Chapter 2a - The Exodus to Krossavik

[Marullus]

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The first night passes, refugees huddled around their fires. Screams echoed behind you, dragon-men and their drakes hunting upon the fields around Kaerhavn. Pockets of safety scattered in the forest. In the morning, groups begin to move once more. The forest provides cover for now, but with the fallen city less than a day behind you, it is a matter of time before the cultists find sport in pursuing you further.

Some veer eastwards, across the desolate steppes and beyond to the reptile-kin's home. Some hug the rocky coastline to the west and it's freezing waters, hoping to find respite out of sight and mind therein. You find yourselves among the straggling mass going along the Trade Road, southward towards the hope of far off cities beyond the North.

The wild lands ahead are unsafe - merchants travel in large caravans for safety and make their our camps, few towns or inns along the way. It is several days on foot before you will pass Krossavik, the nearest fortified keep with accompanying village, built on a hilltop just ten miles west above the road.

By the second evening the old forest has thinned and refugees are beginning to group together. Belongings are meager, most fleeing with barely an armful between them and mouths to feed. A handful of merchants make what trades they can, knowing they'll never restock at Kaerhavn again.

All survivors of the Land Gate and Waterfall Gate mingle here. Food/rations has double book values. Otherwise you can trade an item you have for something essential you need via barter from others here.

Once you everyone has adjusted gear and posted at least once for RP, I will move you down the road.

Characters:

• redwarrior: Hild Gamlidottir
• Samwell Turleton: Olivia Linderoth
• ybn1197: Piers
• AleBelly: Rikke
• Faanku: Kinnard
• Faanku: Myantha Theneiros
• Samwell Turleton: Fljúga Thormundson
• redwarrior: Saral
• (NPCs): Melikii (mother), Neptisiss and Janiiss (Children)

Everyone has hit points back, Luck restored (you lived!) After Chapter 1. If you spellburned you start with that loss intact.

[redwarrior]

Saral spends the night meditating and praying, secure in his knowledge that his work as a tribe in the temple prepared him well. He feels his deity's gifts as he greets the new day...
Resist cold/heat (shimmering waves)
Detect Evil (Evil Creatures Glow)
Holy Sanctuary (Light from Above)
Paralysis (electric crackle)

L1 Spells [1d11] = 9
Resist C/H Manifest [1d3] = 2
L1 Spells [1d11] = 3
DE Manefest [1d3] = 1
L1 Spells [1d11] = 6
HS Manefest [1d4] = 3
L1 Spells [1d11] = 7
Paralysis Manefest [1d4] = 1

[AleBelly]

Rikke, warrior

Rikke wakes up the next morning, coughing as usual. She struggles to keep up with the roaming groups, but has taken quite the shine to Kinnard and watches him interact with others, learning how 'adults' do it.

Over the course of the day several fellow travelers beg her for some of her meat. Remembering these very same people refusing her on the streets of Kaerhavn, she flatly refuses. But eventually it dawns on her that the meat has value!

As the day wears on, she wanders off from the group, looking for objects she desires and trades accordingly. She returns to the group in the afternoon, smiling ear to ear and holding aloft a sword that's nearly five feet long!

She approaches Kinnard. "Do you like it? It's even bigger than yours!" she giggles. She's also wearing a faded red gambeson she refers to as "pink."

She also happily shows off five torches. "I'm afraid of the dark."

Side of beef +20 gp
Two-handed sword -15 gp
Padded armor -5 gp
3 days' rations -30 cp
5 torches -5 cp

As the group settles down to the campfire, Rikke bugs Kinnard again. "Can you show me how to use a sword?"

[redwarrior]

After finding a buyer for her staff and Scimitar, and securing a large sack (hopefully to be filled with coin in the near future!) and some padded armor, Hild feels she is about as ready as she can be for what may come. She dearly wishes, she'd had the chance to grab that dead butcher's side of beef in the escape from the town, or had thought to grab armor or a shield from the storeroom, but that's not to be helped. With the coin she has, she is as well equipped as can be hoped.

