Hello, what you're about to hear is a work of collaborative fiction, formed and performed
by a group of longtime friends.
Many stories follow the exploits of shining exemplars of morality and heroism.
Collectively, it was decided that this was not going to be one of those stories.
Our protagonists are, by and large, a group of people who enjoy playing jump rope with
the fine line between morally grey and downright deplorable.
As such, warnings for any potentially objectionable content present in this episode can be found
in the description of this upload.
This game is played in the TTRPG system Adventurer Conqueror King, commonly referred to with
the acronym ACKS.
Please note that this is an unofficial series.
In other words, though our campaign does utilize the official setting of Amis Aura, as well
as some official names for certain peoples and places, we are not sponsored, endorsed,
or in any other way affiliated with X and its publisher, Autar.
Although we have been playing within this system for a few months, we're all largely
still getting the hang of things, as this is quite the robust system.
We apologize for any missteps during play and ask that you bear with us as we learn.
With those qualifiers out of the way, let us begin.
You are, all of you, within the walls of the Auran Empire, one of the Auren Empire's many
forts in the nation of southern Argole.
This one holds the title of Turos Tem.
You all have been in the region for maybe a day more than two weeks.
In that time, you have explored in full a nearby dungeon and connected to that caused
a series of organized beastman raids to cease.
You did this by taking out the leader and orchestrator of these attacks, Zakiti, self-titled
the Lady Below.
You obtained and then intentionally destroyed the artifact which she was using to amplify
her own abilities, which seemed to have a corrupting influence on at least the immediate
area, if not more, that artifact being the Stone of Sakkara.
You have handed that into Turoast Hem's resident enchanter, a man by the name of Malon.
You have been rewarded by the Fort's legate, Olrind Valerian.
And you have been, as of yesterday evening in game, informed of a number of issues, some
more pressing than others, by one of the members of Turoast Hem's leadership, that being Centurion
Axios Illari.
As of right now, I believe the intent is to gain information on another Orin installation
in the region, that being Turoast Orn, and generally understand the nature of what you
might find there.
If anybody is just absolutely dying to give a description of their character right now,
go for it.
Otherwise, purely because it makes narrative sense, because he's about to try and talk
to somebody, I will ask Dalmos Graham to give a description of himself.
Well, Dalmos is a cross between a power-hungry CEO and a sleazy car salesman, who basically
looks exactly like how you would imagine that.
Slick back hair, a monocle, just to add a little bit of a funny element to it.
Like a nice, I guess, adventuring clothes.
Does he actually have a monocle?
He actually has a monocle.
It's even on his model, yeah.
Oh yeah, you're right.
And kind of like a shit-eating grin.
He's a very, very charismatic person.
He's not like, maybe not as evil as a power-hungry CEO, but definitely very like...
Definitely exploits his workers.
Yeah, definitely.
For capital gains.
To lose around him.
And basically, use people to his advantage.
He wields a crossbow and a dagger.
He definitely prefers to keep his hands clean in general, unless of course it's to loot
corpses to find gold and other things he can sell.
So yeah, clean shaven, always freshly pressed clothes.
Or at least as clean as you can possibly get when you're sleeping in a dungeon for days
on end.
Yeah, so that's Dallmos.
All right.
I guess the only thing that I would add, just because there is someone in the group who
does not fall under this category, Dallmos is human.
Yes, yes, he is.
He is human.
Or is he?
As far as you guys know, he's human.
I guess we can just go front to back here if you guys are fine with it.
Just description-wise.
So I guess next up would be Zarvol.
Zarvol is a lizard man.
He has a big crocodile grin on his face.
He wears a dark jacket.
He has his spell book kind of clipped to the side.
He's walking around with a caduceus staff, right?
Am I correct in that description?
Yes, that is correct.
Yeah.
He's just kind of hanging out.
He's here to party.
Just because this is a setting not many people are necessarily familiar with, Zarvol is what
is known as a Thracian.
Thracians are exceptionally rare these days, making him something of an oddity.
But ultimately, every member of this group has proven themselves to be quite competent
in a number of fields.
So where he might have previously, when he initially arrived at Turrostown, received
some strange looks, that has largely evaded.
It also helps that you guys are here pretty much every day.
And so every day for the past two weeks, you kind of get used to a big lizard.
Next down the line would be Wolfgar Swit.
All right.
My boy Wolfgar is a he's human.
I'll start by specifying that.
Well, barely.
Yeah, honestly, really ethically.
No.
Physically, yeah.
The first thing that would probably catch your eye if you looked at him would be his
face, which is covered in scars of different ages.
Then the next thing is if you actually got him to somehow smile, you'd see his teeth
have been sharpened two points.
He wears full red and black plate mail and carries a heavy looking mace and a vicious
looking whip on his side.
You probably would get the vibe from him of like, hey, I don't want to talk to him unless
I absolutely have to.
But if I did have to talk with him, I don't think it'd be the worst thing in the world.
Would you like to disclose your deity of choice?
Oh, yeah.
That's probably kind of important.
Wolfgar wears a rose on it.
It looks like a vine, but it is just leather necklace around his neck, which is the holy
symbol of his goddess, the mistress, Nagzah, god of...
Fuck, did I just...
Yeah, it's all good.
You know, in my defense, grammatically, it makes a little bit more sense.
Anyways.
It does, but what can you do?
She's the mistress to beauty, pain, and lust of the three.
Wolfgar primarily focuses on pain aspect.
All right.
Standing behind the three primary party members, at least for now, are a pair of kobolds.
One has scales that are, for the most part, a fairly mossy green eyes that are similar
to that.
He is particularly yoked as a reminder.
He actually used to operate as a guard to the leader of his warband.
He is...
Let me see.
I actually wrote this down the last night.
He is two foot nine, which is particularly tall for a kobold in this setting.
Standing next to him is a much shorter kobold.
Her scales are anywhere from a slate gray to a hue vaguely reminiscent of a lavender.
She is a lot thinner.
Most upon a time, she was a servant to a dragon, which you all have slain.
Most of her duties would have involved finding food for said dragon.
It is possible that that is why she is as thin as she is.
Alternatively, maybe she's just thin.
You guys haven't asked.
Maybe she just works out, man.
We don't judge.
Kobolds are technically...
Well, not technically.
Objectively, they are beastmen.
And beastmen are generally looked upon disfavorably by the many humanoid races of the region.
However, as you all have come to understand, kobolds are also fairly dumb and easily manipulated
and generally don't understand what a good paycheck looks like.
