JollyDoc's Kingmaker-Updated 7/4/2011
JollyDoc
Explorer
Believe it or not, this was actually a Paizo original, though I'd love to take credit for it!
Hurray for Jolly! Thanks for starting up again. I'm interested in the builds. My group is still firmly in 3.5 territory so I'm very interested in what Pathfinder does with characters in practice. Only strait PHB classes? Or is the lure of the PRC still to strong?
Keep it coming!
Zanticor
Keep it coming!
Zanticor
JollyDoc
Explorer
Well, Joachim is playing an Oracle, Supar is playing an Inquisitor, and another player is taking on the Witch.
Hey guys, anyone care to post your builds?
JollyDoc
Explorer
BORDERLANDS
“Is this it then?” Velox asked as he paced calmly before the two bound brigands. “Is this all of you?”
“N..no!” one of them stammered, as he looked nervously around at the bodies of his former comrades. “We’ll tell you whatever you want to know!”
“I’m sure you will,” Velox smiled, not unkindly. “Where can we find the rest of your band?”
“At the Stag Lord’s fort!” the bandit blurted. “It’s about thirty miles or so south, on the shore of the Tuskwater!”
“Stag Lord?” Davrim asked. “Who’s he?”
“A monster of a man!” the second bandit said, eyes wide. “He’s a deadeye with a bow, he is, and I once saw him crush a man’s hand to mush in one fist!”
“Why do they call him the Stag Lord?” Velox asked.
“It’s ‘cause of that creepy helmet he wears!” the bandit replied. “I never seen him without it on. Some of the other boys think he ain’t got no face under it, but not me! I think that weird helm is his face!”
“How many men does he have with him?” Stevhan asked.
“Hard to say,” the first bandit said. “So many folks come and go around there, we have to use us a phrase as a kind of password to get inside.”
“Really?” Velox quirked one eyebrow.
“Yeah, yeah!” the man nodded vigorously. “Now lemmee see…what was it? Oh yeah! ‘By the Bloody Bones of St. Gilmorg, who wants to know?’ Don’t ask me who St. Gilmorg is, though.”
“Well,” Velox nodded. “You’ve both been very helpful. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to discuss with my companions what’s to be done with you.”
“Wait! Wait!” the bandit cried. “There’s something else! That booze you found in the wagon?”
Velox glanced towards the crates they’d discovered earlier.
“That was meant for the Stag Lord,” the brigand continued. “He’s a bloody drunk, he is! Half the man he used to be, and ain’t never been right in the head! A few weeks back, he punched my horse just for spittin’ in the yard! Still, even drunk out of his mind, he’s still got a fair amount of fight in him.”
“Again,” Velox said, “your cooperation is appreciated. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“So we kill’em now, right?” Tungdill said as the companions huddled together.
“We’d be well within the bounds of the law,” Selena agreed.
“True,” said Velox, “and no doubt morally justified, yet it doesn’t feel like the right choice to me.”
Davrim nodded. “Then I trust your judgment. You have been touched by the Lady.”
“That doesn’t make my judgment infallible,” Velox smiled. “It’s just a feeling. I don’t think these two will pose any great threat on their own. Even if they were to flee back to this Stag Lord, then we’ll deal with them when we deal with him.”
“Whatever,” Tungdill threw up his hands, as he stomped away. “You city folk are all crazy, you ask me.”
“He’ll be fine,” Stevhan said. “He’s just used to a different way of life. If you think we should spare these two, then I can live with it. I just hope we don’t come to regret it.”
In the end, the two brigands were set free with their promise to leave the Stolen Lands and never return. Only time would tell if their salvation was justified or not.
____________________________________________________________
During another day of slogging through the dense underbrush of the Narlmarches, Stevhan brought the group to a halt as he stooped to examine what appeared to be just another game trail.
“There’s something here,” he said after several moments. “It’s overgrown, but there used to be a real path here. It leads up towards that ridge.”
The group dismounted and led their horses up the narrow, steep path. Some time later, the thick tangle of brambles they’d been hacking through gave way into a large clearing, its border partially defined by ruined stone pillars. The far side of the clearing was dominated by a looming, upthrust ridge of rock nearly three-hundred feet across, and rising to a moss-topped height of at least one-hundred feet at the center. The side of the towering boulder was carved in the likeness of an immense elk, its antlers drooping down from its weathered face to frame a wide cave entrance. A flight of stone steps led up to the entrance from the clearing, the stones thickly encrusted with layers of moss. A long, oval pool sat in the middle of the clearing, its waters thick with algae.
Stevhan, his eyes wide in awe, began walking slowly towards the steps.
“Stevhan…!” Velox began.
“Wait,” Tungdill said softly as he grabbed the oracle’s arm in grip like iron. “Let the boy be. This place is sacred to Old Dead Eye, Lord of the Hunt. He might not wear it on his sleeve, but Stevhan, and a lot of simple, country folk, hold Erastil in pretty high regard.”