Friends, we should be away! I know not what direction we should go, but we should pick one and move out directly.

[redwarrior]

Saral sells his 10' pole, unsure why he ever held onto it. Even so, he finds himself without much in the way of money, which is not a new situation for him. After considerable thought, he trades his dart for a staff at the same merchant's stall - after all, you can only throw the dart once, until you can retrieve it.... He thinks longingly of that Scimitar that Hild seems to have sold. Oh well, it is not to be helped. He purchases 4 day's rations at the inflated prices, and a fervent hope that he lives long enough to replace them. Unsure why, he quietly holds onto the silver pen that he liberated from the temple priest.

I agree, here is a bad place to be.

[Samwell Turleton]

Fljúga Thormundson

Fljúga woke from her rest disoriented and hobbling. She sees the area around her, desiccated plants and a fallen oak tree where she once sat. Fljúga searches around for a stout long straight branch to aid her in her walking and finds a nice piece with a small y shaped groove at the top - it fits her hand well. She sees the little ink pot, quill, and some scribbling in her book abandoned by the children at the foot of the broken tree - funny kids. She thought it was clear that the pot was a gift. She takes it back into her belongings.

She reaches to her face and feels the wide lips where she once had more handsome features. She had pride in her features before and feels...not her self. There is too much going on around her to be concerned much of it now. Her thoughts keep going back to her visions. Tribune....tribune... keeps rolling around in her head.

The journeying is slow but the convergence of other refugees from Kaerhavn along these roads and merchants is a heartening sight. The bartering she sees taking place providing a distraction from the suffering and loss all these travelers have experienced. Fljúga checks her belongings and doesn't think she will need a second quill and finds a willing buyer - five silver pieces is not a bad deal!

She can't bear to part with her book, ink pot, or her last quill as that has been such a defining part of her life. She realizes that she only has a little food on her person and some additional spare coin. Seeing a merchant with some dried foods up ahead Fljúga does her best attempt at bartering and gets a small sack with 7 more days worth of rations. Easy come...easy go..., she thinks as the silver and copper pieces she had are now all spent.

Quill
Book
Lapis Lazuli Ink Pot
8x Rations
Small sack
Staff

[Samwell Turleton]

Olivia Linderoth

Olivia joins with the crowds of refugees and sees trading taking place but doesn't feel she is up to the challenge of interacting with these strangers. She is grateful for the series of events that led to her escape and the part that each player contributed to that.

She also feels fortunate to have gathered the provisions she did in her escape and will attempt to forage for additional supplies in the forest around her.

Foraging: Intelligence [1d20+1] = 6+1 = 7 Luck [1d20] = 5

[Marullus]

Olivia spends a few hours roaming the forest eaves; as the the diaspora passes through, however, she finds this area is devoid of anything edible.

[AleBelly]

Rikke, bandit

The adolescent Rikke hears Saral and Hild discuss safety, moving on, etc. "Some rich people are going to the cities far away. They are scared" she laughs, relishing the idea. She offers a further suggestion. "They might give us stuff if we tell them we'll protect them."

[ybn1197]

Piers cautiously walks about the huddled masses, wondering what the immediate future holds for him. That last ditch effort they had made to escape the city had given him the confidence to think that digging in the ground and growing herbs may not be what life truly had in store for him. He felt good helping the others escape from the guardhouse. Feeling empowered, he decided to trade in his club and lantern for something more needed in the line of protecting others. With some coin in his pocket, he obtained a warhammer and a suit of padded armor and then promptly went looking for Olivia.

"Olivia? What do you think we should do now?"

[Marullus]

Looks like everyone is good except Faanku, who said he'd post shortly for both Kinnard and Myantha.

It is assumed that anyone who has travelled beyond the walls of Kaerhavn before knows the land-based info on this post.

It's assumed you are heading south along the Trade Road past Krossavik. If the group wants to set out alone into the wilderness instead, speak up now and I'll grab a different adventure.

I'll move you after Faanku is all set. Keep RPing within your group until then.

