a more tropical place far from here.
Reaching the Alcalde's house, the Goliath calls out and entering the foyer of the home, hears the voice of an older male call from further in the house,
"Yes, of course I'm home. Who's there? Oh, nevermind. Do come in - we're in the sitting room, directly ahead."
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D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
"I... well, yes. Who else would do such a thing? And orcs attacked the Southtower this week and the town tonight. Surely it was them... unless you have discovered something else?
Riders you say? More orcs or their leaders, maybe? Many yuan-ti cannot ride due to their snake like natures, but others walk on two legs like you and I. It is even rumoured that there are some that can change back and forth between snake and humanoid form."
A moment later, Revis returns from his brief foray upstairs. Nodding his head and pleased to see that Kestrell and Thurk have both partaken of the soup, the town's alcalde must have caught the last bit of discussion, asking,
"Ehh, snakes? Yuan-ti? My goodness! It seems this conversation took a turn for the worse while I was away. As if blood-thristy orcs weren't enough to deal with."
"No, haven't discovered anyone else, yet. We were just coming back to town to talk to the fletcher when the orcs attacked."
"Why do you mention Yuan-ti? Do you think that's what the riders were?"
"No, haven't discovered anyone else, yet. We were just coming back to town to talk to the fletcher when the orcs attacked."
"Why do you mention Yuan-ti? Do you think that's what the riders were?"
Thurk leans back, a little dispirited that the band of adventurers had not seemingly gained any new leads,
"Did I not say - the orcs in these lands were broken and enslaved by the snake people many years ago. Fodder for their experiments and other evil purposes. I suppose that some orcs may still live free in the Northern mountains or Southeast near the elven forests and borders of Quillinost, but not in any great numbers. At least not that I have heard of. That is why I speak of the orcs and the cursed Yuan-ti in the same breath... and why I fear a more powerful will is behind these attacks.
How would I know what or who these riders are. You saw them, I did not."
The shortness and clearly frustrated tone of Thurk's final words to Kestrell causes Revis to look up from where the old gnome was stirring the soup pot. Walking over to pat the injured smith's shoulder and to check his bandages, the Alcalde of Ambersilt looks Kestrell in the eye and says understandingly,
"Our history must seem strange and unfamiliar to people from other lands. You should understand, adventurer - Heartstar is a relatively new kingdom, cobbled together from formerly disparate peoples who themselves have lived for centuries surrounded by ancient and powerful realms of yuan-ti, elves, tritons and dragons. When the Kingdom of Heartstar was founded, the oricsh tribes were offered a place within it, as were the human, gnome, dwarf, centaur and lizardfolk communities of the region. Of those invited to join, the orcs alone chose not to accept. Their eventual subjugation and annihilation by the Yuan-ti is a sombre footnote in our shared histories... even if the children of Gruumsh sealed their own fate with their choice.
You mentioned Pente? Can I ask you why you want to visit her?"
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Kestrell pats Thurk on the shoulder, "Right! That makes sense now, thank you."
Kestrell meets Revis's gaze and nods. "Yes it does. But that's alright, we are learning. Pente? Who's that? Oh! The fletcher? We found an arrow at one of the murder sites. It looks like a hunting arrow, so we wanted to see if the local fletcher knew anything about it. It looks like it came from a short bow so I don't think it is from an Orc."
Kestrell pats Thurk on the shoulder, "Right! That makes sense now, thank you."
Kestrell meets Revis's gaze and nods. "Yes it does. But that's alright, we are learning. Pente? Who's that? Oh! The fletcher? We found an arrow at one of the murder sites. It looks like a hunting arrow, so we wanted to see if the local fletcher knew anything about it. It looks like it came from a short bow so I don't think it is from an Orc."
As Mazin entered the room the tiny blue-grey cat on his shoulder leapt to the floor blossoming into the dark haired woman with blue-grey skin.
" Not orc, no."