“Oh…,” Velox blinked in understanding, “I see.”
When Stevhan reached the steps, he knelt and bowed his head in silent prayer. A moment later, the ranger’s eyes snapped back up in shock and surprise as his prayer was answered by a bellowing roar from inside the cave. A large, lumbering shape moved within the shadows, and quickly resolved itself into a huge grizzly bear. The beast reared on its back feet and bellowed again, its claws pawing the air. Stevhan’s astonishment turned quickly to divine enthrallment.
“My Lord!” he gasped. “We meant no disrespect! We come only to pay homage, and to honor you!”
“Watch out, boy!” Tungdill shouted as he shoved past Velox, but Stevhan didn’t hear him. He was rapt. “That animal’s sick!”
As the others looked, what the druid said became obvious. Foam flew in frothy streamers from the bear’s mouth, and its eyes wept with thick, green pus. Large patches of its fur were missing, and when it walked, is seemed to list from side-to-side. It dropped to all fours again and began trotting quickly towards Stevhan. Tungdill threw out his hands and barked a guttural chant. A small bolt of electricity sizzled from the air in front of the bear, stinging it on the nose. The creature drew back in momentary surprise, and that’s when Selena wove her own hex. She held a stone suspended from a length of twine before her, gently rocking it back and forth. The bear’s eyes glazed over as it watched the pendulum, and then slowly it collapsed onto its side, asleep.
“That won’t hold it for long!” the witch shouted.
Velox nodded and started forward, his sword rasping from its sheath as he moved.
“No!” Stevhan shouted. “What are you doing?”
Before he could stop the oracle, however, Velox struck, impaling the bear with his blade. The animal howled in pain and rage as it surged back to its feet, the sword still stuck in its belly. It was dying, but seemed not to know it. It reared above the young man, and that’s when a gout of scorching flames struck its head, sprouting from Selena’s outstretched fingers. The bear fell back, and Velox wrenched his sword free, and then struck again, and again. As the great bruin collapsed, it made an almost human sigh of relief, and then seemed to fold in on itself, transforming first into an incredibly old-appearing human man with a look of peace in his eyes, and then crumbling to dust. A moment later, the entire shrine seemed to grow more vibrant and colorful. Even the water in the pool became crystal clear.
“This was supposed to happen,” Stevhan said quietly as he gazed about in wonder. “It feels…right.”
“What, exactly, just happened?” Mox asked, her face a mixture of confusion and disgust.
“I can’t…explain it,” the ranger shook his head. “I don’t know what that man was, or why he was here, but now that he’s gone this place seems…whole again. I think we’ll be safe here for the night.”
______________________________________________________________
Later that night, Velox and Tungdill stood first watch.
“Did you hear something?” the oracle asked.
“Probably just an animal,” the dwarf grunted. “Tends to happen when you’re in the woods, city boy.”
“If it’s an animal, then it’s a big one,” Velox snapped. “I’m going to check it out.”
He’d gone no further than the shrine entrance, when he quickly started back-pedaling.
“What?” Tungdill asked, his hand going to the cudgel at his belt. “What do ya see?”
Velox didn’t reply, nor did he have to. A huge shape lumbered into the shrine. At first, Tungdill thought it was another bear, but then he saw the beak-like maw, and the fur topped with feathers, not to mention the six-inch talons that gleamed darkly in the firelight.
“By my beard!” the dwarf bellowed. “An owlbear! Back off, boy!”
He drew his cudgel and rushed forward, chanting as he ran. In a flash of light, a snarling dog appeared out of nowhere, snapping and biting at the monster’s flank. Tungdill swung his club with both hands…and it promptly snapped in two when it struck the owlbear’s thick hide. The beast screeched and swung its log-like arms in a wide arc, its claws slashing deeply across the dwarf’s belly. Tungdill’s eyes widened as he looked down in shocked disbelief at the gaping wound. The blood drained from his face as he fell at the owlbear’s feet. The monster then turned with a speed that belied its size and snapped the little dog in half with its beak.
“Tungdill!” Velox cried. He charged in, his sword cutting into the owlbear’s leg, but instead of retreating, it simply turned and back-handed him. By this time, the others were wide awake and scrambling to their feet. As the creature advanced on Velox, Mox hurled arcane fire at it, causing it to lurch backwards. Stevhan rushed into the opening, his own blade flashing. A moment later, Davrim joined him. Under the relentless barrage of the three warriors, the owlbear continued to flail blindly, but ultimately fell like a great tree.
“The pool!” Stevhan shouted as he ran to Tungdill’s side. “We have to get him to the pool!”
He and Velox lifted the barely-breathing dwarf and carried him outside, where they quickly submerged him in the moonlit pool. Within seconds, his terrible wounds stopped bleeding, and then closed completely. His breathing eased, and his eyes fluttered open.
“So much fer bein’ safe here for the night,” he muttered.
