Post Graul RP

[Wrex]

Guys, please share.

Wrex

After most of the party has turned in from gathering around the campfire and chatting with the Black Arrows. Shalelu approaches you and asks if she can speak with you in private. You move to the edge of the camp outside of earshot of the others (but still visible so you don’t get ambushed).

She says, “When I found out you were coming to Fort Rannick and I told you I wanted to come with you I wasn’t entirely honest about my reasons for doing so. You and your friends are great allies and I certainly will follow your lead as you plan out an attack on the fort. By my main reason in coming was to find Jakardros.”

“You see two decades ago my mother and I lived in an elven community to the east. Jakadros was much younger then, but he and my mother lived together after my father died. He was like a father to me. He taught me how to use a bow and hunt.”

“When a green dragon attacked our village my mother was killed in the attack. Jakardros was devastated. He fell into a depression and then one night he just packed up and left. It was a hard time, but I soon moved on myself to Sandpoint.”

“A few years ago I heard Jakardros was with the Black Arrows at Fort Rannick. I wanted to find him, but it never seemed like a good time and I put it off. Hearing of your trip, I could no longer put it off. I had to go. My relief at finding him alive has been tempered by the enormity of the task at hand to retake the fort. I have.... had a talk with him and feel that we can reconnect, but we need more time. Time we will have after we have taken back the fort and ended the Kreeg threat.”

“Jakardros is trustworthy though. He was a good man, and still is. The weight of what has happened lies heavily on his shoulders. But he will fight until the end.” She glances back at the camp as Caius heads toward you for the first watch. She gently puts her hand on your arm and says, “I just wanted you to understand. Thanks for listening.” And then she heads back into the camp.

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The next day the party gathers at the inn in Turtleback Ferry. Vale is sketching out a map of the fort on the table for later. You’ve noticed him to be a reclusive sort, not saying much, but always willing to lend a hand with whatever needs to be done. His bald head shows many battle scars although they are muted by his darker skin. As you wait for the others all to arrive Vale continues to sketch, he notices you watching and says, “We had a Rock Troll come through Rannick nearly a decade ago. Huge brute, like you. Weapons and armor, all business. He came right down the pass from the Hook mountains. Doubt any ogres would stand in his way. Ha. And he knew it too!”

“He spent two days at the fort. We didn’t have any goods for him and couldn’t afford the prices for commissioned pieces, but he showed us a thing or two in the forge. Great techniques your people have. I prefer to work in stone myself.” He points down to the half finished map in front of him, “Done a lot of work on the fort over the years. Hate to see the Kreegs in it.”

He spits on the floor, “Damn Kreegs. Don’t know how they got the best of us. If our patrol hadn’t been delayed here in town we would have been back in time to stop them. Jakardros is a good soldier though. Been with the Black Arrows longer than most, he’s a survivor. Kreegs will get their due.”
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On a non-RP front, make sure you’re familiar with Shalelu’s sheet to use her in the battle. She has macros setup in Roll20 too so she should be easy to control. Main thing is just to decide on rapid shot and deadly aim each round. More attacks that hit harder vs. better hit chance.

[gravime]

Ifurita

After most of the party has turned in from gathering around the campfire and chatting with the Black Arrows. Vale approaches you. He’s a large bald darker skinned man. His head shows faint battle scars and he carries a pair of battle axes along with several hand axes by his belt. You’ve noticed that he rarely speaks with others of the group. He seems reserved, but has been very much willing to lend a hand with whatever needed to be done. Taking watches, gathering firewood, preparing the evening meal, he’s been ready to assist with any task.

He takes a knee next to where you are sitting and he says in a low voice, “I wanted to thank you for freeing us. I saw you battle the Graul’s with great magic. I owe you a debt of gratitude, if you need anything from me please don’t hesitate to ask.”

He pauses for a moment, thinking to himself and then continues, “Among the Black Arrows I am a stonemason and engineer. I’ve done a lot of work preserving the fort against attacks and the advances of time. It sickens me to think of it in Kreeg hands.”

