(Corvin/Mordred Adventure 2 RP): Corvin and Sebastian sit by the fire

[archolewa]

Sebastian eats some of his stew in silence for a moment before speaking. "Tell me straight. Setting aside the idealism for a moment. You really think this Jandley can be trusted? Or is it just a desperate gamble, because we can't think of anything better?"

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin puts down his bowl and sighs "She seems genuine. But I also couldn't see good odds of the four of us taking on 18 halfings, one with spells, to save two dozen unconscious people without someone dying, us or some the kidnapped. It's a bit of a gamble, but we need something to even those odds." he shakes his head "I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear. I'm just trying my best to work things out as I go."

[archolewa]

Sebastian futzes with his bread a moment. "Honestly, I don't know what I want to hear. I didn't think there were any halfings or humans or elves or anything left past the wall. Goblins and orcs and grimlocks would rule the world. They were victims yes, but victims who'd been twisted irrevocably into violent monsters. A threat that could only be confronted and eliminated, both for our sake and theirs. I figured too, my friends were probably dead. A tragedy yes, but not an ambiguity. Now we get out there, and things turn out so much more complicated. Friends and family who are helpless but alive. Creatures somewhere between halfling and goblin, who perhaps can yet be helped, or are perhaps already past the point of no return."

"This Jandley could be laying a trap for us. We could show up to meet her and be struck down before we even know what hit us. And then, not only will we have failed to save our friends and family, but we'd be dead too, and the threat would still be there."

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin nods. "Yes, there is that, but we know that and can be careful. I still put the odds better than if we just rushed in there. When we return I can scout around and look for signs of an ambush before we meet with them. We could even return day or two early so we can get the jump on anything untoward. I haven't forgot my training completely." he smiles to remove any rebuff from his words "I'm hoping Kasper can give some advice on bringing the halflings back, and help with the logistics of how we get all the victims back. It's not like we can get a load of wagons through the whole in the wall, but we could have some help waiting on this side, and perhaps we can find some help to come through with us too." he shrugs "Not exactly a plan, but the start of one?"

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin takes a spoonful of soup. "If you hadn't noticed, I tend to go with my gut and my heart first, and let my brain catch up later."

[archolewa]

Sebastian sops up some of his stew with his bread. "Aye, I suppose. Tell me, what do you think of Outside? And that strange hole you went down. Those tunnels you told me about. What do you think?"

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin leans back in his seat.

"The outside? I guess I didn't know what to expect, but it seemed almost...normal? I think we were lucky we didn't bump into anything. As for under the tree, Mordred seemed very excited about that magic circle and the lab, so I can see us spending more time looking at that, or Mordred getting some more Magic-Users involved. Being able to teleport would be a great advantage in regaining the lands we lost. But again I think we were lucky we didn't meet more of the monsters down there. If we end up fighting some of the halflings then that might attract them, and things could get very nasty very quickly. The more I think about it the more I wonder if we need to bring in help, but I don't want to lose control of the mission. I made promises to Diana and to Jandly, and I want to uphold my end. Then I think promises mean nothing if we get eaten by ghouls."

[archolewa]

Sebastian finishes his stew. He picks up the poker and stokes the fire a bit. "Almost normal, yeah. Except, wasn't obvious to me right away, but there's corruption in the Earth. Like a foul layer of poison overtop a clear pond. The Earth, She pushes through. I could feel Her, I don't know, rightness underneath it. The way the Earth feels here, behind the Wall. I could feel it under the poison. But She has to push up through the poison to reach us, and we have to push down through it to reach her. If you get my meaning. Hard to explain."

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin looks a little concerned "But she can get through, that's something, and now the Kinslayer is dead maybe it will slowly fade, or we can find a way to remove it somehow. I wonder if that corruption gets into the plants and the animals and then the people, and that's what's turning the halfings over there into goblins, very slowly. I'm not sure I like the idea of eating anything over there, or drinking, but I suppose we will have to if we plan to retake the lands eventually. If we are heading back to the city tomorrow to see Kasper, we need to stop off at the Grove and speak to the high druid."

[archolewa]

Sebastian nods. "It's very possible. Maybe even likely. I'm sure the Head Druid knows about the corruption already, and Princess Flora too. I'm hardly the first Druid to have ventured beyond the Wall. Our skills, especially of the more powerful members of our Order, were quite valuable when mounting raids. But come now Corvin. That is not the only reason I'm sitting here. We've contended with the Kinslayer's followers once already, and are preparing to do so a second time. Once again we will venture deep into the dark bowels of the corrupted Earth, and we may not emerge. Is this how you imagined things would go when you enlisted? Are you going to dedicate your, possibly very short, life to confronting this sort of evil? Or will you try to settle down somewhere, like so many others, once you've helped me and my village?"

