Q'Barra: Into the Emerald Forest - Part II

[SelcSilverhand]

Upon hearing himself mentioned in the translation, Dargin imitates the bow in return. "He owes us nothing. The gift of life is free to all and bears no obligation to the receiver. 'he has no name' has a good suggestion. We wish to meet with his kind in peace and if he will arrange it we would be grateful."

 

[Yeoman]

Matilda translates Dargin's idea to the lizardman, and then adds "And we might be able to help with your insect problem as well. We seek only to find a way to end the raids against the farm of Kolbek to the south. Is that fair?"

 

[Pebele]

Sanae nods her thanks to Dargin as she feels her strength return to just under its normal level. She listens half-heartedly to the conversation with the lizardman, but has nothing to add.

She looks around periodically, to be sure that nothing is sneaking up on the group.

What the hell, Spot Check: 9
Listen Check: 19 I forgot to add the +1, so it's actually 20. Sorry.

 

[Urko]

Further conversation

As the lizardfolk listen's to Dargin's translated words, it repeats the triple nod gesture in his direction. Matilda's comments cause him to stare at her for a moment, emitting a series of low clicks. Finally he replies. "I do not understand. Who is Kolbek? What raids do you speak of? The Sky Touchers are a peaceful tribe. We only come to Grandfather's Spine that our Spirit Guide may study the sky and know the will of the Ancestors. But this time we were driven off by those insect creatures - great numbers of them, although only two pursued us. Were you sent by the Ancestors to help us fight them?"

Sanae's vigil is made more difficult by the gathering twilight. Dravago and Vult are in the sky, nearly full, but casting odd shadows that tend to obscure more than illuminate. Over the usual night chorus, she hears the crashing of some large beast moving through the trees somewhere in the distance. It does not seem to be moving in the party's direction. After a few minutes of intent attention, Sanae realizes that almost no sound comes from the ridge itself - as if no creature makes its home there.

 

[Yeoman]

Matilda sighs as she hears the lizardman's story. "We are sorry, we had been searching for the Three Feathers tribe. We had heard that their territory was in this area. When we saw the giant insects we assumed you were the Three Feathers. Do you know where those things are coming from? As for being your saviors...I'll do it, but let me make certain that my friends are as brave as I."

Matilda waits until Erin has finished translating, then asks the rest of the group what they will do. "I say we help the Sky Touchers. It can only help us toward our goal of finding the Three Feathers tribe, and will earn us some good will from the local lizardmen. And of course we were heading that way anyways. The downside is....well, if your friends were not taken that way, then there is not much chance of rescuing them."

Matilda pauses then straightens, and redons her feathered hat. "So what will it be? Save an entire tribe and maybe lose your friends, or hunt for them and possibly not find them, and get a tribe killed through inaction. You already know my choice."


[sblock]
Name: Matilda d'Orien
Class: Rogue 2 / Psychic Warrior 1 / Fighter 1
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Patron Deity: Dol Dorn
Experience: 7750 / 10000

Str 15 –- (6 pts)
Dex 14 –- (6 pts)
Con 14 -- (6 pts)
Int 12 -- (4 pts)
Wis 14 -- (6 pts)
Cha 08 -- (0 pts)

Hit Points 34
Action Points 7
Armor Class: 19 (+5 Chain Shirt, +2 Heavy Shield, +2 Dexterity)
Touch: 12 (+2 Dexterity)
Flat Footed: 17 (+5 Chain Shirt, +2 Heavy Shield)
Init +2
BAB +2, Grap +4
Speed 30' (base 30', load 45.7/58, Light Armor)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2

+6 Melee, +1 Long Sword, 1d8+3, 19-20/x2, Slashing
+4 Melee or Ranged, Silver Dagger, 1d4+1, 19-20/x2, 10', Piercing or Slashing
+4 Melee or Ranged, Cold Iron Dagger, 1d4+2, 19-20/x2, 10', Piercing or Slashing