He rolls his massive shoulders and his hand strays toward the hilt of one of his axes. “The Kreegs will get what is coming to them. I did not mean to say anything upsetting in the presence of a lady. But I know you’ve seen the carnage of battle before - forgive me if I presume too much.... I... I will take a watch for the camp.” He stands and moves back to the center of the camp. You get the feeling that he isn’t too good with words and left something unsaid. He seems to avoid your gaze and keep his head down as he and the others prepare the camp for the evening.

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The next day the party gathers at the inn in Turtleback Ferry. You sit by Nualia as you wait for the rest of the party to come back from their various tasks of the day. Lowering your voice you talk a little bit about your history with her She says she doesn’t really want to talk about the past. She has made her peace with what happened, those responsible have paid and she is more interested in moving on.

When you broach the subject of the runewells though she becomes very interested. She says that she hired a mercenary mage that knew about Thassilion runes. She couldn’t read the language herself, but she got some information from from the mage about them. Unfortunately it’s mostly stuff that you already knew about. That the runewells are marked with a rune. One of the seven Sihedron runes. But she didn’t know what the runes signified.

She says, “The runewell on Thistletop gave me power, at the time I was very much craving power and revenge. The runewell seemed to react favorably to that. One thing that Lydia discovered though, when someone died that bore the mark Sihedron there essence would empower the runewell if it bore the same trait as the well.”

“Goblins that were branded with the Sihedron rune that then died in battle would empower the runewell. The more energy it got then the more it would give me in battle. The Goblins that were sent to Sandpoint bore the mark so even in defeat they provided power.”

“I had intended to brand all of the goblins of the five tribes before they attacked Sandpoint again. But of course my plan never got that far. The power of the runewell was amazing though.” She pauses for a moment, closing her eyes as if to savor the memory. “But the wrath I felt.... I could never know peace. I feel it still, even here many miles away. It is less though. The last six months out here have been more peaceful for me than any time in the last seven years. Since I first started hearing the whispers above Tower street.”

The others begin to come in and you break off your conversation to gather around the table in the back and plan your assault.

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Non-RP stuff. You can still ask Nualia or the other Black Arrows other questions during the planning. Also you should look over Vale’s sheet. He’s a two weapon fighter and has lots of combinations for attacks. He also has the Step Up and Disruption feats which are good against casters or range attackers.

[VitoOracle]

Vito

After most of the party has turned in from gathering around the campfire and chatting with the Black Arrows Jakardros approaches you. He says, “I’ve heard you’re devote to many gods instead of just one. The Black Arrows also practice this way. We would honor all of the gods in ceremony.”

“The Black Arrows had people from many cities, many faiths, it only seemed fair to honor all of them and not single any one out. We always figured that it wouldn’t hurt to have any one of them looking out for us. Didn’t work out too well in the end though.....so perhaps we did offend them.”

“You haven’t found that to be a problem have you Father? Like you do something to please one that displeases another? I tend to believe man makes his own way in the world, but we know the gods are there. Maybe one of them has it out for the Black Arrows? With just the few of us left it’s hard to think otherwise sometimes...”

He looks down for a moment and then gruffly continues, “Well some god was looking out for us when you and your friends freed us from the Graul’s. While I’d rather they had answered our prayers and the fort hadn’t fallen, but I’ll take the small blessings I can get - an honor them for that.”

“Sorry to disturb you Father.” Then he returns to the camp.
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The next day the party gathers at the inn in Turtleback Ferry. Kahvan sees you sitting off to the side and glancing around quickly to make sure you wouldn’t be overheard, he pulls up a chair up next to you. He says, “Father, I know priests have ways at getting to the truth of matters and I would request your help.”

Glancing around again he says, “The Black Arrows were betrayed. There is no other way the fort could have fallen. The Kreegs are mindless beasts, they wouldn’t have bested us without help. Both our commanders were missing on the night of the attack! And then Jakardros leads us right into a trap attacking our own fort!”

“Listen, I’ve been out here almost 5 years now. Commanders Lamatar Bayden and Jakardros have always been fair leaders. But something must have happened.”