" It was evening and I was in the river... I heard many two leg sounds and swam upstream. I saw four laughing cloaked figures, smaller than me, with an equal number of hounds gathered on the riverbank. Two of the figures fired arrows from bows at a scaled-woman who was standing in the shallows. The woman appeared to be struck, at which point the dogs were sent in. They tore her to pieces before I could get close enough to assist....there was nothing to be done, her spirit had already fled."
Kestrell pats Thurk on the shoulder, "Right! That makes sense now, thank you."
Kestrell meets Revis's gaze and nods. "Yes it does. But that's alright, we are learning. Pente? Who's that? Oh! The fletcher? We found an arrow at one of the murder sites. It looks like a hunting arrow, so we wanted to see if the local fletcher knew anything about it. It looks like it came from a short bow so I don't think it is from an Orc."
Thurk remains silent, his blunt snout and other rough features turned towards the fire as though the lizardman is thinking of other times and places. Revis nods at Kestrell's words, saying,
"I am glad you now know more of our land and its history, Kestrell. If you or your companions wish to know more, you have but to ask. Myself, and many of other townsfolk would be more than willing to pass on our stories. It is the least that we can do, after your efforts on our behalf.
Well, I don't know weapons myself, but Pente is certainly the one to talk to about bows, arrows and such. She's Ambersilt's bowyer, as well as its fletcher."
Kestrell pats Thurk on the shoulder, "Right! That makes sense now, thank you."
Kestrell meets Revis's gaze and nods. "Yes it does. But that's alright, we are learning. Pente? Who's that? Oh! The fletcher? We found an arrow at one of the murder sites. It looks like a hunting arrow, so we wanted to see if the local fletcher knew anything about it. It looks like it came from a short bow so I don't think it is from an Orc."
As Mazin entered the room the tiny blue-grey cat on his shoulder leapt to the floor blossoming into the dark haired woman with blue-grey skin.
" Not orc, no."
" It was evening and I was in the river... I heard many two leg sounds and swam upstream. I saw four laughing cloaked figures, smaller than me, with an equal number of hounds gathered on the riverbank. Two of the figures fired arrows from bows at a scaled-woman who was standing in the shallows. The woman appeared to be struck, at which point the dogs were sent in. They tore her to pieces before I could get close enough to assist....there was nothing to be done, her spirit had already fled."
Silence falls over the room as Dewi leaps off Mazin's shoulder, transforming before everone's eyes. As the dark-haired druid recounts her memories of that fatefull day, the only sound throughout the room is the crackling of the logs burning in the Alcalde's hearth. After telling her grim tale, the druid sees the heavy-set lizardman lying prone on the coach turn away muttering quietly to himself, "No... Mirinah... I am sorry.."
Revis swallows audibly before turning a sympathetic eye in Thurk's direction. Finally, the Alcalde says quietly, breaking the silence,
"That... is a tragic tale, young lady. I do not know you, but seeing the company you keep and your own incredible abilities, allow me to welcome you to Ambersilt on behalf of our town and its people. I am Revis, this town's Alcalde, or what is called a mayor in other lands.
As for Mirinah's murder, I... I thank you for your recounting of her last moments, as difficult as they were to hear of. You are right that her killers do not sound like orcs. But if not orcs, then who? Dogs, both wild and domestic, are plentiful in these lands. You said the murderers were small? Goblin sized, perhaps?"
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D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Dewi looked at them, " I'm not sure I've seen a goblin. They were shorter than me....but it is hard to judge when you are beneath the surface and some distance away."
Dewi looked at them, " I'm not sure I've seen a goblin. They were shorter than me....but it is hard to judge when you are beneath the surface and some distance away."
"Beneath the surface? I see... Well, you have given us much to consider, more than we had before, certainly. For that, you again have my thanks. I hope that you will forgive me for saying so, but you have the look of someone who has spent many weeks, perhaps more, in the wilds. If I might ask, where do you hail from?
And while I do not wish to pry, I will also say that in these parts, it is customary to give your name once you have been welcomed into anothers home or village. These are dangerous times, but among friends and allies there must be trust - yes?"