And as a result, any promised amount of regular currency handed to them essentially for doing
what they've been doing already is a pretty sweet deal.
As such, you have directly hired these two as well as the leader of their war band.
Those character introductions out of the way.
Dolmos, I take it you are going to try and get a little bit of information about Thuras
Orn from Koinos here?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
So, as a reminder...
Well, a reminder for you guys.
Koinos is the quartermaster of Thrust Town.
He is the person in charge of the distribution of goods and wealth.
After a rather unfortunate betrayal by another NPC you guys had been treating as your go-to
merchants, Koinos actually stepped up to the plate and has begun dealing with you all.
That said, he made it very clear at the outset that he was going to pocket the occasional
trinket or oddity here or there.
Not everything makes it onto his fairly expansive ledger.
Physically, he is...
Let's be polite and say unfortunate looking.
However, he is also fairly wildly intelligent just based off of the few interactions you
all have had.
He is a fairly good businessman, all things being equal.
It's possible that in another life, somewhere else, he could have made a fairly comfortable
life for himself, working as some sort of trade merchant or potentially even taking
over that role of guildmaster.
But as things stand, he works for the Orn Empire.
All right.
I'll leave it to you all to do what you like.
All right.
Hail Koinos.
Hi.
You guys were here like 10 minutes ago.
Did you need something?
Yeah.
We actually had a couple of questions.
We're going to head towards Taurus Orn and we were wondering if you knew or knew of somebody
that might know this.
Sort of like what the situation is like over there.
Oh, sure.
You know, how we think about like maybe potentially trying to recruit some people over there or
buying supplies, that kind of stuff.
Sure.
Well, Orn is run by the Palatine of the region.
She sort of pulls double duty working as the Palatine and also the legate of that fort.
She is a bit of a hard ass.
At least that's what I've heard.
I'm pretty sure her name was Velana Talperi.
By all accounts, she's hell of a military strategist, hell of a leader.
I mean, I enjoy Taurus Tem, but if I had to choose any other place to be stationed, it
would be Orn.
So that said, if you're looking to hire people, I am going to take a quick look at some documents
because I believe Taurus Tem and Taurus Orn are at the same market level, which means
you're mechanically likely to find similar level of competency in anyone you're trying
to hire, but I also don't want to misspeak.
So Taurus Orn is market class four and Taurus Tem.
Taurus Tem is actually market class five, meaning it's a one rank lower.
You are more likely to find slightly better help at Taurus Orn, even factoring in the
fairly sterling reputation you all have forged for yourselves here at Taurus Tem.
Okay.
All right.
Well, thank you for that information, Poinot.
Sure.
No problem.
Do you all have supplies?
It's not a short walk out there.
Oh, yeah, we might need to buy some because I think we've given most of our supplies to
the folks out in the dungeon, those who are left and working for us.
Actually, all right.
Anything in particular that you're looking for?
You know, maybe some rations potentially.
We have a cart, so we are able to reverse or travel carrying a lot of stuff, so it's
not a big deal, but rations would be good.
I mean, I want to look back at everybody else.
Like, I don't know if you guys want anything specific, but I'll take another case of 20
volts to actually.
Sure.
I think I'm pretty square.
I thought you were a lizard.
Squizzard.
I was going to say this has the vibe of like people stopping at a gas station to be like,
all right, who wants something from inside?
Gas station.
I'm going to get a rate.
I'm going to read both because I have issues.
All right.
So if you take a look at the map that illustrates the different regions, hypothetically speaking,
you could get there more directly by cutting straight through the Viaspin forest.
However, that presents some potential danger.
You guys are fairly competent, so it probably wouldn't go badly.
Alternatively, you can skirt around it.
That would make the trip a little bit longer, but presumably also that much safer.
It is, if you go around, let's see, that's eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, about
100 miles, which will take a little bit of time to traverse in its entirety.
I think it's the better part of a day, but I'll get you some details on that in a minute.
For now, just understand that it's like 100 or so miles.
So you will need some provisions for your horses.
It's never a bad idea to stock up on some water skins.
Fractions, as you've already mentioned, bolts for those party members who make use of crossbows,
all good ideas.
I can get you the numbers on that here real quick.
So a case of 20 bolts, as always, that's two gold per 20 bolts.
Let's see, that is armor, that's your equipment.
Rations, presuming you're going for the slightly better ones, the iron rations.
We'll call that about three gold per week's worth of rations, and that does go person
to person.
So there's that.
Then for food for your horses, there are two tiers, inferior and superior animal feed.
They both come in one pound bundles each.
Superior is one copper per pound, superior is two copper per pound.
You guys are kind of rolling in it at this point.
I say we go superior.
How many pounds of feed would you guys like?
How many is recommended for a trip like this?
Oh, ask Coyneaus, how many would you recommend?
I don't know.
I've never dealt with horses.
I can get you that info.
I feel like he would have dealt with horses.
No, I mean, he stayed here his whole time.
He just import exports.
He doesn't actually do any of the traveling.
It's plausible that he hasn't.
I ride in wagons.
I don't deal with horses directly.
Yeah, exactly.
He's got somebody else.
That feels good.
Can I talk to your horse guy?
Exactly.
I hire out for the health.
That's just how it works.
Let me see here.
I believe- That's just Jacob's way of really giving us
the hint of hiring people for the- Just as a reminder, hiring is good.
Well, that's if you can find anyone to hire Jacob.
That is true.
Listen, that is purely dictated by the quality of roles and sometimes that shit is ass.
Let's see.
Hit points.
I'm sure that it's specified here somewhere, but I don't want to drag the session to a
halt here.
Let me see.
I'll take a- I'll look for another quick second here, but let me see.
I'm expecting that one pound of feed is meant to be a day's worth of food per animal.
Let's see.
Horse math.
We've got to love it.
We have two.
Yes, you do.
For those not well familiar with the axe, specifically axe too as we were playing it,
if it exists as a thing that needs to be done, there's probably a table for it.
There's a table or a paragraph of rule explanation, all sorts of things.
I'm surprised there's no table for going to the bathroom.
As far as you know.
Oh God, you now have the shits.
Constitution saving throw.
Yeah.
Five or less.
Hope you don't dislike the idea of having dysentery.
Yeah, just for the sake of expediency, we'll say that one pound of either type of feed
is meant to be a day's worth of food per animal.
So let me see here how long it'll potentially take you guys to get there because you guys
have a cart.
We should stock up just in case something happens or we get detoured.
Yeah, we shouldn't.