____________________________________________________________
“What do you make of this?” Mox asked.
“Freak accident?” Davrim offered
“Poetic justice,” Selena smirked.
Tungdill just burped.
The group had stumbled across a collapsed deadfall along the south bank of the Thorn River, and pinned beneath it was a body. The man appeared to have been dead for several days, and his clothes and gear identified him as a trapper.
“I think this was deliberate,” Stevhan said. He crouched next to the logs, the rope that had held them in his hands. “Look at this. This didn’t snap. It was cut by something very sharp…sharper even than a blade.”
Tungdill shrugged. “Who cares? He’s dead now, and there’s no one here to arrest for it.”
“We bury him,” Velox said.
“What?” Selena shouted. “Why?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Davrim said as he bent to pull the corpse free.
____________________________________________________________
“God’s damn it all!” Tungdill roared. The dwarf lay flat on his back where his horse had thrown him. The animal itself was still bucking violently as it struggled to free its leg from the bear trap. “That’s the fourth blasted one of those we’ve found!”
Stevhan soothed the horse as he knelt down to free its leg.
“The fourth unmarked one, you mean,” the ranger noted. “Most reputable trappers would mark them just so this sort of thing wouldn’t happen.”
“Maybe that’s what happened to our friend back there,” Selena sneered. “Maybe these are his traps, and maybe somebody else didn’t take kindly to his lack of manners, and gave him a little taste of his own medicine. I’m sure glad we took the time to bury him.”
____________________________________________________________
It had been two full weeks since the companions had last seen Oleg’s, and things there had gotten…busier. Four small tents had been erected near the stables, and three men dressed in soldiers’ harness busied themselves nearby. They stopped their work and watched the group closely as they road into the yard, their hands resting casually on their sword pommels.
“My friends!” Oleg bellowed from the door of the main hall. “Your back! Svetlana! They’re back!”
“Thank the gods!” Svetlana cried, clapping her hands happily.
“These are for you, my lady,” Velox bowed as he offered her the basket of moon radishes.
“You found them!” she laughed.
“Moon radish stew??” Oleg asked, his mouth watering.
“You can thank our friends,” his wife smiled.
“Ah, Sergeant Garess,” Oleg said, turning at the approach of another soldier, “these are the ones I told you about.”
“Kesten Garess,” the man said, removing his glove as he extended his hand. “It seems the Swordlords are in your debt for the protection you offered to these fine citizens.”
“Sure you would’a done the same,” Tungdill grumbled, “if you’d’a been here.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Sergeant,” Velox said as he gripped the man’s hand, pointedly ignoring the dwarf. “We have some further bandit news to report to you.”
Garess listened intently, and nodded with approval as the companions related their encounter with the Thorn River bandits, and at the news they had learned of the Stag Lord.
“Well done again,” he said. “So, what do you intend to do about this bandit lord?”
“What do we intend to do?” Mox asked incredulously. “Sergeant, aren’t you a soldier of Restov, sworn to protect its interests?”
“As are you,” Garess said, tapping the charter Velox had given him to inspect. “I think Restov’s interests are best served by our remaining here, and protecting the only going concern in the Greenbelt.”
“Typical,” Selena snorted.
“Don’t worry, Sergeant,” Davrim said. “We fully intend to take the fight to this so-called Stag Lord, but we’ve also still got a lot of ground to cover between here and there. By the way, what did you do with Happs, the prisoner we left here?”
“Oh him,” Garess said. “We gave him a fair trial…followed by a first-class hanging.”
“I like the way you think, Sergeant,” the half-orc smiled.
____________________________________________________________
As it turned out, the soldiers weren’t the only newcomers in residence at Oleg’s. A middle-aged man, who identified himself as Jhod Kavken, quickly made the acquaintance of the companions once they’d stepped inside the main hall.
“I’m very pleased to meet you,” he grinned, shaking each of their hands enthusiastically in turn. “I had heard of the charters the Swordlords were issuing, and I came here to offer my assistance, but by the time I’d arrived, you’d already left. More’s the pity. I wish I could have been with you when you showed those bandits what-for!”
“I’m sure,” Tungdill muttered.
“What is it that you said you do?” Mox asked, batting her long lashes playfully.
Jhod cleared his throat, his face slightly flushed. “I…uh, I’m a priest, actually. That’s another reason I came to the Greenbelt. I had heard that there might be several abandoned shrines or temples to Erastil in the region. You haven’t come across any such things in your travels, have you?”
“As a matter of fact, we have,” Stevhan said. He related their discovery of the temple and its bear guardian, who transformed upon his death. “Does that mean anything to you?” he asked the priest as he finished.
Jhod’s face remained neutral. “No, but that is a truly amazing tale. Tell me, when you venture out again, might I accompany you back to this temple? I’d love to resanctify it in Erastil’s name. I have some skill in healing. I’d be happy to offer you my services in exchange.”