Medium, 5'8" tall, 139 Lbs, 28 yrs old
Red hair, Green eyes, Fair skin

Speaks Common, Draconic

Balance: +8 (6 Ranks, +2 Dexterity)
Bluff: +4 (5 Ranks, -1 Charisma)
Climb: +9 (7 Ranks, +2 Strength)
Concentration: +6 (4 Ranks, +2 Constitution)
Diplomacy: +8 (5 Ranks, -1 Charisma, +4 Synergy - Bluff, Sense Motive)
Hide: +7 (5 Ranks, +2 Dexterity)
Jump: +11 (7 Ranks, +2 Strength, +2 Tumble)
Move Silently: +7 (5 Ranks, +2 Dexterity)
Sense Motive: +7 (5 Ranks, +2 Wisdom)
Survival: +4 (0 Ranks, +2 Wisdom, +2 Least Dragonmark)
Tumble: +11 (7 Ranks, +2 Dexterity, +2 Jump)

Feats
Dodge: +1 Dodge bonus to AC vs. 1 opponent.
Least Dragonmark: Dimension Leap 1/day, 40' in distance.
Mobility: +4 Dodge bonus to AC vs. Attacks of Opportunity provoked by movement.
Psionic Dodge: +1 Dodge bonus to AC, when psionically focused.
Weapon Focus (Long Sword): +1 to hit when using a Long Sword.

Human Traits
Humanoid (Human)
+1 Skill Point per level
Bonus Feat at 1st Level
Favored Class (Any)

Special Abilities
-Sneak Attack, +1d6 damage whenever Matilda flanks an enemy or whenever her opponent is denied their Dexterity bonus to AC.
-Trapfinding, Matilda can find traps with a Search DC higher than 20.
-Evasion, If Matilda makes a successful Reflex save for half damage, she instead takes no damage.

Psionics
Power Points: 1
Powers Known: Defensive Precognition

Background
Matilda was the youngest child, in fact she was rather unexpected. Her older brother Samuel was born 3 years before her, and her older sister Carla was born 2 years before her. Things were quite normal in her early childhood, her family was situated in Passage and had a comfortable living as members of House Orien.

When Matilda hit puberty, her perfect little world changed, practically over night. She developed her dragonmark in her 11th year, much to the dismay of her siblings and the wonderment of her parents. For her part, Matilda was indifferent to the mark at first. As time went on, her siblings began to mock and torment her, and she became the obvious favorite of her parents, which only served to deepen the resentment her siblings felt towards her. She had always been a strong-willed child, but she cracked a bit under the pressure. She rebelled against the Mark, choosing to ignore its existence. When that didn't work she took up fighting and made a nuisance of herself.

Throughout her teenage years Matilda threw herself in to her training. She couldn't escape her Mark, so she decided to embrace it and make herself worthy of it. If her siblings were going to taunt her about having a high opinion of herself, she was going to show them she was worth it. If her parents were going to praise her every move, she'd give them something to praise about. And if people were going to expect a lot from her, she was going to give them what they expected and more. However the harder Matilda worked to prove herself worthy of the mark, the more and more her siblings became jealous of their younger sister.

For all her training she did not became a mild-mannered servant of the Mark. Far from it, she was wild, head-strong, abrasive and arrogant. She had quite the chip on her shoulder and raged against the world. For all her skills and talent, she was far from a model student.

Her family got used to her rebellion, and things went relatively smoothly until her siblings decided to leave the house and enlisted in the Aundairan military. Torn between loyalty to her family, and loyalty to the house, Matilda was unable to choose sides, unable to stop them, and ultimately unable to save them.

With the death of her siblings and the multitude of changes that took place in the House after the war ended, Matilda's rebellious streak was no longer an acceptable quirk. Her unwillingness to bow to the House was the basis for her forced transfer from the enclave in Passage. She was sent to the much smaller and less public enclave in Newthrone.

Away from the watchful eyes of the heads of the House, Matilda quickly left the House Enclave and decided to pursue her own goals. What her goals are is unknown, even to her. She only knows that she must find some truth, some path to follow. And it certainly isn't to be found in the House.