It doesn't hurt.
How many horses do we have?
We have two horses, right?
Let's see.
You guys are using heavy horses.
Especially because we have like thousands of good horses.
So much fucking gold.
So let's see.
That's a speed of 5150.
5150.
No, not 5150.
That's 50 feet slash 150 feet.
I should be specific.
5150 my ass.
Yeah.
You guys will get there in a second.
Let me see here.
Characters.
Speed and encumbrance.
Here we are.
Right.
Okay.
So their regular movement speed is 50 feet.
Their running speed is 150 feet.
That would mean that, depending on five.
Wow.
Not as much as I thought it would be.
Maybe I'm doing a calc wrong.
But if you look on page 17, it does say that expedition speed, which is what you'd be operating
on on this scale.
Is 10 miles per day.
Okay.
So here.
Just to do a quick check and make sure I'm not missing something painfully obvious about
wagons in particular.
Ah, yeah, here we go.
You guys are doing cart large, two heavy horses.
That's 6030.
That would be.
Okay, yeah, that that would actually bump it up to 12 miles per day.
So it'll take you guys a little while to get there, but not too terribly long.
A week.
Yeah.
Plenty of time to make conversation, look out at the wilderness, get really, really
bored.
You said it's going around the forest, right?
Yeah, that that would be going around the forest, going through the forest would present
some reduced speed and potential further difficulties just based on a creepy crawlies.
What makes the forest they home?
But you never know.
I personally would rather go around whatever is the sort of safest one.
I need to spend some time studying, so I would also like to go around.
All right.
So about a week's worth of feed.
That's two gold per pound, two pounds, or 28 copper for that to gold for the case of
20 bolts.
Was there anything?
Oh, yeah.
The the human rations.
How many of you want to resupply your rations?
I definitely will.
Yeah.
All right.
So let's see rations again.
That's like three gold per person per week.
So five of you.
That's 15 gold.
All right, so you guys are looking at 17 gold, two silver and eight copper for the lot.
And that and no, that is not factoring in your discount.
Almost.
I can repeat that.
That is not factoring in your discount.
No, I know.
I meant the number.
17 gold, two silver and eight copper.
OK, discount of 10 percent.
So I'll just do.
If you can call the copper.
Maybe I'll just take off to gold and just call it a day.
Sure.
All right.
So 15 gold, two silver, eight copper.
Exactly.
I can I can front the costs.
Man, it's definitely going to.
Oof, bite into my budgets of 7378.
And plus five thousand five hundred that coin just has.
We're going to have to figure out what to do with that if we want to leave it here or
take it with us.
As a reminder, every thousand coins, regardless of specific denomination, that counts as one
stone.
Your wagon situation sees you at.
Let me see here.
It's something particularly impressive.
Yeah, large cart.
You can carry one hundred and sixty stone while traveling at the twelve mile per day
movement speed and two hundred and forty stone.
That's the absolute maximum.
Anything after 160 will get you to six six miles per day.
And past 240, you're not going to be able to move.
Yeah.
OK.
I mean.
Yeah, let me just let me let me just buy the supplies real quick.
There is seven silver, six silver, two copper and then.
OK.
So.
Yeah.
Well, seven or do we just want to grab all of our gold and stuff and I just put it on
the bar?
I doubt it'll be more than the one oh whatever.
Yeah.
I doubt it'll be more than 100.
Only you have one stone's worth of gold in your cart, courtesy of the Zarvel.
I will just run down the list as a reminder.
Wolfgar, you have 6474 gold coin us almost 5530.
Zarvel 7890.
I can do some some quick maths here, but off the top of my head, I don't think that that's
going to clear more than 20 stone if that.
Meaning you'll still have a cool 140.
I have got about four stone worth of equipment and shit.
Yeah.
I say.
Yeah, you're looking at just shy of 21 stones worth of coinage.
So again, you still got a solid 140 stone before you you start running into speed issues.
And just as as a reminder, because it's been a while since I since I sent this message.
If you guys would like to shell out the the difference to try and not try and to successfully
upgrade your current cart to a wagon, whether that be the two heavy horses or potentially
even the four heavy horses version, you can.
Either way, those things cost 200 gold normally.
It cost you 150 because you've already spent the money for your current large cart.
You can see all this on on page 134, but the short version is instead of the 160 240, you're
looking at 160 320 for a two horse wagon and three twenty six forty for a four heavy.
Geez.
Yeah, it's pretty impressive.
I mean, I think we'll be OK with the cart we have now.
All right.
Perfect.
Even with that, I have seven thousand three hundred ish gold on hand.
So like that's still not still fine.
And keep in mind, you would have to actually find somebody to do this for you, but.
Not a terribly difficult thing to do.
So is there anything else?
Now you have the supplies that you were looking to find.
Is there anything else you'd like to do in Turo's town before you leave?
Yes, I need to get fucking healed.
Would you like to share what you need to be healed from?
Listen, listeners, I was brave.
I was up front.
I was fighting some ghouls.
One of them got a little nibbling on me.
And apparently that means I have ghoul disorder.
You have ghoul fever.
Ghoul fever.
He wants to fuck ghouls.
Oh, my goodness.
All right.
Yeah, so just as a brief explanation, ghouls, if they if they injure you, they have a percentage
actually it's not a percentage chance.
It's a save that you have to succeed on in order to not be paralyzed.
If you do end up paralyzed, you have contracted ghoul fever.
It is something which is relatively easy to cure.
Let me let me find the info on that.
But in the meantime, yeah, if you want to make your way over, go for it.
Okay, cool.
I will make my way over.
So Turostem is a particularly expansive fort as you walk as you leave the the gathering
hall that you all have come to know so well at this point.
You pass by some barracks, some what are presumably storage facilities, and you enter into the
medical facility of Turostem.
This also is this place holds double duty as the spiritual hub of Turostem, though that
is to a significantly lesser degree.
In the center of this courtyard is a statue to Minyara, which is the goddess of I believe
might, healing, and civic duty.
Yeah, goddess of community, charity, and civic virtue.
As a result, she tends to be the patron deity of many healers.
Sitting in the courtyard as she is wanted to do, seemingly finally recovering from the
particularly impressive donation which was made just a few minutes ago, is the head priestess
of this facility, Priestess Genelon.
She is approximately 50 years old, and based on the lines on her face and the loss of color
in her hair, she's lived a full life, but one that has seemed to simply reaffirm her
love of life.
