Grand Duchy 114

Grand Duchy of Adventure

Session 114
February 23-March 6, 2017

Trouble in Byxata

Tserdain 13 Klarmont

A Commotion Outside the Door

A perfect day. A perfect night’s sleep. A perfect breakfast.

And then a worn and diseased Kasiex enters the room announcing bad news with potentially even worse news behind him, out in the hallway. Several heavy blows can be heard on the thick double doors leading into this chamber. The exhausted Kasiex leans up against the door, not that he could do much to stop it from opening in his current condition.

Griffin acts, “Marcel, Stephan, get the door! Ree - hide. If we’re outnumbered you’re our ace in the hole.” Griffin turns to Kasiex. In Traldar, “What’s going on? What happened?”

Kasiex growls, “What happened is what I need to know! I thought we were allies! Friends, even! But a hunting party returns with stories of invaders to the valley, of Traldar and new strangers who slaughtered many of them in a ravine.  These strangers...they’re talking about are you! The survivors...they want justice.  And the others here were not exactly happy to have you here in the first place.”

The Hutaakan continues, “Was...was this all a lie? Some kind of Traldar plot? Why would you do this to us, who have only helped you?” The door shudders and thuds, Kasiex’ worn down strength offering little to support it; but he tries to hold as he waits for his “friends” to tell him something, anything that might help explain what happened.  Kasiex stumbles away from the door as Marcel and Stephan step up to take his place.  He catches himself on a piece of furniture to stay upright, looking at the Company imploringly.

Griffin sighs, then shakes his head. “Yes, it’s true. We, that is, I - I did it.” He swallows, then continues. “When we arrived in the valley, we met a Traldar scouting party. They showed us friends of theirs, slain in battle, and accused us of the crime. We tried to convince them that we were innocent of the attack. They were reluctant to believe us. Finally, they told us of their foes. Our words were not clear, and their description led us wrongly to think that some of our enemies had followed us into the valley. I volunteered to help them by fighting beside them in a show of good faith. Only when the battle was to start did we see that their enemy was not our enemy, but Hutaakans. To my shame, I still went through with the attack.”

Griffin straightens up. “So yes, Kasiex, I am guilty. We have tried to make up for my mistake by aiding you in fighting the curse that plagues this valley. I don’t know if that makes any difference.” He motions for Stephan and Marcel to step away from the door.

“I will submit to your justice, if that is what you want.” He puts his hands in front of him, ready to be bound.

Draven steps up, “You can’t shoulder the blame for this yourself, Griffin, noble as it might be for you to try. We all participated, our narrow-minded thinking leading us to believe that the evil in this valley - the undead - would be being caused by your people rather than the Traldar by simple expedient of their being human.”

“We were led to think that those we would be facing were creatures who had been pursuing us, who had ambushed us on our way here - we only just managed to escape them. In retrospect, you bear them little resemblance and are a good and civilized people, which we only learned late, to our collective shame.”

“I would only ask that your leaders take into consideration our actions of late, our work to restore this land and its health, and how we have treated with you and Kifein. We can only hope that you will speak on our behalf, honestly and truthfully, and that our return to the village here with the book that we promised we would recover will act as our bona fides, that you can accept our apologies.”

“I think I can speak for all of us when I say that it remains our intention to continue the work we have undertaken to restore your home to wholesomeness and health, and your people to their holy places.”

Remar watches the scene as it unfolds.

Hope yer ready ta be bound once again, slave.  Wonder wat cleanin’ doggy latrines’ll be like?

No!  Not that!  They just need to hear us out.  That’s all.  It’s...it’s just like Draven inferred last night...

Remar continues the thought, by voicing it.  “You all are right.  We can not seek redemption until we have faced our sins ourselves.  Only then can we lay them bare, before those whose transgressions we have suffered.”

Ooo, good tactic:  Bone-breath!  Lend meh thy ’ar!  Have thoueth eh sword s’ ey may falleth on through it fer thee?

He sighs internally and checks Draven’s gaze before going on to make sure he summarized that right from their previous talk. Draven nods, and leaves room for him to speak.

“Kasiex,” the Wizard continues, meeting the Hunter’s eyes.  “As you have said, you have travelled with us.  Struggled with us.  Bled with us.  Suffered with us!  To include my horrible attempts at Traldar communication,” he softens and smirks briefly, with a thankful nod to Iris for letting him know how badly he’d been mucking that up and diffusing the situation when needed.  “I studied, long and hard not just to restore Iris to full health and wellness as we did last night, but for you as well.   I...we consider you a friend, Kasiex.”

Where be all dis goin, Rema’?  Canna we just light ‘em o’ fire, fly out da window, an’ be on our merry way?

We’re not like Golthar.  Wait, that’s it!

“I’m not finished yet,” the Alphatian seems to say to himself, seeming to steel him for what’s to follow.  “Even if this were put aside, there is still perhaps one more true and valid point of distinction:  Golthar and his followers will never face their sins, or even attempt to apologize to you for any immoral acts they commit, as we are now.”

Yep.  Yer right.  Sorry.  Canna we go, now?

Remar finishes, “I think you know we are being true.  And being...enslaved here, or worse, is not going to fix the current situation with Golthar, whom is now confirmed to be on your doorstep!  Ask your Elders if we can prove ourselves to you...to you all.  Tell them about Golthar.  Ask them if us removing him and his ilk from here, in addition to reclaiming this valley back from the walking dead would prove a suitable penance.”

Are ya mad?  Wait.  Donna answer dat.  It’ll only serve ta confuse us...er...ey mean ‘ya’ even more, ha!

Kasiex sighs.  “Deceivers, the Traldar are.” He pauses, touching the unstrung bow poking up over his shoulder. “Most of them.” Forcing himself to straighten, he gathers himself. “It may be that cooler heads will prevail. No one will doubt that they lied to you, and you have done a great service in returning the Knowledge of the Elders to Kfordez. Might be enough.”

Draven nods and lowers his head, “My patron is the goddess of justice. She will see us through this trial. My fear is that those who were pursuing us - we must seem like wanted men to you, pursued here by all manner of folk - are more like to the Traldar than they are to you, and deceit seems to be their way. I fear they will either find you here and bring trouble, or that they will rally the Traldar to their cause. I don’t know that we have much time to prove our case before they manage to get the upper hand.”

“Draven,” Remar says, eyes also searching for Marcel, “are you suggesting they may engineer and bring to bear something akin to a full-scale battle?  Kasiex, do the Hutaakan have more traditional battlemages per say...Like me?”

Seeing Kasiex nod ‘no’ and make mention of only the priests, Remar chews his bottom lip and says to everyone, “Do we need to make quick plans to make Byxata defensible against an attack?”

More shouts and banging on the outer door make Remar realize that an “attack” may be coming from within the walls of Byxata, not from from afar. Marcel shoulders his shield and hefts his spear as he shifts to help reinforce the door.

Cast of Characters: 

Garrett "Griffin" Constantine, a Thyatian rogue of a gambler from Penhaligon rolled by +Arne Jamtgaard 

Draven Rickart, a Thyatian Acolyte of the Church of Karameikos ministered by +Jason Packer with help from +Patrick Burke 

Remar Umerus, an Alphatian battle mage that escaped forced service in the Thyatian army currently marshalled by +Patrick Kelly 

Iris Varda, a Thyatian explorer and historian searching for answers and adventure, now guided by +Stephanie Kelly 

Kasiex, a Hutaakan Wildsteward used to ranging the mountains and valleys now led down a new path by +Patrick Burke 

and +Jason Woollard as The DM