“Of course, Father,” Velox replied. “We’ll probably remain here a few more days, but when we leave, you are free to come with us, as long as you are aware of the dangers we may face.”
__________________________________________________________
They spent the better part of a week at Oleg’s, resupplying and taking a much-needed rest. When the time came for them to set out again, Kesten Garess approached them.
“While you are abroad, I would ask that you do me a service,” he began.
Tungdill rolled his eyes. “Didn’t know I signed up to be everybody’s errand-boy. For an unexplored wilderness, there sure are a lot of folks who need favors around here.”
Garess eyed him coldly. “As I was saying, I worked with a Varisian mercenary named Falgrim Sneeg some months back. During the mission, he robbed our company and fled into the Greenbelt, presumably to join the bandits there. If you happen to run across a man fitting his description, I’d like him returned to me, alive if possible, so that I make take him back to Restov for trial. I can offer you your pick of four quality weapons for your trouble.”
“We can’t make any promises,” Velox replied, “but we’ll keep an eye out, and if we find him, we’ll do our best to bring him in.”
The group set out once more, accompanied by Jhod Kavken. They intended to take the priest back to the shrine, but they planned to take a different route, hoping to map some new territory along the way. On their second day out from Oleg’s, they came upon a small hut set upon a low hill on a lonely moor. As they approached, they saw smoke coming from the chimney, and light leaking from behind the shutters.
“Hello the house!” Stevhan called out.
The door of the hut banged open, and a shabby, disheveled old man lurched out, eyes wild and goggling.
“Who’s there?” he cried.
“We mean no harm, old man,” Stevhan replied. “We’re simply exploring the region. We set out from Oleg’s trading post yesterday.”
“Oleg, you say?” the man barked. “Well I suppose you’re alright then. Come on up!”
The hut was a meager affair, its rafters hung with drying herbs of all sorts, its table covered with all sorts of alchemical paraphernalia.
“Name’s Bokken,” the old man said tersely after the companions had introduced themselves. “Make potions, that I do. Sell’em to Oleg when I get around there. You interested in buying?”
He shuffled out his wares, and each one of them had a distinctive, pleasant berry aroma.
“Bet you’re wondering how I do that, ain’t you?” Bokken laughed. “I’ll tell you my secret: fangberries!”
“Let me guess,” Tungdill sighed, “they don’t grow around here, do they? And I bet you’re getting short on supplies.”
“That I am!” Bokken barked. “You’re a smart one, for a dwarf! Tell you what old Bokken will do for you…you get me some fangberries…wash’em first, mind you! I don’t deal in dirty berries. You do that, and I’ll set you up with a special discount on any of my wares. What d’you say?”
“If we run across any, we’ll be sure to gather some for you,” Velox said politely.
“Fine! Fine!” Bokken laughed. “Oh, and if you see my brother out there…well, you’d best just steer clear of him!”
“Your brother?” Stevhan asked.
“That’s what I said, didn’t I?” Bokken snapped. He held up his right hand, where the little finger was missing. “Bastard took it off me the last time he hit my mother, Desna rest her soul! Then he took off south to go live in a hollow tree or some such, rather than face the guards, coward! After my parents passed, I came here to look for him, but the Greenbelt’s a dangerous place, if you haven’t noticed. So I just settled down here instead. Point is, if you find an old bastard livin’ in a hollow tree, don’t trust him! And if you kill him, tell him his brother sends his regards!”
__________________________________________________________
The grasslands gave way to hills once more as the group angled back towards the Narlmarches. As they passed through one particularly desolate stretch, they began to notice the occasional animal carcasses they were accustomed to seeing, were becoming more frequent. Before long, the ground was literally littered with bones, everything from boar, deer and bear, to some that looked suspiciously human. Suddenly, the ground beside Selena’s horse simply erupted, and a black and red spider the size of a pony leaped out at the witch. Reacting purely on instinct, Selena threw out one hand, a hex springing to her lips. Electricity crackled around her fingers, and as she touched the leaping spider, the energy completely engulfed the beast. It fell to its back, legs curled in, twitching for a moment before becoming completely still.
“Neat trick!” Mox mock-applauded. “You’re just full of those quaint little hedge-mage cantrips, aren’t you?”
Selena’s eyes smoldered, and Sinister’s tongue flickered in agitation as the viper sensed its mistress’s displeasure.
“Look here!” Stevhan said. The ranger had dismounted to make sure the spider was dead, and then moved to examine the hole it had come from. It was a deep shaft, but the webbing layered upon its walls made it an easy climb. At the bottom lay several more skeletons, but also one relatively fresh corpse…that of a man dressed in leather armor. A silver stag amulet hung from around his neck, and a roll of parchment was tucked inside one boot. When Stevhan unfolded it, he found a crude drawing of a claw-shaped tree on a hill. A single large X had been marked beside the tree.
“Looks like we found ourselves a treasure map!”