As she sees you approach, she says, well, I'll be honest, that offer was a one time
thing, but if you are here to make a donation of your own, I certainly won't say no.
What offer do you speak of?
Oh, did your friend not tell you about that?
No.
In that case, don't worry about it.
Okay.
What can I help you with?
I'm sorry.
So Wolfgar is going to point to, I assume he has a wound from this bite, even if it has
been, actually I don't even know if it has been healed, I'm still at not full health,
I assume it has been healed, and I'm going to say, unfortunately in the last action of
clearing out the dungeon, we came across some undead and one seems to have sunk its teeth
in a little bit more than I would have liked, and I think it may have infected me.
I would request that you assist me with that if at all possible.
Oh, sure.
Yeah, that's pretty nasty looking.
Let me see what I can do.
And I will very quickly consult Genon's known spells.
I believe based on her level, she should have this well in hand, but it never hurts to check.
Let's see here.
I'll tell you off the top of my head, Cure Disease is a third level spell and you do
get third level spells at level five.
Oh, perfect.
Yeah, she's got that well in hand.
So she'll inspect it a little bit and she'll say, well, I'll do something now and it should
take care of it for the most part, but I'm also going to have to brew a little salve
that you're going to have to regularly apply for the next three, four days.
Just, you know, slather some on, redress the wound, you should be good to go.
And where would you like to say the wound is located?
Probably on his non-dominant arm, because he put it up as like a try to block it, you
know?
So like probably on like the outside of his left forearm.
Sure.
I will say if any of you get to a point where a significant injury comes about and you don't
have a particular location desired for it, you can check out the wounds and woe table
because boy howdy, there's some fun options there.
But that said, she'll go ahead and place her hands on either side of your injury there.
And you have been healed by Genelun's divine abilities in the past.
For you in particular, as you worship a deity which is pretty much diametrically opposed
to her own, it's a particularly uncomfortable feeling.
It's something I might compare to trying to fill a balloon just a little bit further than
the rubber is probably comfortable with.
There's a bit too much divine energy inside of you as she does this.
But aside from the pins and needles, even after she finishes, that stretched balloon
feeling goes away fairly quickly.
She says, well, let me go ahead and get that salve going for you.
That might take a minute.
I'll sit here.
All right.
So she'll go and step away into the building and a few minutes later she'll come out.
It's not a particularly large vial, as she mentioned.
You'll only need to apply this for the next two or three days.
Mechanically speaking, you are no longer in danger of becoming a ghoul.
You have been cured of your ghoul fever.
Congratulations.
Narratively, this is just something to fill up the time.
So she'll hand you the salve and a roll of bandages and say, well, do I need to show
you how to dress a wound or are you familiar with the process?
I'm familiar enough with the process.
He's just going to kind of generally gesture to his own face, which is, again, horrifically
scarred.
I figured as much, but I didn't want to assume.
Well, here you go.
Are you boys heading out once again?
Seems like it, even if we're one man short.
Oh, yeah.
Well, you never know.
You might meet somebody new and exciting.
Anyways, I have a few things left.
Yeah, I suppose that's fair.
I have a few things that I'll need to get to here.
But good luck on your travels.
Thank you very much.
And he's going to politely bow.
Oh, sure.
She won't bow back, but well, I mean, she won't bow in sort of a fancy way.
She'll just sort of like nod her head and make her way back into it.
All right.
Ghoul fever taken care of.
Anything anybody else would like to do here while you are here?
Speak now or forever hold your piss.
That's funny.
Huh?
Well, we could take a bio break in a second here if you need.
Maybe getting like, what was that they said?
Wolfgarth, some letter of introduction.
Yeah, that was not me.
It was Arvel.
Arvel, yes.
A letter of introduction.
He's willing to at least stick his neck out for us, right?
Yeah.
Maybe we should talk to the Legate about that.
I don't want it to use our one favor, though.
That's the only thing.
That's a good point, actually.
But we can ask.
I'm sure maybe this is not big enough to qualify as a favor.
But at the same time, I don't want it to be one of those things we assume it's not.
I'll ask.
Okay, cool.
I'll double check.
I'll be like, all right, put that pen down.
You know?
Narratively, we'll say that this whole interaction with the Legate takes place at the same time
as Wolfgarth is getting his ghoul fever looked at.
But if you guys want, we can take a quick bio break here.
We'll reconvene in just a couple of minutes.
So Dalmos, Xarvel, and also Gluck and Glip are there.
You are approaching the Legate.
Two among you are intending to actually go in and take part in this conversation.
I think Xarvel will go.
I think he's going to ask Gluck and Glip to stay outside.
Gluck will be like, all right.
Just like, stand here?
Yeah, just wait by the door.
We'll be back in a hopefully in a few moments.
All right.
We'll just hang out here, I guess.
All right.
Fun fact, as I was writing the entries for Gluck and Glip in the handout I'm working
on, I did reference a couple of in-jokes that have formed over our many sessions, including
the nature of their relationship, because nobody has asked of you.
You guys just keep theorizing, and it makes me laugh so fucking hard.
Oh, I know they're fucking.
No you don't.
You don't know that for sure.
You got to ask about that.
I'm not asking.
Yeah, I don't want to ask.
I just know.
No, Xarvel's going in denial.
No, he's living in Southern Hargol.
Okay.
All right.
So the Leggots, I think canonically it is actually referenced as a palace, though I
don't know for sure.
Because it's not really palatial.
Let me see.
What do they call this place, this thing where he lives?
Nothing.
His villa, that's it.
They call it a villa.
So the Leggots' villa is for the most part constructed of a white marble.
Domus, what was that proficiency you picked up for this level?
I don't know, I guess it was called political economics.
Okay, got it.
That it was kind of put into two.
Yeah.
I like it.
Okay.
Just checking on that.
So yeah, this place is pretty impressive looking.
It stands out from the other buildings which are constructed of wood and, well, I suppose
also stone at some points, but certainly not the bleach white marble of this place.
The entrance is a pair of pretty imposing iron doors which lead into a foyer which is
consistently manned by at least two guards.
Connected to it off to the side is a waiting room for instances where the Leggot has multiple
visitors or the guards feel the need to confirm with the Leggot that he is available and willing
to take visitors.
So you guys are gonna step inside?
Yeah.
So, despite the fact that their models do have their swords drawn, these guards are
at attention but they are not attempting to fight anybody.
They nod at the two of you as you enter.
We'll say the one closer to Zarval will turn to the pair of you and say, so, what do you
need today?
