Pathfinder 1E Sword of Valor, Wrath of the Righteous AP Part 2 with your hosts Scotley and MLeibrock

[sblock=Righteous Medal of Agility]Jack carefully unattached the clip from his crossbow in order to double check the number of bolts he had left; just three. He winced at the small sound made as it snapped back into place, but his quarry luckily had not noticed it. He was in a jagged cavern underneath the city, perched on a small ledge overlooking a downward slope at the end of which was another tunnel that should lead them back to their camp for rest and resupply. There was just one problem: loitering at the bottom of the slope was something that looked like a misshapen cross between a man and a goat, hunched over and apparently talking to itself. A safe bet it was a demon of some sort, given the circumstances.

Stealth was not exactly Jack's forte, though his natural dexterity helped him out somewhat. But he had had to remove his armour before crawling over here. The party was severely depleted, and everyone really needed this creature to disappear with as little fuss as possible. So Jack volunteered to try and find a position from which to snipe it. And here he was. Steeling himself he slowly crawled up towards the edge of the ledge he had squeezed onto. Lighting was poor, but a torch sputtered in a sconce down at the end of the tunnel. It was well used, and that was why the crusader guessed that the demon had been put here to watch it.

He slowly moved his crossbow, Bessy, into firing position, and lowered his head to get his eye behind the sights. No rush, right? So he gave himself a moment to adjust to the creature's movements. Because if he did not get this just right he was in about as poor a spot as one could have imagined: no protection and hardly any ammo. His combat dagger was his only other armament, and the rest of the party was a least a few moments away. But he was just about into position, and...

Suddenly there was a small scraping sound as one of the crossbow's arms touched an outstretched rock. The creature head swivelled around, and Jack felt a surge of adrenaline. For a split second everything came into focus and he squeezed the trigger twice and two bolts flew and two bolts of cold iron sank into the beasts mangy neck. For a moment it rose to its full height, and looked like it was going to come for the crusader but then it clawed once at its neck and toppled over. Randlay briefed a massive sigh of relief.[/sblock]

Righteous medal of the spirit:

Sir Sheldon saw His team members as they moved in the dim shadowy light. He tried to look into the umbral corners and cracks, but his eyes just were not made for it. The under folk who lead them in the dark passages beneath the city are adjusted to it. Suddenly it all changed, his eyes saw in the black and white, but of the utmost clarity. He tried to look about but he could no longer move his head. His pace and stance changed - he could feel an overwhelming wrongness permeating his very being reaching to his core.

His hand reached for his sword and his body started walking toward the lead of the under folk's scout, raising his arm he was about to strike when a sudden burst of will caused him to utter a loud cry. He lowerd his sword weakly as he looked to his travel companions. He had just been possessed and was able to fight it off before he could tarnish his morality.

The queen leads you toward a large yard where traveling merchants parked their goods wagons in the days before the disaster. As her approach is announced you hear a great shuffling of feet and rattle of gear. Coming out into the yard you see a stirring sight. A hundred human Paladins are arrayed in neat rows beside their mounts. Each man is holding a masterwork cold-iron sword and wears a longbow at his back. The men look surprisingly polished given that they have just come off a forced march just hours ago. To you she says, "I give you the knights of Kenabres." She gestures to you and says in a powerful voice that carries to all. "Gentlemen, I present to you the heroes of Kenabres. They will be leading you on a most noble mission into the heart of the worldwound." A cheer goes up from the assembled Paladins. "Take a moment to review your troops and we'll talk more."

If Her Majesty does not move any further, Sir Sheldon will do a pass and review of the troops, looking over each paladin with extreme scrutiny. He will point out any and all flaws sternly, but not in a condescending way. After he is done he will give a curt nod to the queen then the commander and then to the party.

Banaq, Elf Sorcerer L6, Archmage T1

Banaq will review the Paladins that are "his" to command to be seen by the men doing so, then he will pull aside the five most senior Paladins among them, and have a more private meeting with his Officers. Banaq will tell them that he will be relying upon their sound military judgment in almost all things, but he wants it understood that he is in command in the final analysis, and that his orders, unorthodox though they may seem, are not to be taken lightly nor disobeyed, on pain of swift and sure retribution.