The town leader's tone is warm and welcoming, and he gives Dewi a reassuring smile, but it is clear that he does not consider it proper to be discussing such things with a stranger.
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D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Dewi looked at them, " I'm not sure I've seen a goblin. They were shorter than me....but it is hard to judge when you are beneath the surface and some distance away."
"Beneath the surface? I see... Well, you have given us much to consider, more than we had before, certainly. For that, you again have my thanks. I hope that you will forgive me for saying so, but you have the look of someone who has spent many weeks, perhaps more, in the wilds. If I might ask, where do you hail from?
And while I do not wish to pry, I will also say that in these parts, it is customary to give your name once you have been welcomed into anothers home or village. These are dangerous times, but among friends and allies there must be trust - yes?"
The town leader's tone is warm and welcoming, and he gives Dewi a reassuring smile, but it is clear that he does not consider it proper to be discussing such things with a stranger.
" I come from......it is difficult to explain....my mother isNyai Loro Kidul....so I come from her....then I was in a place of wooden boxes like this near large water that smelled of salt....I left there and came to the river after some time....the river was nice....I did not need to scrub the river....."
" My mother called me....That Thing......but one of her servants called me Dewi..I don't know why..I called myself Sri...."
" Now I am Dewi Sri of the River....", her voice suddenly took an unexpected exotic cultured edge but there was a flatness as if reciting something heard long ago, "...It is most pleasing to make the acquaintaince of the Esteemed Revis, Most Glorious and Venerated Alcalde of.....forgive me...I know not the name of this.....city?"
" I come from......it is difficult to explain....my mother is Nyai Loro Kidul....so I come from her....then I was in a place of wooden boxes like this near large water that smelled of salt....I left there and came to the river after some time....the river was nice....I did not need to scrub the river....."
" My mother called me....That Thing......but one of her servants called me Dewi..I don't know why..I called myself Sri...."
" Now I am Dewi Sri of the River....", her voice suddenly took an unexpected exotic cultured edge but there was a flatness as if reciting something heard long ago, "...It is most pleasing to make the acquaintaince of the Esteemed Revis, Most Glorious and Venerated Alcalde of.....forgive me...I know not the name of this.....city?"
His eyes momentarily drifting to the figures of Mazin and Sylmeris who were still standing quietly by the door, the clearly puzzled Acalde brings his attention back to Dewi as the newcomer continues to seemingly ramble. When the young druid refers to the old gnome as glorious and venerated, Revis laughs loudly and even the clearly distaught Thurk chuckles quietly to himself. Smiling as he gently takes the strange woman's hands in his own in a grandfatherly fashion, Revis says mildly,
"Child, you do me too great an honour. Perhaps once I might have been called such, when I lived as a self-important man in a self-important city, though even then such praise would have been undeserved. Now I am merely Revis of the frontier town of Ambersilt, Alcalde of a place mostly forgotten, that exists on the very edges of civilisation.
And while the Heartstar peoples are varied in their traditions and mannerisms, I grew up being taught to honour the choices and memories of ones mother. And so I too will call you Dewi... unless you would prefer to be called Sri?"
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D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Alwin just listens as Thurk recounts the history clearly being drawn in by it "If you don't mind me asking th...ere has been one question on my mind, wh...y attack Ambersilt? I don't mean any dis...res...pect towards your beautif...ul town, but I f...eel it would make more sense to attack the capitals with th...ese murders and cause panic th...ere. Sh...ow the people th...at th...ey aren't even safe th...ere, was Ambersilt a major part in the his...tory of the forming of the kingdoms or did it have a major event before the kingdoms were formed? Do th...e orcs or yuanti th...ink th...ey ha...ve claim?"