“Is this it then?” Velox asked as he paced calmly before the two bound brigands. “Is this all of you?”
“N..no!” one of them stammered, as he looked nervously around at the bodies of his former comrades. “We’ll tell you whatever you want to know!”
“I’m sure you will,” Velox smiled, not unkindly. “Where can we find the rest of your band?”
“At the Stag Lord’s fort!” the bandit blurted. “It’s about thirty miles or so south, on the shore of the Tuskwater!”
“Stag Lord?” Davrim asked. “Who’s he?”
“A monster of a man!” the second bandit said, eyes wide. “He’s a deadeye with a bow, he is, and I once saw him crush a man’s hand to mush in one fist!”
“Why do they call him the Stag Lord?” Velox asked.
“It’s ‘cause of that creepy helmet he wears!” the bandit replied. “I never seen him without it on. Some of the other boys think he ain’t got no face under it, but not me! I think that weird helm is his face!”
“How many men does he have with him?” Stevhan asked.
“Hard to say,” the first bandit said. “So many folks come and go around there, we have to use us a phrase as a kind of password to get inside.”
“Really?” Velox quirked one eyebrow.
“Yeah, yeah!” the man nodded vigorously. “Now lemmee see…what was it? Oh yeah! ‘By the Bloody Bones of St. Gilmorg, who wants to know?’ Don’t ask me who St. Gilmorg is, though.”
“Well,” Velox nodded. “You’ve both been very helpful. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to discuss with my companions what’s to be done with you.”
“Wait! Wait!” the bandit cried. “There’s something else! That booze you found in the wagon?”
Velox glanced towards the crates they’d discovered earlier.
“That was meant for the Stag Lord,” the brigand continued. “He’s a bloody drunk, he is! Half the man he used to be, and ain’t never been right in the head! A few weeks back, he punched my horse just for spittin’ in the yard! Still, even drunk out of his mind, he’s still got a fair amount of fight in him.”
“Again,” Velox said, “your cooperation is appreciated. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“So we kill’em now, right?” Tungdill said as the companions huddled together.
“We’d be well within the bounds of the law,” Selena agreed.
“True,” said Velox, “and no doubt morally justified, yet it doesn’t feel like the right choice to me.”
Davrim nodded. “Then I trust your judgment. You have been touched by the Lady.”
“That doesn’t make my judgment infallible,” Velox smiled. “It’s just a feeling. I don’t think these two will pose any great threat on their own. Even if they were to flee back to this Stag Lord, then we’ll deal with them when we deal with him.”
“Whatever,” Tungdill threw up his hands, as he stomped away. “You city folk are all crazy, you ask me.”
“He’ll be fine,” Stevhan said. “He’s just used to a different way of life. If you think we should spare these two, then I can live with it. I just hope we don’t come to regret it.”
In the end, the two brigands were set free with their promise to leave the Stolen Lands and never return. Only time would tell if their salvation was justified or not.
____________________________________________________________
During another day of slogging through the dense underbrush of the Narlmarches, Stevhan brought the group to a halt as he stooped to examine what appeared to be just another game trail.
“There’s something here,” he said after several moments. “It’s overgrown, but there used to be a real path here. It leads up towards that ridge.”
The group dismounted and led their horses up the narrow, steep path. Some time later, the thick tangle of brambles they’d been hacking through gave way into a large clearing, its border partially defined by ruined stone pillars. The far side of the clearing was dominated by a looming, upthrust ridge of rock nearly three-hundred feet across, and rising to a moss-topped height of at least one-hundred feet at the center. The side of the towering boulder was carved in the likeness of an immense elk, its antlers drooping down from its weathered face to frame a wide cave entrance. A flight of stone steps led up to the entrance from the clearing, the stones thickly encrusted with layers of moss. A long, oval pool sat in the middle of the clearing, its waters thick with algae.
Stevhan, his eyes wide in awe, began walking slowly towards the steps.
“Stevhan…!” Velox began.
“Wait,” Tungdill said softly as he grabbed the oracle’s arm in grip like iron. “Let the boy be. This place is sacred to Old Dead Eye, Lord of the Hunt. He might not wear it on his sleeve, but Stevhan, and a lot of simple, country folk, hold Erastil in pretty high regard.”
“Oh…,” Velox blinked in understanding, “I see.”
When Stevhan reached the steps, he knelt and bowed his head in silent prayer. A moment later, the ranger’s eyes snapped back up in shock and surprise as his prayer was answered by a bellowing roar from inside the cave. A large, lumbering shape moved within the shadows, and quickly resolved itself into a huge grizzly bear. The beast reared on its back feet and bellowed again, its claws pawing the air. Stevhan’s astonishment turned quickly to divine enthrallment.
“My Lord!” he gasped. “We meant no disrespect! We come only to pay homage, and to honor you!”
“Watch out, boy!” Tungdill shouted as he shoved past Velox, but Stevhan didn’t hear him. He was rapt. “That animal’s sick!”