We just, we're just seeking to have a very, very quick council with the Leggot if possible
and it really shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Uh, any particulars?
Uh, yeah, a letter of introduction so we can...
Oh sure, yeah, that's not a problem.
I'll go...
I'll go let him know you're here, see if he's available and we'll get that for you.
So he'll enter.
The doors will shut behind him.
The other guard standing here, you guys will actually potentially recognize as the guard
that sometimes gives you guys shit.
He's very explicitly staring straight ahead and not looking at you guys.
I'm just gonna stare at him full time while we're waiting.
Reasonable.
He'll look at you guys out of the corner of his eye but he won't respond or really move
or anything.
You are excellent at your job.
Honestly, I think you might be the best guard considering that you've, uh, you can stand
out of attention so well like this and you know, you don't let lizard people or, uh,
you know, kobolds or anything like that, you know, distract you.
So a really good job on that one.
Applause all around, absolutely.
The side eye you guys are receiving right now is withering.
That said, um, couldn't be more than a minute between when the other guard goes through
those doors and when he comes back saying the legate is more than happy to grant your
request.
Uh, he did tell me to ask you if this was the favor.
Oh, uh.
Of course you can give your answer directly to him.
I'm simply relaying the information.
Your free answer.
Yeah, we'd like to give the answer.
By all means.
The interior of, um, the interior of the villa has a, um, fairly basic though pretty nice
garden.
Uh, there is a definitely a peacock and not a turkey because, uh, it's supposed to be
a peacock, but for some reason, tail spire doesn't have those.
Um, so, you know, imagination.
Um, but it's, um, every time you guys have come here, uh, it's sort of been milling about,
um, pecking at the grass, um, otherwise doing peacock things.
Uh, the legate.
Similarly to, uh, the, uh, the two guards at the entrance, he is not literally standing
there with his sword drawn.
Um, but he is dressed in some particularly fine armor.
Uh, as a reminder of his, uh, appearance, he at least appears to be around 45 years
old.
Uh, he is just over six feet tall, which for this particular setting is very tall.
Um, usually people are around five, seven for the most part, if I, if I remember correctly.
Um, he's got very dark green eyes.
Um, and, uh, unlike his tail spire model, uh, he has a very salt and pepper hair.
Um, generally has a fairly imposing vibe to him, but, uh, it's definitely amplified by
the fact that, uh, he looks down at you, uh, from his seat.
Anytime you, uh, you come to chat.
Hey, legate, as I'm sure you're, uh, you've been informed, we, uh, we're seeking a letter
of introduction because we want to go to Taurus Orn to, um, help out with some issues that
they have over there.
And we were hoping that this wouldn't be a favor.
I understand.
The reason I asked is I was potentially going to question your judgment.
If this is what you felt, uh, a favor for me was worth is good to know that it is not.
And, uh, for the, for the first time, I think in the entirety of all of the interaction,
uh, interactions that you guys have had with this guy, uh, he actually cracks a little
bit of a smile.
Oh hell yeah.
We did it.
I take it you are looking for a, I take it you are looking for a letter of introduction
directly to the legate of Taurus Orn.
Yes.
We were not a problem.
He'll, uh, wave, uh, he'll like, you know, make like he's beckoning with a couple of
fingers.
The guard who's standing to your right, who will bring him a couple pieces of parchment,
an ink bottle and a quill.
Um, he doesn't write for especially long, um, but, uh, he does place whatever it is
that he's written, uh, inside of a small scroll case.
Uh, he hands that to the guard.
He then hands that to you.
As a matter of courtesy, I would advise you not to, uh, read that.
Trust, of course, that, uh, the many deeds which you have done in service of the Orn
Empire, uh, and more importantly, at least in the short term for Taurus Ten and the people
who it protects, uh, are elaborated on in detail.
Thank you so very much.
Certainly.
Yes.
Thank you.
Well, uh, we won't pick up any more of your time.
Uh, we were not sure when if slash when we'll be back here, but, uh, we hope that, uh, everything
goes well and, uh, yeah, we hope to be back relatively soon.
We'll make it on that favor.
Absolutely.
Yeah, definitely.
That's something I don't want to miss out on.
Understood.
I bow and I'll just turn it on.
All right.
Arcane users.
They have no respect for authority.
Um, okay, great.
So you guys have scrollcase.
It is, uh, sealed with wax.
Um, presumably it's got your letter of introduction.
It should be open, it just says kill these people immediately.
You never know.
Um, yeah, so you've got that.
Um, let's see.
Uh, okay.
Was there anything else any of you wanted to do while you're here?
Cry in a corner.
You can do that in the wagon.
Yeah, I'll go down the wagon.
No, I think.
Yeah, I think I'm pretty good.
I actually honestly might want to restock on, um, uh, geez, magical, uh, components.
Just if there is anywhere for that here.
Um, would that be with coinos?
Malin or coinos, right?
Yeah.
You're probably one of the two, you are closer to Malin.
So yeah.
All right.
I can just head over there on my own unless you want to tag along.
Yeah, I mean, I'll, I'll tag along.
I got nothing to say, but I'll say final goodbye until we're back.
Yeah.
Are we going to?
Are we supposed to stay here?
Okay.
Tag along this time.
All right.
Uh, knock, knock.
Oh yeah.
Um, so the Fort's resident enchanter has a number of people who, um, study under him.
I use the word study loosely, uh, as based on your experiences with him up to this point,
uh, it's more like, uh, they do all of the work that he doesn't want to do.
Sure.
Uh, with, uh, particularly harsh deadlines.
Everybody's hard at work.
Uh, I just realized Barloch's not here.
I forgot that I, uh, I borrowed him for another map for something I was working on.
Let me, let me place it here.
Um, yeah, I was, um, I needed like a, a sample character to measure some heights on some
things and, uh, Murlock just happened to be the guy who was closest.
I was, I was hoping that like, it would be one of those funny situations that like we
encounter kind of like the same person.
Like, like, like Murlock's twin brother or something like Murlock and Burlock.
Yeah.
They're like octuplets.
So whatever question we go on, like there's always a fucking Murlock.
That would be, that would be funny as shit.
Uh, no, I'm afraid that is not in the cards at least as of right now.
Uh, I will, I will just as a brief reminder say that Murlock is a, uh, um, fairly pimply
faced youth.
Um, he is slightly more attractive than he was when you initially met him.
Thanks to, uh, the magical effects of some water.
You all bullied him into drinking, um, trying to see what the effects might be.
Uh, I'd like to say encouraged to say encouraged.