Alwin just listens as Thurk recounts the history clearly being drawn in by it "If you don't mind me asking th...ere has been one question on my mind, wh...y attack Ambersilt? I don't mean any dis...res...pect towards your beautif...ul town, but I f...eel it would make more sense to attack the capitals with th...ese murders and cause panic th...ere. Sh...ow the people th...at th...ey aren't even safe th...ere, was Ambersilt a major part in the his...tory of the forming of the kingdoms or did it have a major event before the kingdoms were formed? Do th...e orcs or yuanti th...ink th...ey ha...ve claim?"
Revis pauses at Alwin's question, cocking his head thoughtfully as he turns to regard the previously quiet half-elf. Tapping his chin in contemplation for a few moments, the sage looking gnome eventually responds,
"Why attack Ambersilt? I don't know, Alwin, apart from to say that we are certainly the Southernmost Heartstar town of any note and thereby the closest to the ill-defined borders of the Yuan-ti. As you say, it would make more sense I suppose to attack far more prosperous and important cities like Underhome and Ascendrith if the goal was to inflict damage. Even Cragside, which is only half a tendays travel from here, has five times our population. Beyond its strategic location as Heartstar's Southern-most frontier and its closeness to both the Jade Empire and Leyinthalar, Ambersilt has never held much importance to speak of. Truth be told, even the product of our peat fields is barely worth the effort of defending the region from the creatures that emerge from or are drawn by the surrouding ruins."
The Alcalde pauses, looking a little saddened by his own admittance of Ambersilt's relative lack of importance. The deep, gruff voice of Thurk speaks quietly into the momentary silence left by the gnomish elder's pause,
"You said it, Alwin. Panic. Distrust. Fear. There can be few other reasons to torment a town like Ambersilt, for the Jade Empire could crush us with little thought... or perhaps that is what is still to come. Perhaps we have just felt the first small cut of the poisonous blade that comes seeking our hearts."
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Sylmeriscomes in a bit closer and gives a deep bow, her face hold a warm smile, "Thank you... Alcalde Revis. I am Sylmeris Dal'thien, a traveller and entertainer; I was staying here just for the night, actually." The elf pauses for a moment at the question of being where's she is from, "so many roads I've walked... difficult to remember the first. Your words are kind, I am more than happy to know I am able to be of some assistance in this tragic time."
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"I know that one of those orcs almost killed me. I know that they attacked the Southtower recently and now Ambersilt itself. I know that they must be stopped!"
Getting worked up to the point of over-exertion in his weakend state, Thruk groans before almost droping his bowl of soup. Leaning back as he calms down, the smith continues,
"The orcs of these lands, who were once my people's traditional enemies, long ago fell beneath the power of the Jade Empire. If they are attacking Heartstar communities and hunting its people in the swamplands, then I fear... I fear that even darker days may be ahead."
At that moment, you all hear an upstairs window opening loudly, the shutters *banging* off the outside of the house. That noise is followed by a barely audible ruffling of wings and a loud *CAWWWW*.
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Approaching the two-storey house on her new perch, Cat-Dewi digs her claws in and almost leaps off as a window opens loudly on the second floor, spilling bright lantern light out onto the street. The transformed druid instinctively crouches lower and *hisses* as a goodly-sized raven explodes from the open window with a loud *CAWWWW*. The black bird dissapears overhead into the night as the shutters are once again closed.
Looking about, you notice that the front door of the house is slightly ajar. You also notice a familiar looking short, elvish figure trailing behind the goliath and yourself in the darkness.
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Kestrell looks up at the loud CAWW, "That must be the raven."
"So, you think the murders that we were investigating wer done by the Orcs?"
"At the end of the battle, we saw four robed figures on horses in the distance. They rode off when it was clear we had defeated the orcs. Do you know anything about those figures?"
"Someone's made a friend, it seems..." Sylmeris appears, making her way towards the inn.
She goes to fold her arms and lean on something, but winces ever-so-slightly and just places her hands on her hips instead; helping on the manual labour has taken its toll on something with a lithe figure. "Call me wrong, are you one of the... valiant warriors who help save these people? Because..." Sylmeris presents an arrow, "I was doing my part."