Personality
Matilda is considered abrasive by many people. She speaks her mind in a very blunt way, she sugar-coats nothing. She only has respent for those who she considers her equals in physical skill. She does not respect mages or clerics, or those who she considers weak. She has a great deal of respect for other fighters of skill. She has a quick temper and she holds grudges.

Appearance
Fair skinned with deep green eyes, and shoulder length hair a crimson shade of red. Matilda appears very similar to her mother, and in fact many people compare her to her mother (Janice d'Orien, age 56). On the bicep of her left arm is her dragonmark, she makes no attempt to hide it, and usually wears a sleeveless shirt to show off her mark. Normally she dresses in a rather plain type of field wear, accentuated by her wide brimmed hat.


+1 Long Sword, (Right Hip, 4 Lbs) 2,315gp
+1 Mithral Shirt (worn, 12.5 Lbs) 2,100gp
Darkwood Shield (Left Shoulder, 5 Lbs), 257gp
Silver Dagger (small of back, 1 Lb) 22gp
Cold Iron Dagger (small of back, 1 Lb) 4gp
Bedroll (upper back, 5 Lbs) 5sp
Backpack (center back, 2 Lbs) 2gp
House Orien Identification Brooch 75gp
Waterskin - Water (backpack, 4 Lbs) 1gp
Everbright Lantern (backpack, 1 Lb) 212gp
1 week of Trail Rations (backpack, 7 Lbs) 3.5gp
Flint & Steel (backpack) 1gp
6 Potions of Cure Light Wounds (backpack, .6 Lbs) 300gp
Potion of Protection from Evil (backpack, .1 Lb) 50gp
Flask of Alchemist's Fire (backpack, 1 Lb) 20gp
Flask of Holy Water (backpack, 1 Lb) 25gp

Belt Pouch (waist, .5 Lbs) 1gp
Coins: 5gp, 8sp (belt pouch)
Traveling Papers (pouch) 2sp
Identification Papers with Portrait (pouch) 5gp
[/sblock]

 

[Dayspire]

Matilda pauses then straightens, and redons her feathered hat. "So what will it be? Save an entire tribe and maybe lose your friends, or hunt for them and possibly not find them, and get a tribe killed through inaction. You already know my choice."

Erin pauses for a moment, weighing the difficult choices before all of them. She crouches on a bit of dry land, clutching the Thunder Staff near her chest. She stares at nothing, but her brow is furrowed. I don't want to lose any more friends. I lost too many in the war, damn it. There's value to the tribe, but...

"It may be an easy decision for you, Matilda," Erin says. "Because you didn't know them." She looks up, and into Matilda's eyes. There's no reproach there, just sadness. "Their names are Xavier and Borden. One was a friend, and the other was just starting to be. My vote is to rescue them. It's what they would do in our position."

 

[doghead]

he has no name, warforged warrior

"I say we need to stay focused on our reason for being here. We now know what it is that has driven the Three Feathers tribe from their lands. Now we should seek out the Three Feathers and see if we can bring an end to the raids.

"As for the Sky Touchers, there is no indication that they need saving. But perhaps they would be willing to help us find the Three Feathers. And if our path does lead us back to the flying creatures, perhaps we can do so with the Sky Touchers and Three Feathers at our side."

 

[Pebele]

Sanae turns away from her vigil to watch Matilda, then to look to Erin. She slowly stands and rolls her shoulders before speaking.

"The liklihood of us finding Borden and Xavier is as close to nothing as we can be. I do not think that either of them would be the type to take up a hopeless fight. I wish it weren't so, I truly do... but it is foolish to throw away everything in order to chase a fantasy. This tribe is here, now, in front of us. We must help them, there is no other choice."

She sighed deeply and raised her eyes to the sky. "We all require rest. We should set up camp soon. Between the two warforged keeping watch, we should be relatively safe."