Encouraged on threat of physical violence.
Nevertheless, he is here.
Um, I'll say that he's, um, he's currently just pouring over some, some tone or another.
Um, as always, everyone's pretty busy, but, um, obviously, you know, for the most part,
everybody here seems to be willing to take a second out of, out of their work to answer
any questions you might have.
Uh, hey Murlock, how are you doing today?
Oh, hey.
We're, uh, we're, uh, we're on our way out of town and I was just curious if I would
be able to, uh, have some help stocking up on some components.
So I'll go and dry.
Yeah, okay.
Um, hold on.
Uh, he'll, um, go over here and, uh, rifle through a couple of, um, uh, uh, uh, uh,
a couple of smaller chests looking for, um, the various gross, uh, monster parts because
at the end of the day, that's exactly what magical components are.
Um, and, uh, as he's, as he's looking through them, he'll, he'll turn to you and say, um,
is there anything in particular you're looking for?
Uh, so I don't know exactly what Sarva would use, but, uh, I imagine he would walk in with
a list of current spells and then a handful of a couple things he's working on, hopefully
on the way to Toril's Orn.
So, uh, he'll just kind of hand that over to Murlock.
All right, he'll, uh, run through the list and start setting things aside.
Um, we don't gotta get into the heavy duty details.
This is very much intended to be a, um, you know, a place you can go to for magical supplies.
Um, and he'll hand you pretty much everything you're looking for without too much, uh, difficulty.
Um, there might be a couple of components that, um, he doesn't have on hand or the,
uh, um, because all of this is ostensibly, uh, Malon's, uh, Malon's supply is, uh, a
bit too low to justify handing stuff out, uh, which is to say, uh, he'd probably get
in trouble.
Um, but you know, again, he'll, he'll hand you pretty much everything you're looking
for.
Um, mechanically speaking, you shouldn't run into any issues as long as like a mind goblin
doesn't come by and, uh, steal all your shit.
A mind goblin?
Yeah, mind goblin these nuts.
Oh, how much do I owe you Murlock?
I really appreciate your help, buddy.
Um, Murlock will say, um, I don't really know, uh, I don't tend to do a lot of the shopping.
Um, maybe, uh, maybe 50 gold.
50 gold?
Yeah.
I'll hand over 55.
Oh.
A little extra for yourself.
Thank you.
Oh, thanks.
Damn, I was going to bargain him down 45.
Donate!
He's already got his grubby little mitts all over his arm of his gold.
It's all sweaty and shit.
Like I don't want that back.
Oh, that's really nice of you.
Thanks.
I'll just, uh, set that on the, on the table near him.
Um, was there, uh, is there anything else?
Uh, I think I'm covered.
Okay.
That's it.
Thank you.
Thank you again.
No problem.
And we're going to be back.
We will be back.
Oh, are you guys leaving?
Yeah, we're heading out to Turrus Horn for a couple of commissions, but, uh, we'll, uh,
we'll catch you when we're on, uh, back in, back in this way.
All right.
Bye.
See you later.
Uh, well, uh, okay.
Bye.
It seems like pretty much everything is going to be fine.
It seems like pretty much everything that you wanted to take care of here in Turrus Tem
has been taken care of.
Um, unless there's, you know, something that you guys suddenly realized, uh, you really,
really want to do, um, and that you can only do here.
Uh, I can't think of anything.
I think we're okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Cool.
Well, um, in that case, uh, you all, uh, get comfortable in your, uh, in your wagon and,
uh, um, I believe, Dalmos, you actually have some kind of driving ability, which makes,
uh,
Yes, I do.
Yeah.
What's, what's up with that?
Cause it's been a while since I looked at that.
So I can, I can control up to six droving animals.
I'll say I guess too much here.
Um, but I can also, when I'm driving a car, chair to rag and or other vehicle on a road
or trail, the movement bonus from the road is increased by two.
So it's very nice.
Uh, let me see what the movement bonus is.
Cause I actually totally forgot the roads had that.
Yeah.
Um, if you take a look at the map, um, the dotted lines that go between the different
forts as well as, um, a couple of those cities, those are meant to be roads.
Okay.
Um, in addition, um, and, uh, for the record, I am, I am planning on abstracting, uh, a
good portion of this trip.
Um, so we'll, we'll cover some, some basic descriptions of things that you see and, uh,
encounters you go, but we won't spend too much time on any given one of them.
Um, as you travel between forts, uh, you are able to see that there are, uh, much smaller
watch towers, uh, every so often in between forts.
So just, you know, picture that along the dotted lines between the, uh, uh, let me,
let me get the, uh, deal with road roadways.
Here we go.
Road rage.
Me when I have a road rage in the aura empire.
Rear end your cart with my horse.
Sorry, what?
Rear end your cart with my horse.
Oh,
Oh yeah.
Um, let's see.
Here we go.
So here's the cost for roads.
Roads increase the speed of creatures traveling on them by 50%.
How about that?
Increase the speed of wheeled vehicles traveling on them by 50% or by a hundred percent of the
vehicles driver has driving proficiency.
You guys are going twice as fast.
Holy shit.
We're so mean.
That is sick as hell.
Uh, leveled earth roads provide no benefit if the weather is raining and the ground is
muddy or snowy, which is not the case and can never increase a vehicle speed to more
than 60 feet per round or 12 miles a day.
Level roads provide no benefit if the ground is muddy or snowy and can never increase a
vehicle speed to more than 60 per round or 18 miles per day.
Pave roads provide no benefit.
Okay.
Um, yeah, we'll say that the roads are, um, see because of your geographical location in
the borderlands, which is, uh, the Southern third of Southern Arcola, uh, the roads aren't
perfectly maintained, but, uh, I mean, again, if you take a look at that map, uh, Cypheron
capital of the region, some of us big city, Mencius, big city, see Adonis used to be a
big city, uh, less so now.
So the roads between them and between the forts would, uh, very reasonably, I would
say, uh, be considered, um, maybe not, uh, maybe not like the best possible, but certainly
would give the, uh, the a hundred percent bonus.
So, um, let's see, uh, level roads provide no benefit if the ground is muddy or snowy.
It's not either of those things, uh, 18 miles per day.
So you guys are traveling at 18 miles per day.
Um, that puts you at five days of travel.
Very nice.
So, uh, as I mentioned, um, and for this, I'll just move us over to the, um, uh, the
campground location because I feel like that makes a little bit more sense.
Uh, as you all travel, um, it is surprisingly, uh, fairly peaceful.