The playfulness in her words come to an end, "I... would like to help. To put an end to them... once we finish up, if there's time."
"I... well, yes. Who else would do such a thing? And orcs attacked the Southtower this week and the town tonight. Surely it was them... unless you have discovered something else?
Riders you say? More orcs or their leaders, maybe? Many yuan-ti cannot ride due to their snake like natures, but others walk on two legs like you and I. It is even rumoured that there are some that can change back and forth between snake and humanoid form."
A moment later, Revis returns from his brief foray upstairs. Nodding his head and pleased to see that Kestrell and Thurk have both partaken of the soup, the town's alcalde must have caught the last bit of discussion, asking,
"Ehh, snakes? Yuan-ti? My goodness! It seems this conversation took a turn for the worse while I was away. As if blood-thristy orcs weren't enough to deal with."
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Mazin, in his exhausted and focused state, is surprised when the cat lands on his shoulders. "Oh, hello there, little one. You are a friendly one, aren't you. What interesting coloring you have. I've never seen a cat quite like you before." He will scratch the cat behind the ears and continues. He winces as the cat (Dewi) digs her claws him. "It's okay, little one. It's just a raven. It will not harm you."
Mazin stops and looks to the newcomer with a warm smile on his face. "Hello. I helped where I could, yes. I don't know if I would call myself a ... valiant warrior." A pained expression passes over his features as he looks to the Alcalde's house. He then turns back to Sylmeris and smiles again. "Ahh, I saw some of those arrows flying, now I know where they came from! Well met! I am called Mazin! If you don't mind, I want to check on my friend. Would you care to join me.... well I guess, us. Isn't that right little one." He pat's the cat-Dewi on the top of her head.
He will go to the Revis's house and knock on the door. "Hello, is anyone home?" As the door swings open, he will step inside.
OOC: If the club the Ogre had is still lying around on the street, he will pick it up as he goes. He might carve something into it later.
Seeing the ogre's large club lying discarded at the side of the road, Mazin picks up the thick, heavy length of hardwood. Noticing the aged, red-brown colouring of the gnarled weapon, the experienced carver is fairly certain that the wood is mahogany and likely from a more tropical place far from here.
Reaching the Alcalde's house, the Goliath calls out and entering the foyer of the home, hears the voice of an older male call from further in the house,
"Yes, of course I'm home. Who's there? Oh, nevermind. Do come in - we're in the sitting room, directly ahead."
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
"No, haven't discovered anyone else, yet. We were just coming back to town to talk to the fletcher when the orcs attacked."
"Why do you mention Yuan-ti? Do you think that's what the riders were?"
Thurk leans back, a little dispirited that the band of adventurers had not seemingly gained any new leads,
"Did I not say - the orcs in these lands were broken and enslaved by the snake people many years ago. Fodder for their experiments and other evil purposes. I suppose that some orcs may still live free in the Northern mountains or Southeast near the elven forests and borders of Quillinost, but not in any great numbers. At least not that I have heard of. That is why I speak of the orcs and the cursed Yuan-ti in the same breath... and why I fear a more powerful will is behind these attacks.
How would I know what or who these riders are. You saw them, I did not."
The shortness and clearly frustrated tone of Thurk's final words to Kestrell causes Revis to look up from where the old gnome was stirring the soup pot. Walking over to pat the injured smith's shoulder and to check his bandages, the Alcalde of Ambersilt looks Kestrell in the eye and says understandingly,
"Our history must seem strange and unfamiliar to people from other lands. You should understand, adventurer - Heartstar is a relatively new kingdom, cobbled together from formerly disparate peoples who themselves have lived for centuries surrounded by ancient and powerful realms of yuan-ti, elves, tritons and dragons. When the Kingdom of Heartstar was founded, the oricsh tribes were offered a place within it, as were the human, gnome, dwarf, centaur and lizardfolk communities of the region. Of those invited to join, the orcs alone chose not to accept. Their eventual subjugation and annihilation by the Yuan-ti is a sombre footnote in our shared histories... even if the children of Gruumsh sealed their own fate with their choice.