As the others looked, what the druid said became obvious. Foam flew in frothy streamers from the bear’s mouth, and its eyes wept with thick, green pus. Large patches of its fur were missing, and when it walked, is seemed to list from side-to-side. It dropped to all fours again and began trotting quickly towards Stevhan. Tungdill threw out his hands and barked a guttural chant. A small bolt of electricity sizzled from the air in front of the bear, stinging it on the nose. The creature drew back in momentary surprise, and that’s when Selena wove her own hex. She held a stone suspended from a length of twine before her, gently rocking it back and forth. The bear’s eyes glazed over as it watched the pendulum, and then slowly it collapsed onto its side, asleep.
“That won’t hold it for long!” the witch shouted.
Velox nodded and started forward, his sword rasping from its sheath as he moved.
“No!” Stevhan shouted. “What are you doing?”
Before he could stop the oracle, however, Velox struck, impaling the bear with his blade. The animal howled in pain and rage as it surged back to its feet, the sword still stuck in its belly. It was dying, but seemed not to know it. It reared above the young man, and that’s when a gout of scorching flames struck its head, sprouting from Selena’s outstretched fingers. The bear fell back, and Velox wrenched his sword free, and then struck again, and again. As the great bruin collapsed, it made an almost human sigh of relief, and then seemed to fold in on itself, transforming first into an incredibly old-appearing human man with a look of peace in his eyes, and then crumbling to dust. A moment later, the entire shrine seemed to grow more vibrant and colorful. Even the water in the pool became crystal clear.
“This was supposed to happen,” Stevhan said quietly as he gazed about in wonder. “It feels…right.”
“What, exactly, just happened?” Mox asked, her face a mixture of confusion and disgust.
“I can’t…explain it,” the ranger shook his head. “I don’t know what that man was, or why he was here, but now that he’s gone this place seems…whole again. I think we’ll be safe here for the night.”
______________________________________________________________
Later that night, Velox and Tungdill stood first watch.
“Did you hear something?” the oracle asked.
“Probably just an animal,” the dwarf grunted. “Tends to happen when you’re in the woods, city boy.”
“If it’s an animal, then it’s a big one,” Velox snapped. “I’m going to check it out.”
He’d gone no further than the shrine entrance, when he quickly started back-pedaling.
“What?” Tungdill asked, his hand going to the cudgel at his belt. “What do ya see?”
Velox didn’t reply, nor did he have to. A huge shape lumbered into the shrine. At first, Tungdill thought it was another bear, but then he saw the beak-like maw, and the fur topped with feathers, not to mention the six-inch talons that gleamed darkly in the firelight.
“By my beard!” the dwarf bellowed. “An owlbear! Back off, boy!”
He drew his cudgel and rushed forward, chanting as he ran. In a flash of light, a snarling dog appeared out of nowhere, snapping and biting at the monster’s flank. Tungdill swung his club with both hands…and it promptly snapped in two when it struck the owlbear’s thick hide. The beast screeched and swung its log-like arms in a wide arc, its claws slashing deeply across the dwarf’s belly. Tungdill’s eyes widened as he looked down in shocked disbelief at the gaping wound. The blood drained from his face as he fell at the owlbear’s feet. The monster then turned with a speed that belied its size and snapped the little dog in half with its beak.
“Tungdill!” Velox cried. He charged in, his sword cutting into the owlbear’s leg, but instead of retreating, it simply turned and back-handed him. By this time, the others were wide awake and scrambling to their feet. As the creature advanced on Velox, Mox hurled arcane fire at it, causing it to lurch backwards. Stevhan rushed into the opening, his own blade flashing. A moment later, Davrim joined him. Under the relentless barrage of the three warriors, the owlbear continued to flail blindly, but ultimately fell like a great tree.
“The pool!” Stevhan shouted as he ran to Tungdill’s side. “We have to get him to the pool!”
He and Velox lifted the barely-breathing dwarf and carried him outside, where they quickly submerged him in the moonlit pool. Within seconds, his terrible wounds stopped bleeding, and then closed completely. His breathing eased, and his eyes fluttered open.
“So much fer bein’ safe here for the night,” he muttered.
____________________________________________________________
“What do you make of this?” Mox asked.
“Freak accident?” Davrim offered
“Poetic justice,” Selena smirked.
Tungdill just burped.
The group had stumbled across a collapsed deadfall along the south bank of the Thorn River, and pinned beneath it was a body. The man appeared to have been dead for several days, and his clothes and gear identified him as a trapper.
“I think this was deliberate,” Stevhan said. He crouched next to the logs, the rope that had held them in his hands. “Look at this. This didn’t snap. It was cut by something very sharp…sharper even than a blade.”
Tungdill shrugged. “Who cares? He’s dead now, and there’s no one here to arrest for it.”
“We bury him,” Velox said.
“What?” Selena shouted. “Why?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Davrim said as he bent to pull the corpse free.