Um, I only say that because, you know, your last two weeks have been, uh, multiple fights
every single day in close quarters, uh, very, very anxious circumstances.
Right.
So having the opportunity to travel and, um, just sort of take in the, uh, the natural
beauty of the landscape is kind of, uh, a nice respite.
As you are on the road, um, what do you all do?
This can be a, uh, a day to day thing.
This can be a, um, something which you do over the course of your five ish days of travel.
Um, it's, it's predominantly up to you.
I don't know.
I guess, I mean, I'm the one driving, so I'll be driving.
I, uh, I mean, would I be able to spend some time copying some spells from the key spellbook
into my own?
I think so.
Um, it says, I should have the ability to copy them.
If I have a spell book with a, uh, a spell in there, I can copy it down at a one page
per day.
Oh yeah.
That's perfect.
Yeah, I, the only thing I had to look at was, um, yeah, that should be fine.
I'm thinking of like actual magical research.
Uh, that's, that's not an issue.
You can, you can totally copy down those spells.
Okay.
Um, yeah, would you, would you care to share what any of those spells are or would you
like to keep that to yourself?
Um, I don't mind sharing.
Okay.
I think the first one I'm going to copy down is, they're all actually named differently
from the ones in the app.
I guess I'll name off the ones I have written down.
And then whenever I use them, I'll just make that distinction.
I guess if that's cool.
Um, sure.
I mean, we can also just, uh, we can, we can hunt through, uh, access to spell lists and,
uh, try to find these things.
Uh, I think it's on page 186 for the arcane spell list.
Yeah.
Um, number one was, uh, charm person.
That one.
Yeah.
Okay.
So that's one I actually know right off the dome pretty much.
Uh, or the very least I have a document pulled up which explains what the deal is with charm
person.
Um, so for those listening, uh, I am running this campaign out of a number of resources
all from the first edition of Vax.
Um, the second edition of Vax came out fairly recently.
Um, or the very least is currently being worked on.
And, uh, part of the transition to the, from the first to the second edition was moving
away from the open game license or OGL.
As part of that, um, a lot of things got renamed.
Some things got slightly rewarded.
Um, charm person.
Uh, that one has been renamed to the Beguile Humanoid.
Fantastic name.
Yeah.
Um, and that, that should be a third on the first level Arcanine Spells call.
Yes.
Okay.
What else you got?
The next one I'm going to be copying down is Choking Grip.
That is sixth on that list.
Okay.
Um, next would be Detect Magic.
Okay.
So that has been renamed, I believe, to Discern Magic.
Um, give me just a second.
I'll pull up, uh, the handbook for Axe 1 real quick and just, uh, compare the descriptions
between the two.
But, um, I'm like 95% certain that's, uh, that's what that is.
Um, let's see.
Spell index.
Let's see, Detect Magic, able to detect enchanted objects, and then Discern Magic.
Let's see.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
That is exactly what that has been changed.
Okay.
So, um, and then the last one, because you said five days, correct?
Yes.
So the last one is a second level spell, and it's going to be Magic Locked.
Uh, that's, yeah, that's still Magic Locked.
That's 19th on the second level Divine Spell.
Fantastic.
Alright, perfect.
Okay.
Any more things down?
Excellent.
Um, Wolfgar, what do you get up to during this time?
I was, uh, I'm not 100% sure, the only thing I can 100% confirm he'd be doing is praying
a lot, honestly, as he wants to do.
But, um, I'm trying to think of anything more specific than that, and I can't.
Well, let's, let's talk a little bit about that.
Um, as we, as we mentioned earlier, your, your patron deity is Nazgah, um, mistress
of lust, pain, and love.
Um, what does your form of worship as someone, uh, places a significant emphasis on the pain
domain of that?
Uh, what does your worship look like?
Well, I think a lot of his, um, if he is not in a place where he is comfortable to fully
worship, which he would not be in a small wagon, I think a lot of his, um, like, outwardly
it would look like he was just like kind of praying in silent contemplation.
Inwardly, it would be genuinely just like trying to come up with new ways to cause pain.
Gotcha.
Um, and offering them to his deity, basically.
Gotcha.
Okay, perfect.
Um, so, uh, we don't talk about this too often, but, um, everybody in the party actually does
have a deity, uh, which they, uh, worship to some degree.
Um, Wolfgar is very much the most ardent worshiper.
Um, but, uh, if you guys are interested in, in disclosing to one another, um, what those
deities are, um, feel free to do so.
Basically if you, if you feel as though your character places so little faith in the divine
that they wouldn't even consider it worth mentioning, totally, uh, totally fine as well.
Yeah, I guess, uh, I guess it almost, kind of, kind of engage in a little bit of a relationship
building role playing here.
Um, hey, Wolfgar, I see, uh, you're, uh, you know, praying a lot to your, uh, your deity.
Uh, I am curious.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, I, I got that.
Uh, yeah, no, I, uh, I don't really buy too much, uh, into those types of things.
Although I will say, uh, you know, uh, my deity that I would, I guess, if I were to
pray to one, it would be, uh, Khalifa.
Um, there's, uh, lots of good fortune from, from that deity.
I don't know.
What do you, what do you hope to get out of, uh, all these prayers?
What do I hope to get out of it?
I wish not to.
My final goal is not to benefit from the worship of my goddess, but rather for my goddess to
benefit from the worship.
Anything she gives me in return is just something for me to use to further that goal.
How'd, uh, how'd you come up with that goal?
It's a bit weird, innit?
Fuck off.
You're not even here right now.
I was a kobold.
They're British now.
Oh yeah.
It is a bit weird innit?
No, please, please continue.
Jesus Christ.
We're so fucking horrified because we can go from fucking jokes to war.
Sorry.
Not good.
Oh God.
Okay.
Sorry.
Good.
It's just, you know, when you, when you're like trying not to laugh, yeah, I got the
good old right now.
So, Wolfcar will look at you and smile and say, is that truly an answer or a question
you want answered?
Yeah, I think that, uh, I'd like to know what, uh, you know, makes my, uh, group mates, uh,
tick, you know, before we start going to strange places together.
Of course, of course.
Well, where do I start?
I suppose to not get too in depth to crimes that might be punished by the Orn Empire.
Unfortunately, a long time ago, I was suffering greatly until my goddess came to me and said,
you know, you know, you have to pay what's due.
And since then, I've been working towards repaying that immensely.
Oh, so it's a debt.
Got it.
That see that I can understand.
Yeah.