You mentioned Pente? Can I ask you why you want to visit her?"
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Kestrell pats Thurk on the shoulder, "Right! That makes sense now, thank you."
Kestrell meets Revis's gaze and nods. "Yes it does. But that's alright, we are learning. Pente? Who's that? Oh! The fletcher? We found an arrow at one of the murder sites. It looks like a hunting arrow, so we wanted to see if the local fletcher knew anything about it. It looks like it came from a short bow so I don't think it is from an Orc."
As Mazin entered the room the tiny blue-grey cat on his shoulder leapt to the floor blossoming into the dark haired woman with blue-grey skin.
" Not orc, no."
" It was evening and I was in the river... I heard many two leg sounds and swam upstream. I saw four laughing cloaked figures, smaller than me, with an equal number of hounds gathered on the riverbank. Two of the figures fired arrows from bows at a scaled-woman who was standing in the shallows. The woman appeared to be struck, at which point the dogs were sent in. They tore her to pieces before I could get close enough to assist....there was nothing to be done, her spirit had already fled."
Thurk remains silent, his blunt snout and other rough features turned towards the fire as though the lizardman is thinking of other times and places. Revis nods at Kestrell's words, saying,
"I am glad you now know more of our land and its history, Kestrell. If you or your companions wish to know more, you have but to ask. Myself, and many of other townsfolk would be more than willing to pass on our stories. It is the least that we can do, after your efforts on our behalf.
Well, I don't know weapons myself, but Pente is certainly the one to talk to about bows, arrows and such. She's Ambersilt's bowyer, as well as its fletcher."
Silence falls over the room as Dewi leaps off Mazin's shoulder, transforming before everone's eyes. As the dark-haired druid recounts her memories of that fatefull day, the only sound throughout the room is the crackling of the logs burning in the Alcalde's hearth. After telling her grim tale, the druid sees the heavy-set lizardman lying prone on the coach turn away muttering quietly to himself, "No... Mirinah... I am sorry.."
Revis swallows audibly before turning a sympathetic eye in Thurk's direction. Finally, the Alcalde says quietly, breaking the silence,
"That... is a tragic tale, young lady. I do not know you, but seeing the company you keep and your own incredible abilities, allow me to welcome you to Ambersilt on behalf of our town and its people. I am Revis, this town's Alcalde, or what is called a mayor in other lands.
As for Mirinah's murder, I... I thank you for your recounting of her last moments, as difficult as they were to hear of. You are right that her killers do not sound like orcs. But if not orcs, then who? Dogs, both wild and domestic, are plentiful in these lands. You said the murderers were small? Goblin sized, perhaps?"
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Dewi looked at them, " I'm not sure I've seen a goblin. They were shorter than me....but it is hard to judge when you are beneath the surface and some distance away."
"Beneath the surface? I see... Well, you have given us much to consider, more than we had before, certainly. For that, you again have my thanks. I hope that you will forgive me for saying so, but you have the look of someone who has spent many weeks, perhaps more, in the wilds. If I might ask, where do you hail from?
And while I do not wish to pry, I will also say that in these parts, it is customary to give your name once you have been welcomed into anothers home or village. These are dangerous times, but among friends and allies there must be trust - yes?"
The town leader's tone is warm and welcoming, and he gives Dewi a reassuring smile, but it is clear that he does not consider it proper to be discussing such things with a stranger.
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
" I come from......it is difficult to explain....my mother is Nyai Loro Kidul....so I come from her....then I was in a place of wooden boxes like this near large water that smelled of salt....I left there and came to the river after some time....the river was nice....I did not need to scrub the river....."
" My mother called me....That Thing......but one of her servants called me Dewi..I don't know why..I called myself Sri...."