____________________________________________________________
“God’s damn it all!” Tungdill roared. The dwarf lay flat on his back where his horse had thrown him. The animal itself was still bucking violently as it struggled to free its leg from the bear trap. “That’s the fourth blasted one of those we’ve found!”
Stevhan soothed the horse as he knelt down to free its leg.
“The fourth unmarked one, you mean,” the ranger noted. “Most reputable trappers would mark them just so this sort of thing wouldn’t happen.”
“Maybe that’s what happened to our friend back there,” Selena sneered. “Maybe these are his traps, and maybe somebody else didn’t take kindly to his lack of manners, and gave him a little taste of his own medicine. I’m sure glad we took the time to bury him.”
____________________________________________________________
It had been two full weeks since the companions had last seen Oleg’s, and things there had gotten…busier. Four small tents had been erected near the stables, and three men dressed in soldiers’ harness busied themselves nearby. They stopped their work and watched the group closely as they road into the yard, their hands resting casually on their sword pommels.
“My friends!” Oleg bellowed from the door of the main hall. “Your back! Svetlana! They’re back!”
“Thank the gods!” Svetlana cried, clapping her hands happily.
“These are for you, my lady,” Velox bowed as he offered her the basket of moon radishes.
“You found them!” she laughed.
“Moon radish stew??” Oleg asked, his mouth watering.
“You can thank our friends,” his wife smiled.
“Ah, Sergeant Garess,” Oleg said, turning at the approach of another soldier, “these are the ones I told you about.”
“Kesten Garess,” the man said, removing his glove as he extended his hand. “It seems the Swordlords are in your debt for the protection you offered to these fine citizens.”
“Sure you would’a done the same,” Tungdill grumbled, “if you’d’a been here.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Sergeant,” Velox said as he gripped the man’s hand, pointedly ignoring the dwarf. “We have some further bandit news to report to you.”
Garess listened intently, and nodded with approval as the companions related their encounter with the Thorn River bandits, and at the news they had learned of the Stag Lord.
“Well done again,” he said. “So, what do you intend to do about this bandit lord?”
“What do we intend to do?” Mox asked incredulously. “Sergeant, aren’t you a soldier of Restov, sworn to protect its interests?”
“As are you,” Garess said, tapping the charter Velox had given him to inspect. “I think Restov’s interests are best served by our remaining here, and protecting the only going concern in the Greenbelt.”
“Typical,” Selena snorted.
“Don’t worry, Sergeant,” Davrim said. “We fully intend to take the fight to this so-called Stag Lord, but we’ve also still got a lot of ground to cover between here and there. By the way, what did you do with Happs, the prisoner we left here?”
“Oh him,” Garess said. “We gave him a fair trial…followed by a first-class hanging.”
“I like the way you think, Sergeant,” the half-orc smiled.
____________________________________________________________
As it turned out, the soldiers weren’t the only newcomers in residence at Oleg’s. A middle-aged man, who identified himself as Jhod Kavken, quickly made the acquaintance of the companions once they’d stepped inside the main hall.
“I’m very pleased to meet you,” he grinned, shaking each of their hands enthusiastically in turn. “I had heard of the charters the Swordlords were issuing, and I came here to offer my assistance, but by the time I’d arrived, you’d already left. More’s the pity. I wish I could have been with you when you showed those bandits what-for!”
“I’m sure,” Tungdill muttered.
“What is it that you said you do?” Mox asked, batting her long lashes playfully.
Jhod cleared his throat, his face slightly flushed. “I…uh, I’m a priest, actually. That’s another reason I came to the Greenbelt. I had heard that there might be several abandoned shrines or temples to Erastil in the region. You haven’t come across any such things in your travels, have you?”
“As a matter of fact, we have,” Stevhan said. He related their discovery of the temple and its bear guardian, who transformed upon his death. “Does that mean anything to you?” he asked the priest as he finished.
Jhod’s face remained neutral. “No, but that is a truly amazing tale. Tell me, when you venture out again, might I accompany you back to this temple? I’d love to resanctify it in Erastil’s name. I have some skill in healing. I’d be happy to offer you my services in exchange.”
“Of course, Father,” Velox replied. “We’ll probably remain here a few more days, but when we leave, you are free to come with us, as long as you are aware of the dangers we may face.”
__________________________________________________________
They spent the better part of a week at Oleg’s, resupplying and taking a much-needed rest. When the time came for them to set out again, Kesten Garess approached them.
“While you are abroad, I would ask that you do me a service,” he began.
Tungdill rolled his eyes. “Didn’t know I signed up to be everybody’s errand-boy. For an unexplored wilderness, there sure are a lot of folks who need favors around here.”
Garess eyed him coldly. “As I was saying, I worked with a Varisian mercenary named Falgrim Sneeg some months back. During the mission, he robbed our company and fled into the Greenbelt, presumably to join the bandits there. If you happen to run across a man fitting his description, I’d like him returned to me, alive if possible, so that I make take him back to Restov for trial. I can offer you your pick of four quality weapons for your trouble.”