[Faanku]

Kinnard, the Mercenary

Seeing the young orphan hurry over with a weapon taller than her, Kinnard is at a momentary loss for words. "Where the hells did you find that thing? It's not stolen is it?" After Rikke explains the situation, the swordsman sighs deeply in resignation, something he'd fond himself doing quite a lot lately, since the young girl had been pestering him nigh-constantly since leaving the city, and his elven charge had spent the past few days comparatively unresponsive and reticent. I suppose it's been a lot, the last few days. She's a city girl after all.

"Swordplay?" Kinnard responded, sighing yet again and moving his attention from the campfire."I may be able to pass on a few basics, Rikke the Warrior; or is it Rikke the Bandit now? In any case, I'm not sure how helpful my duelling technique will be to someone wielding a slab of steel that weighs more than they do. Are you quite sure that's the weapon for you?" His tone was one of interested concern, and that hadn't escaped the man's attention.

Myantha Theneiros, the Witch

The next few days passed without any contact from 'her', much to Myantha's growing relief, but there was a lot to consider and little time to focus. The days were crowded and tiring, and she knew Kinnard suspected something was wrong despite him acting as normal as he could. Perhaps she could come clean to him, to everyone, much as Fljúga had previously. After all, it was not like she sought this curse, nor to use its dark gifts. And had she not spent the past few decades deaf to the poisonous voice? With a nod, the elf made a decision, and when she felt the time was right she approached. "Have you a moment, sister? If you are wont to answer, I would ask of the connection you share with your benefactor."

Sorry for the wait. I'll take 3 days rations each for Kinnard and Myantha; nothing else they own is worth bartering other than Kinnard's ring, which he's not looking to sell just yet.

[Samwell Turleton]

Olivia Linderoth

Olivia steps out of the woods back into the clear area along the side of the road.

Olivia only vaguely remembers traveling this road as a young girl. The rest of her travels were to other parts of the world but she does have some distant relations in the Krossavik area she visited once or twice.

“I’m sorry - I don’t know” she says to Piers.

“Is it even safe in the towns around here anymore?

She sees Rikke brandishing the enormous sword. “You will be a fine fighter, what can I do to earn the protection of your sword?”

[AleBelly]

Rikke, human

Kinnard, the Mercenary

"Swordplay?" Kinnard responded, sighing yet again and moving his attention from the campfire."I may be able to pass on a few basics, Rikke the Warrior; or is it Rikke the Bandit now? In any case, I'm not sure how helpful my duelling technique will be to someone wielding a slab of steel that weighs more than they do. Are you quite sure that's the weapon for you?" His tone was one of interested concern, and that hadn't escaped the man's attention.

"You can call me Rikke the warrior bandit!" she says in a sing song voice. "Nobody will steal from me or hurt me any more!" she continues, with a much more fiery and defiant tone. "And this sword is good for me! Watch, I learned a trick." She grabs the hilt, one hand near the pommel and the other leverage against the crossguard. Her sinewy forearm muscles swell as she swings the sword, pulling with the bottom hand and pushing with the top as one would do with a lever. This results in the sword cutting through the air at incredible speed for a girl her size. "Ta da!" she cries.

Olivia Linderoth

She sees Rikke brandishing the enormous sword. “You will be a fine fighter, what can I do to earn the protection of your sword?”

Rikke smiles at the request, then pulls a raggedy old doll from her sack speaks to it. "Dukke, the lady is skinny like me. She...ok yes. OK, Dukke. Good idea." The pockmarked girl turns back to Olivia. "I want shiny, hard armor to put over my pretty pink soft armor. So if you give me food and money, I will protect you."

Rikke looks to the doll, then back again to Olivia. "Also, if you are smart don't let people trick me. You can read things for me...if you know how to read."