Randlay sniffs a moment and then goes to inspect the troops, hands behind his back. As some stiffen when he approaches, he raises a hand reassuringly and says, "At ease, boys. I'm no fancypants. But I know a thing or two about swinging a forge hammer and I might as well give your arms the once over." The crusader laments a bit that everyone has gone with the more traditional longbow, but he supposes that if he lives long enough and does enough great deeds his method will catch on. As it is, he just watches to make sure everything appears to be in working order.

As the men cheer loudly, Amisi's pocket begins moving around. She puts her hand in and comforts her little friend who is obviously frightened. There wasn't much she could do about inspecting men so she stands back and lets the others do their jobs.

Sir Sheldon and Randlay find the men to be in good order in general. There are relatively few things to correct. A bit of rust here, a loose horseshoe there, one grizzled veteran with a scared face has a scraggly shadow a of beard while the rest of the men are either clean shaven or have tidy beards. A look into his eyes tells you he's seen some of the worst the war has to offer. Here a fellow needs to replace a bowstring, there a man has lost a good bit of paint from the crest on his shield. Banaq gets an affirmative response from the senior paladins he speaks with.

The queen seems to be observing you as much as the men on review. Her face remains impassive. As the inspection continues she has an aid bring over three men and a woman, who seem to be figures of authority of some sort. They don't appear to be Paladins. Indeed you recognize one as Aravashnial the Elven Riftwarden of Kenabress who survived the climb out of the pit with you. His sight is now restored. The other three are as yet unknown to you.

The queen speaks with them a bit and then together they appear to be waiting for you to finish your inspection.

Thorn doesn't have much to say about a field of heavily armored divine warriors. She does however seek out the scouts and soldiers who had been doing recon for the trip. Those she confers with, asking about the route possibilities and the perils and pitfalls of each.

Scotley said:

Sir Sheldon and Randlay find the men to be in good order in general. There are relatively few things to correct. A bit of rust here, a loose horseshoe there, one grizzled veteran with a scared face has a scraggly shadow a of beard while the rest of the men are either clean shaven or have tidy beards. A look into his eyes tells you he's seen some of the worst the war has to offer. Here a fellow needs to replace a bowstring, there a man has lost a good bit of paint from the crest on his shield. Banaq gets an affirmative response from the senior paladins he speaks with.

The queen seems to be observing you as much as the men on review. Her face remains impassive. As the inspection continues she has an aid bring over three men and a woman, who seem to be figures of authority of some sort. They don't appear to be Paladins. Indeed you recognize one as Aravashnial the Elven Riftwarden of Kenabress who survived the climb out of the pit with you. His sight is now restored. The other three are as yet unknown to you.

The queen speaks with them a bit and then together they appear to be waiting for you to finish your inspection.

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[sblock=in case i am not the only one who forgot who the riftwarden was]
You awakened in the dark to find yourself trapped deep below the city with your companions. Anevia, the semi-retired adventurer with her shattered leg. Aravashnial, the Elven Riftwarden, his eyes blinded in the fall, and Horgus Gwerm the arrogant, acerbic nobleman. Together you fought through darkness against vermin, undead and fiends and bested a mad dwarf wizard. You discovered a lost world of deformed crusader children warped by the evil taint of the Worldwound and abandoned to the world below. Now grown into Mongrelmen who still hold the ideals of the crusaders who were their parents. But they reveal that others of the kind have turned to evil following the poor treatment at the hands of crusaders and overzealous inquisitors. A secret war between these rival tribes has been brewing for many years. Worse, evil cultists have allied with the dark tribe of Mongrelmen. The horror of finding out these evil cultists of Baphomet, known to some as the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth, had infiltrated various mercenary groups and Mongrels, was one thing but proof that at least two had been disguised as Iomedaean crusaders was something else entirely. The urgency to return to the surface and report became ever greater.
[/sblock]

As soon as the Elvin Planes walker is free of the queen's attention, and Sir Sheldon is finished with his review, he will approach the Queen's Captain.

He salutes the Queen as she walks away, and while still at attention he requests to speak freely. If given permission he gives a hushed request of his superior, "Sir, Who is the grizzled one? I suspect the he has earned the right to allow his face to look, well, like mine after being in the dark for so long. What has he seen? It might be good to know of his story. There is strength in adversity."

After the answer, he requests to be dismissed and moves to where the Riftwarden stands. He gives him a genuine smile and welcomes him back to the land of sight.

"Aravashnial, It is good to be seen by you. HA! Don't worry, you didn't want to see what was going on down below any way. It was . . . . gruesome."