“We can’t make any promises,” Velox replied, “but we’ll keep an eye out, and if we find him, we’ll do our best to bring him in.”
The group set out once more, accompanied by Jhod Kavken. They intended to take the priest back to the shrine, but they planned to take a different route, hoping to map some new territory along the way. On their second day out from Oleg’s, they came upon a small hut set upon a low hill on a lonely moor. As they approached, they saw smoke coming from the chimney, and light leaking from behind the shutters.
“Hello the house!” Stevhan called out.
The door of the hut banged open, and a shabby, disheveled old man lurched out, eyes wild and goggling.
“Who’s there?” he cried.
“We mean no harm, old man,” Stevhan replied. “We’re simply exploring the region. We set out from Oleg’s trading post yesterday.”
“Oleg, you say?” the man barked. “Well I suppose you’re alright then. Come on up!”
The hut was a meager affair, its rafters hung with drying herbs of all sorts, its table covered with all sorts of alchemical paraphernalia.
“Name’s Bokken,” the old man said tersely after the companions had introduced themselves. “Make potions, that I do. Sell’em to Oleg when I get around there. You interested in buying?”
He shuffled out his wares, and each one of them had a distinctive, pleasant berry aroma.
“Bet you’re wondering how I do that, ain’t you?” Bokken laughed. “I’ll tell you my secret: fangberries!”
“Let me guess,” Tungdill sighed, “they don’t grow around here, do they? And I bet you’re getting short on supplies.”
“That I am!” Bokken barked. “You’re a smart one, for a dwarf! Tell you what old Bokken will do for you…you get me some fangberries…wash’em first, mind you! I don’t deal in dirty berries. You do that, and I’ll set you up with a special discount on any of my wares. What d’you say?”
“If we run across any, we’ll be sure to gather some for you,” Velox said politely.
“Fine! Fine!” Bokken laughed. “Oh, and if you see my brother out there…well, you’d best just steer clear of him!”
“Your brother?” Stevhan asked.
“That’s what I said, didn’t I?” Bokken snapped. He held up his right hand, where the little finger was missing. “Bastard took it off me the last time he hit my mother, Desna rest her soul! Then he took off south to go live in a hollow tree or some such, rather than face the guards, coward! After my parents passed, I came here to look for him, but the Greenbelt’s a dangerous place, if you haven’t noticed. So I just settled down here instead. Point is, if you find an old bastard livin’ in a hollow tree, don’t trust him! And if you kill him, tell him his brother sends his regards!”
__________________________________________________________
The grasslands gave way to hills once more as the group angled back towards the Narlmarches. As they passed through one particularly desolate stretch, they began to notice the occasional animal carcasses they were accustomed to seeing, were becoming more frequent. Before long, the ground was literally littered with bones, everything from boar, deer and bear, to some that looked suspiciously human. Suddenly, the ground beside Selena’s horse simply erupted, and a black and red spider the size of a pony leaped out at the witch. Reacting purely on instinct, Selena threw out one hand, a hex springing to her lips. Electricity crackled around her fingers, and as she touched the leaping spider, the energy completely engulfed the beast. It fell to its back, legs curled in, twitching for a moment before becoming completely still.
“Neat trick!” Mox mock-applauded. “You’re just full of those quaint little hedge-mage cantrips, aren’t you?”
Selena’s eyes smoldered, and Sinister’s tongue flickered in agitation as the viper sensed its mistress’s displeasure.
“Look here!” Stevhan said. The ranger had dismounted to make sure the spider was dead, and then moved to examine the hole it had come from. It was a deep shaft, but the webbing layered upon its walls made it an easy climb. At the bottom lay several more skeletons, but also one relatively fresh corpse…that of a man dressed in leather armor. A silver stag amulet hung from around his neck, and a roll of parchment was tucked inside one boot. When Stevhan unfolded it, he found a crude drawing of a claw-shaped tree on a hill. A single large X had been marked beside the tree.
“Looks like we found ourselves a treasure map!”
“Let me guess,” Tungdill sighed, “they don’t grow around here, do they? And I bet you’re getting short on supplies.”
I laughed so hard when I read that. Kingmaker is has some MMO aspects, eh? I'm liking it more and more.
Also, I have a question about Mox. Who is she? I don't recall her back story being posted. Did I miss it somehow?
I laughed so hard when I read that. Kingmaker is has some MMO aspects, eh? I'm liking it more and more.
Also, I have a question about Mox. Who is she? I don't recall her back story being posted. Did I miss it somehow?
Last edited:
JollyDoc
Explorer
Mox's player joined us late, and I haven't had a chance to get her backstory up yet. Essentially, she is from a minor noble family, on the run from an arranged marriage, as well as her perception that she would be labeled a freak since the manifestation of her sorcerous powers.
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