[sblock]Name: Sanae Jarnel
Gender: Female, Race: Human, Class: 4th Level Paladin
Alignment: Lawful Good
Experience: 8600

Str- 16 (+3) - 10 points
Dex- 10 (+/-0) - 2 points
Con- 14 (+2) - 6 points
Int- 8 (-1) - 0 points
Wis- 12 (+1) - 4 points
Cha- 15 (+2) - 6 points

Hit Points 42
Action Points 7
AC 19, Touch 10, Flat 19
Init +0
BAB +4, Grap +7
Speed 20' (base 30', load 101.9/230, Heavy Armor)
Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +4

+8 Melee, Great Sword +1, 2d6+5, 19-20/x2, Slashing
+7 Melee, Cold Iron Dagger, 1d4+3, 19-20/x2, Piercing
+7 Melee, Silver Dagger, 1d4+2, 19-20/x2, Piercing
+4 Ranged, Light Crossbow, 1d8, 19-20/x2, 80', Piercing

Medium, 5'10" tall, 165 Lbs, 19 yrs old
Black hair, Gray eyes, Tanned skin

Speaks Common

+6 Knowledge (Religion) (7)
+2 Knowledge (The Planes) (3cc)
+1 Ride (1)
+1 Listen (0)
+1 Spot (0)

Feats
-Power Attack
-Silver Smite
-Cleave

Human Traits
-Humanoid (Human)
-+1 Skill Point per level
-Bonus Feat at 1st Level
-Favored Class (Any)

Paladin Abilities
-Aura of Good, equal to Paladin Level
-Detect Evil, at will as the spell
-Smite 1/day, +Charisma Modifier to hit, +Paladin level to damage
-Divine Grace, Add Charisma Modifier to all saves. (Already Factored in above)
-Lay on Hands, Paladin Level(Charisma Modifier) in hp per day, can heal anyone including self, can split between multiple uses if desired
-Aura of Courage, Immune to fear, all allies within 10' gain a +4 morale bonus on saves vs. fear. Functions only while conscious.
-Divine Health, Immune to all disease, including supernatural and magical diseases.
-Turn Undead, 3 + Charisma modifier times per day, as 1st level cleric.

Background

Sanae was born in a small village on the Eastern coast of Thrane, right on the Cyran border. Her childhood was rather uneventful; shaped mostly by the war and its impact on the world around her. Her life was turned upside down shortly after she entered her fifteenth year, when Cyran soldiers torched her village and attempted to erase all memory of it from the land.

Sanae barely escaped with her life and was overcome by anger and grief. She hated the Cyrans and all of Cyre, she hated anything that could destroy so freely the lives of so many, she wanted to destroy those who would destroy others. That night, while trying to sleep under the stars, she vowed that she would become stronger and that she would learn to protect those who could not protect themselves.

She found her way to The Church of the Silver Flame and expressed her desire to become a Paladin, a noble knight who could defend truth and justice, who could protect the world from the evil that lurked around every corner.

Shortly after she was accepted in to the Church, Cyre was destroyed. Sanae was delighted when she first heard the news, she felt that the lives of her village had been avenged. She imagined that the Cyrans had gotten what they deserved and that a victory had been won on the side of justice.

Those feelings did not last long. Once survivors of the disaster that destroyed Cyre began to fill the city streets, Sanae discovered that these poor souls were just like her, they had lost everything and nothing could ease their pain. She was overcome with guilt as she realized that there was a far greater evil at work and that all innocents must be protected, no matter what sins may have been commited in their name.

Sanae threw herself even more in to her training, vowing that she would never again fail to see the value of a single innocent life. She held herself to the highest standards, and never again looked back to the life she used to lead.

In the four years that Sanae has been part of the Church she has began to fill her role as a protector, though she is nowhere near done with her training.

She came to Q'barra a few months ago as part of an expedition to uncover unholy relics in the ruins of the jungles. Her expedition was ambushed by a group of Lizardfolk while they were examining a series of ruins, and all but two members were killed. Sanae managed to escape with her close friend, Leara, and the expedition's guide. Sanae and Leara lost track of the guide as they ran towards the city. Leara later succumbed to her injuries and died whle Sanae was spending the last of their money on medicine.