“Look every month the Commander would leave us for one of his private walks. It’s dangerous out there for our patrols of a score men and he’s going out on his own to the Shimmerwood? Doesn’t make sense, there’s something else afoot.”

“And Jakardros took nearly a third of the men out on patrol right before the attack? Our patrols aren’t predictable, we change them every month. How would the Kreegs know to attack then? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I wasn’t at the fort when it fell, but I can’t help but wonder if we could have made a difference had we been there?”

“I fear what my brothers felt as the Kreegs pounded on the gate and their commanders had abandon them....” He trails off staring blankly at the table. “I trust that you’ll get to the bottom of the matter Father. You and your friends are smart, I’d take what Jakardros says with caution and be mindful of Commander Bayten, if we are even able to find him.”

Glancing around one last time, he gets up and heads over to the bar to get a drink.

[Hoofin]

Later in the evening while you’re on watch (before the party reaches Turtleback Ferry) Nualia approaches you. She seems tentative as she approaches you cautiously and asks if she can sit. You look her over for any remanence of the past evil in her soul and while it does not appear that evil has again taken hold of her, you note that you can still see a faint yellow aura of magic around her. You gesture to the seat next to you and she takes it.

She pauses for a moment and stares at the ground as she begins to speak, “I got the letter you left for me at the church in Sandpoint. It was difficult being back there, I still sought the whispers then. Thankfully they were silent in Sandpoint and I was able to move out here, far beyond their influence. I have tried to follow the path that Desna has laid for me to walk. But I wanted you to know. It is not redemption that I seek here.”

Raising her head you can see the fire in her eyes, not anger, but an aggressiveness of spirit, “I was justified in my actions against those that wronged me. I do not atone for them.” She continues to meet your gaze, but her eyes soften some, “I...I agree with you though about the people of Sandpoint. They did not deserve what I had planned for them. I was wrong to work toward such a fate for them. My anger consumed me then. It is less now, out here far from the whispers, it does not control me. I am glad that you stopped me from carrying out my plan against them.”

She stands suddenly and then says, “Thank you for your kind words in your letter. And thank you for judging that I was worthy of a second chance - I know it....it could have gone another way.” She turns quickly and walks back to the middle the camp. You have the feeling that there was much still unsaid. But you realize how difficult it is for her to broach the subject of her past at all.

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Later on when the party is staying at the Inn in Turtleback Ferry and you’re preparing for the assault on Fort Rannick, Jakardros approaches you. He says, “Caius can I speak with you on the side for a moment?” Nodding you move off to the corner where you can converse without being overheard and Jakardros continues.

“I wanted to speak with you concerning Nualia. I know you and your allies have had conflicts with her before. She spoke highly of you though and has been very frank about the mistakes of her past.”

He scoffs and then says, “We get many like her out here, many much worse. Some are just violent and don’t fit into city life. Others need an escape or a fresh start. We give them a fresh start - if they’re loyal, if they’re disciplined, if they can learn to accept our ways then they survive out here. If not, well....., our justice is harsher than justice in the city. With the daily conflicts we face we can’t have it any other way.”

“But I wanted you to know that Nualia has embraced her life out here with us. Over the last half year, she’s been an exceptional soldier, devote to the gods in ways most of our men just give lip service to, and loyal to the judgements of the order. She had a hard life before coming to us and it didn’t get any easier out here. Undoubtedly she could have stayed in the city with whatever allies she had there, but she didn’t. She wanted to change and so she came to us. She embraced our life.”

“When the patrol found the fort taken by Kreegs she didn’t hesitate to attack with us. When we were forced to retreat, she stayed calm and fought hard to get us free into the woods. And when the Graul’s ambushed us, she stood to the last, defending her comrades - willing to give her life.”

He looks down at the ground and then back up to meet your eye directly, “She has earned her fresh start with us and I wouldn’t want to see that destroyed by old grudges. I have a great debt that I owe you and your friends. She might not say it, but I’m sure she feels that same debt or more. Help steer her to the path that’s right and I know she’ll make good on that debt.”

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