" Now I am Dewi Sri of the River....", her voice suddenly took an unexpected exotic cultured edge but there was a flatness as if reciting something heard long ago, "...It is most pleasing to make the acquaintaince of the Esteemed Revis, Most Glorious and Venerated Alcalde of.....forgive me...I know not the name of this.....city?"
His eyes momentarily drifting to the figures of Mazin and Sylmeris who were still standing quietly by the door, the clearly puzzled Acalde brings his attention back to Dewi as the newcomer continues to seemingly ramble. When the young druid refers to the old gnome as glorious and venerated, Revis laughs loudly and even the clearly distaught Thurk chuckles quietly to himself. Smiling as he gently takes the strange woman's hands in his own in a grandfatherly fashion, Revis says mildly,
"Child, you do me too great an honour. Perhaps once I might have been called such, when I lived as a self-important man in a self-important city, though even then such praise would have been undeserved. Now I am merely Revis of the frontier town of Ambersilt, Alcalde of a place mostly forgotten, that exists on the very edges of civilisation.
And while the Heartstar peoples are varied in their traditions and mannerisms, I grew up being taught to honour the choices and memories of ones mother. And so I too will call you Dewi... unless you would prefer to be called Sri?"
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
" Ambersilt. Thankyou, Revis."
" Dewi will do nicely."
Alwin just listens as Thurk recounts the history clearly being drawn in by it "If you don't mind me asking th...ere has been one question on my mind, wh...y attack Ambersilt? I don't mean any dis...res...pect towards your beautif...ul town, but I f...eel it would make more sense to attack the capitals with th...ese murders and cause panic th...ere. Sh...ow the people th...at th...ey aren't even safe th...ere, was Ambersilt a major part in the his...tory of the forming of the kingdoms or did it have a major event before the kingdoms were formed? Do th...e orcs or yuanti th...ink th...ey ha...ve claim?"
Campaigns:
Wildemount: The Felderwin Irregulars (2020) - Balassar Silverstone - Dragonborn Fighter (Rune Knight) Lv. 5 | Rise of TIamat - Aiwin Aralana - Wood Elf Fighter/Ranger (Arcane Archer/Gloom Stalker) Lv. 9
"You are welcome, Dewi. Our town is modest. Our... ahh, boxes, are not large. But their doors are usually open."
Revis pauses at Alwin's question, cocking his head thoughtfully as he turns to regard the previously quiet half-elf. Tapping his chin in contemplation for a few moments, the sage looking gnome eventually responds,
"Why attack Ambersilt? I don't know, Alwin, apart from to say that we are certainly the Southernmost Heartstar town of any note and thereby the closest to the ill-defined borders of the Yuan-ti. As you say, it would make more sense I suppose to attack far more prosperous and important cities like Underhome and Ascendrith if the goal was to inflict damage. Even Cragside, which is only half a tendays travel from here, has five times our population. Beyond its strategic location as Heartstar's Southern-most frontier and its closeness to both the Jade Empire and Leyinthalar, Ambersilt has never held much importance to speak of. Truth be told, even the product of our peat fields is barely worth the effort of defending the region from the creatures that emerge from or are drawn by the surrouding ruins."
The Alcalde pauses, looking a little saddened by his own admittance of Ambersilt's relative lack of importance. The deep, gruff voice of Thurk speaks quietly into the momentary silence left by the gnomish elder's pause,
"You said it, Alwin. Panic. Distrust. Fear. There can be few other reasons to torment a town like Ambersilt, for the Jade Empire could crush us with little thought... or perhaps that is what is still to come. Perhaps we have just felt the first small cut of the poisonous blade that comes seeking our hearts."
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
DM Trevails Upon the Trackless Sea
Sylmeris comes in a bit closer and gives a deep bow, her face hold a warm smile, "Thank you... Alcalde Revis. I am Sylmeris Dal'thien, a traveller and entertainer; I was staying here just for the night, actually." The elf pauses for a moment at the question of being where's she is from, "so many roads I've walked... difficult to remember the first. Your words are kind, I am more than happy to know I am able to be of some assistance in this tragic time."