[shaidar]

Corvin

"When I enlisted I imagined myself at the vanguard of an army, my unit scouting out targets, and a bit of spying now and again. When the war ended I wasn't sure what I would do next, but I wasn't ready to settle down. I didn't imagine fighting the Kinslayer's creatures on such a personal level. After we help your village..." he thinks for a moment "... I've lost two families, where would I settle? I suppose there is the tower in the city, but what then? Join the guard? I like the city, but I need to get out into the countryside too, to clear my head. Better someone like me does this kind of thing than someone with a family to leave behind. If I can at least stop some of these monsters then I might be helping more families from losing loved ones. There is something else. The more I challenge myself, test myself, I feel a stronger connection to my deeper self. It's a lupine thing and hard to explain. My father didn't really talk about it when I was very young, and then he was gone when I was older, and there wasn't any other lupine in our unit. The lupine has a baser, more bestial nature inside. It's what the Kinslayer hoped to use..." he looks embarrassed? " But if we learn to embrace it, accept it, then it let's us do amazing things. I can feel my understanding of that part of my nature improving." he looks down at the table " Sorry, we don't talk about this part of our nature much, especially to non-lupine, but I thought if anyone would understand it would be a druid."

I've done a little interpretation of the lupine from the books and the campaign background, I hope that's OK.

[archolewa]

Corvin
I've done a little interpretation of the lupine from the books and the campaign background, I hope that's OK.

Absolutely fine! I liked it a lot, and I do generally like it when my players add some dimensions to the rest of the setting. And honestly, anything from your character's point of view is fair game. If I decided not to incorporate it, we can always just treat as your character being mistaken in some manner.

Sebastian groans and put his face in his hand. "I'm sorry Corvin, I'd completely forgotten about your peoples' origins. Here I am going on about how we can't trust these halflings because they've been in the Outside to a person whose ancestors endured far worse at the Kinslayer's hands, and came out noble and true all the same. I think I do understand, best as any human can probably who himself hasn't felt the Kinslayer's fetid touch. But don't think your nature is 'base.' Dogs, and wolves both are noble creatures. They can be vicious, yes. But loyal and selfless as well, even more so than humanity if you ask me."

Sebastian gives Corvin an embarrassed look. "Honest, you are right. The Kinslayer's corruption is not so overwhelming as He wanted us to think. The Earth yet strives against it, the Lupines conquered it. Perhaps these halflings will as well. Now, I'm going to go check on the donkey."

He stands, and pats Corvin on the shoulder. "Thanks for your patience. But I would encourage you to find something outside of fighting the Kinslayer's monsters to live for. A new family, some sort of peaceful activity. Not even wolves hunt all the time. If all you surround yourself with is pain and death, the Kinslayer's evil will become all the more alluring."

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin smiles

"Thanks for listening to me waffle on. Your right, I need to find something more, whatever that is. I also think I need to spend more time with my people, learn about myself a bit more. I don't mean give up this, helping people, but in my free time. There must be groups in the city."

[archolewa]

Corvin

Corvin smiles

"Thanks for listening to me waffle on. Your right, I need to find something more, whatever that is. I also think I need to spend more time with my people, learn about myself a bit more. I don't mean give up this, helping people, but in my free time. There must be groups in the city."

Sebastian pauses. "I can tell you, those Lupines who serve in the military often spend time in the Grove. Like you, they need to get away from the city for a bit, and even today distrust of the Lupines linger in some quarters, especially amongst elves and dwarves. The Druids have have always been welcoming though. I know of one group in particular that wanders the Refuge. They work as messengers for various nobility, an extra group of hands during harvest, an informal patrol looking for any of the Kinslayer's servants who've managed to slip past the Wall and deep into the Refuge, and other miscellaneous tasks. They swing by the Grove every year for the summer solstice."

[shaidar]

Corvin

"That's good to know, thank you! I guess I know where I'll be for the solstice this year."

[archolewa]

I figure we can wrap this up, unless there's something else Corvin wants to explore with Sebastian, and then get the Corvin/Astrid thread started.

[shaidar]

Wrapping up is good, nothing to add

[archolewa]

Alright, we'll lock this thread. Corvin and Astrid start off here: viewtopic.php?t=14301