Now she is stranded, broke, and desperately trying to maintain her faith and keep her anger in check so she may find her way back to the Church.

Personality

Sanae, like most Paladins, is very dedicated to her church and its ideals. She strives to uphold those ideals and she is very hard on herself for the slightest perceived infraction. She is very determined to bettering herself and to learning all the skills she feels she needs to better the world around her. She carries an extreme amount of guilt for being unable to save her village and for hating Cyre so intensely. Sanae now strives to overcome her base emotions, she wants nothing more than to be able to objectively protect all those in need and to never again feel such overwhelming rage.


Appearance

Sanae is slightly masculine in appearance. She keeps her dark hair cut quite short so as not to need to worry about it. Her features are broad and clear, most would call her "handsome" instead of "pretty". She wears no jewelry aside from her silver arrowhead pendant. Her clothing is chosen based on function, not on design and she has trouble understanding those who are concerned with their appearance.

Full Plate Mail +1 (worn, 50 Lbs), 2,650gp
Silver Arrowhead Holy Symbol (Around Neck), 25 gp
Great Sword +1 (Right Shoulder, 8 Lbs), 2,350
Crossbow (left shoulder, 4 Lbs), 35gp
Case of 7 crossbow bolts(left hip, 1 Lb), 1gp
Backpack (center back, 2 Lbs) 2gp
Bedroll, (lower back, secured to backpack, 5 Lbs), 1sp
Cold Iron Dagger (Left Boot, 1 Lb) 4gp
Silver Dagger (Right Boot, 1 Lb) 22gp
Waterskin- water (backpack, 4 Lbs) 1gp
Hooded Lantern (backpack, 2 Lbs) 7gp
Flint & Steel (backpack) 1gp
Trail Rations- 12 days (backpack, 12 Lbs) 6gp
3 Flasks of Holy Water (backpack, 3 Lbs) 75gp
3 pints of oil (backpack, 3 Lbs) 3sp
4 potions of Cure Light Wounds (backpack, .4 Lbs) 200gp
50' of Silk Rope (backpack, 5 Lbs) 10gp

Belt Pouch (around waist, .5 Lbs) 1 gp
Coins- 7gp, 4sp (belt pouch)
Identification Papers (belt pouch) 2gp
Traveling Papers (belt pouch) 2sp [/sblock]

 

[Dayspire]

Dramatic Miss Erin

Sanae turns away from her vigil to watch Matilda, then to look to Erin. She slowly stands and rolls her shoulders before speaking.

"The liklihood of us finding Borden and Xavier is as close to nothing as we can be. I do not think that either of them would be the type to take up a hopeless fight. I wish it weren't so, I truly do... but it is foolish to throw away everything in order to chase a fantasy. This tribe is here, now, in front of us. We must help them, there is no other choice."

Erin looks up at Sanae, clearly distraught. "A fantasy..? You believe trying to find our missing friends a fantasy?!? I do not discount the need of this tribe. Nor the threat of these insects. But I refuse to consider a rescue of our friends a fantasy until I see compelling evidence otherwise! We don't know anything of them other then they're gone."

Erin stands and stalks off a few feet, her back to the group. There is a long pause, and when she speaks again her voice is subdued and quiet.

"I cannot do it alone. And I cannot force you to accompany me. So I will be forced to go with the decision of the group."

 

[Pebele]

Sanae watched Erin stalk off and shook her head slightly.

"Erin, do not mistake my words, I wish with all my heart that Xavier and Borden were still with us. But they are not. Have we seen any evidence that they still live? Have we any reason to believe they still live? Is it really worth it to you to throw away our mission and the lives of this tribe on the tiniest shred of a chance that they haven't died in two days? If it is, then go on back to town, find a group to go with you, and chase after them. You do not have to accompany us to save this tribe, you are free to do however you wish."

She removed her pack and sat back on the ground.

"I am weary. I need sleep."