[Samwell Turleton]

Olivia Linderoth

Olivia takes a piece off her honeycomb and gives it to Rikke. She then pulls a few copper pieces (9 cp) and hands them to the little fighter.
“I don’t have much now”, Olivia says with a smile “but perhaps you can consider these a down payment for your future service”

[Marullus]

Myantha Theneiros, the Witch

The next few days passed without any contact from 'her', much to Myantha's growing relief, but there was a lot to consider and little time to focus. The days were crowded and tiring, and she knew Kinnard suspected something was wrong despite him acting as normal as he could. Perhaps she could come clean to him, to everyone, much as Fljúga had previously. After all, it was not like she sought this curse, nor to use its dark gifts. And had she not spent the past few decades deaf to the poisonous voice? With a nod, the elf made a decision, and when she felt the time was right she approached. "Have you a moment, sister? If you are wont to answer, I would ask of the connection you share with your benefactor."

Just pulling this forward, as it is a loose thread. Fljúga can backdate a response to this, even though I'm moving on. Or, you can work it into future conversation.

[Samwell Turleton]

OOC: oh - I missed that connection! Thank you for the reminder!

[Marullus]

Characters:

• redwarrior: Hild Gamlidottir
• Samwell Turleton: Olivia Linderoth
• ybn1197: Piers
• AleBelly: Rikke
• Faanku: Kinnard
• Faanku: Myantha Theneiros
• Samwell Turleton: Fljúga Thormundson
• redwarrior: Saral
• (NPCs): Melikii (mother), Neptisiss and Janiiss (Children)

Dusk Approaching Krossavik

It is two days of moving southward, out of the forests and down the Trade Road. There are enough refugees on the road that you move unmolested. It is in the red glow of the setting sun that you see your first unsettling sign - flying out of the southwestern sky, the red dragon glides lazily back northward. There are some screams and panic at the renewed sight of those dread wings, but it passes you by, remaining high above and uninterested in your straggling lines along the road. It dissappears northward, back towards Kaerhavn.

You crest the last ridge, and Krossavik comes into sight - it rests atop the largest hill a few miles west of the roadway, overseeing both the winding Trade Road and the rocky coastline in the other direction. The town is limned in ruddy light, which you realize is remaining even as the sunset passes away. Thatched rooftops are burning, and there is much activity around the tall keep, torches lit along all its parapets. A bedraggled woman, three children in tow, comes down the road from the town, calling out to your straggling caravan. "Help! We need help! The dragon men, they're raiding the town... that beast..." she breaks down into sobs, a shaky hand pointing off northward.

Actions?

[Samwell Turleton]

Fljúga Thormundson

Fljúga directs her eyes slowly to Myantha. They are slow to focus, blurred by the transformation of her body. It is as if she is in a different body entirely.

“It is not as I expected...I feel like I live in a dream that has merged with our reality. I think this bond may be much more than I bargained for. I do not feel myself but I also feel much more than myself. I think I am now a servant sitting in judgment of those that wish to challenge their fates.”

[AleBelly]

Rikke, human bandit, 2 days ago

Olivia Linderoth

Olivia takes a piece off her honeycomb and gives it to Rikke. She then pulls a few copper pieces (9 cp) and hands them to the little fighter.
“I don’t have much now”, Olivia says with a smile “but perhaps you can consider these a down payment for your future service”

Rikke pockets the coin and wraps the piece of honeycomb carefully before stowing it. +9 cp, piece of honeycomb

"Enough to buy food for a day...and a treat! I will protect you as much as I can" Rikke smiles. She can't wait to tell Kinnard she's a mercenary too!


Rikke, human bandit, today

As they travel, Rikke becomes weary. She falls behind, her limp becoming more pronounced, losing sight of Kinnard several times to her dismay. She sleeps in later and coughs more, eating quite a bit to keep her energy at a suitable level. She uses her mercenary earnings to buy another day's worth of food (-10 cp, +1 day rations). The keep atop the hill on the second day is a most welcome sight...until she finds this place under attack too.

Rikke's not particularly motivated to help people she doesn't know, but she wants to rest, and even she knows this the type of scene they're likely to encounter anywhere they go. "How many are there?" she asks, getting her claymore ready for action.

2 days' rations deducted