So, uh, businessman yourself, of course, you, uh, you know, you have to pay what's due.
Of course.
And if all goes well, all will receive.
Yeah.
I, uh, I definitely hope I receive what I'm due.
I know you mean in a weird religious way and I hope you know that I don't mean it that
way.
I would care to hear 100% thought you talked about fucking again.
Oh, really?
No, man.
It's only secondary to the actual true goal of making a ton of money.
You tried really hard to get with that off-stunt boss and I have nothing but respect for you
for that.
Wolfgar has nothing but respect for you for that.
Of course.
You know, a pleasure pain, you know, it's all part of his stick.
I don't, I don't blame him.
I'd be like, listen, uh, if I got a ton of money, we'll go to brothel.
You can pray to the pleasure all fucking night long, pal.
Fish out of water.
Have you ever tried to inflict significance on a pleasure?
I don't think so.
I'm judging by this.
By this, I point out his outfit.
I don't think you try to inflict a lot of pleasure.
I will laugh.
That was not in character.
That was in character.
100%.
That was, I'm going to say that that wasn't, you said it.
Oh my God.
I'll let you all determine.
I won't make a personal judgment on whether that was in or out of character.
Come on.
That would be a funny thing.
We'll say it was on the blooper reel.
Oh my God.
All right.
So well, not to not to cut that conversation off if it was going to continue.
No, it's good.
I'm happy.
I think it was good.
And Zarvel, you didn't want to hop in on that at all.
No, he's steady.
Okay.
That's fair.
Um, so, um, uh, let's see.
That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Right about there.
Okay.
So as you all travel, um, if you, if you look at the map, Turoz Tem is right on the border
of the Ciudanos region.
Very close by, um, a couple of other forts.
And as you, as you go by them, um, it becomes pretty readily evident that, um, Turoz Tem
is genuinely, uh, an impressive location.
Uh, it's, it's hard to really get a sense for how well or how poorly a, um, a fort is
maintained if you don't have some frame of reference for what it looks like even from
a distance when a fort isn't.
Turoz Tem's walls are solid.
There are no cracks, no gaps.
Uh, it is, it is a well-kept defense.
Um, as you go by, let me see, which ones are those?
Um, as you go by, uh, Turoz Astor and, uh, let's see.
I believe that one is, uh, 22?
Okay.
Yeah, as you go by Turoz Astor and then, uh, about a day later, Turoz Spen, um, you see
something of a difference.
Um, this isn't to say that these places are completely run down, far from it.
But there is, if you make the choice to, um, to, to drive your wagon rather close to, um,
the fortifications themselves, there is a much laxer atmosphere among the soldiers at
both these forts.
Uh, similarly, in comparison to Turoz Tem, um, there's very clear gaps in the personnel-based
defenses.
What I mean by that is, at Turoz Tem, despite the fact that there were a surprisingly low
number of soldiers for a fort that large, um, wall patrols were pretty even, um, there
always seemed to be somebody at the gates, um, ensuring that those approaching weren't
doing so with, uh, any sort of, uh, nefarious intent.
Um, the, uh, the situation at the tops of the walls of Turoz Astor and Turoz Spen are
less...
Bless you.
That was in canon.
It almost sneezed right then.
Um, the, uh, the, the walls are less regulated.
Um, you see a lot of soldiers kind of just chatting up, uh, on the walls.
There's lots of spaces where, um, there's just no soldier there at all.
Things of that nature.
Though generally speaking, um, all of you, to some extent or another, would have heard
of rumors of, um, the, uh, the military installations in the entirety of southern Arkol.
So not just these couple of forts, not just the borderlands, but the entire nation.
Um, the military installations belonging to the Orn Empire, uh, losing about half of their
forces as, um, the troops were diverted to, uh, an ongoing war, um, far, far to the west,
uh, beyond even, um, the, uh, the, the Sunset Kingdoms, which are...
Sorry.
Uh, uh, by name, those are Keldoria, Sumeria, and K'nesh.
So it's, um, unless, you know, any of you are secretly, uh, trying to plan the ruination
of the Orn Empire, um, it's definitely a little discon...
It's definitely a little disconcerting to see, um, these forts with, uh, so few troops.
At the end of your third day of travel, we'll say you're nestled pretty snuggly, uh, in
that six-mile hex between the Viaspen Forest and the Nongol Forest.
So, uh, as, as you would have done for every prior day of travel, uh, when, when you're
all fairly tuckered out and you feel you've made, um, enough progress for the day, uh,
you bring the wagon to, uh, to a halt, which, uh, let me actually pull that out here, because,
uh, I just realized I've never put that, uh, here in the, uh, in the camp.
Um, here we go.
Uh, we'll just put that there.
Um, so as, as you tend to do, um, well, first of all, these walls aren't real.
They're purely for show.
Uh, they, they aren't things which you construct every time, uh, you make camp.
That would be an exhaustive effort.
They're purely to, uh, add a little bit of visual flavor to the area.
But, um, you make camp, set up a fire, set up some tents.
I would like, well, first of all, I guess I should, should ask, uh, I should leave it
with this.
Um, are any of you bothering to keep any sort of watch?
I feel like it's smart to take shifts.
Yeah.
That's pretty smart.
I was going to say we should have the fucking cobalt to that.
We can have them in the rotation, maybe.
Yeah.
Oh, sure.
I can definitely, uh, take part in that sense, but, um, unless there are other people involved
in, um, the, uh, the watch process, uh, they are going to start, uh, accumulating exhaustion.
Yeah.
How many would we need everybody to, to, to do rounds or for exhaustion to not accumulate?
Like how many hours are we talking here?
Um, it would probably be a couple of hours per person per night.
Um, as long as you're getting a total of eight hours of rest, you're fine.
Um, so one, two, three, five.
Yeah.
Uh, what would that be like one and two thirds of hours per person in order to cover the
eight hours of total rest?
Yeah.
Um, so you're all able to cover the amount of time that it would take without any sort
of issue.
Um, is there any particular order you would like to go?
Um, let's see.
I guess I could go first while it's not completely, completely dark because I don't have a night
vision.
Night vision.
All right.
Sick.
Um, in that case, uh, go ahead and give me, um, well, I guess, I guess part of it would
be a listening check.
Um, and, uh, let me see here.
Pull up a character sheet for shits and or for giggles.
Um, yeah, go ahead and give me a, uh, listening check and, um, I guess as well, um, a search
check.
Um, obviously you're not like pouring over the ground looking for trap doors or hidden
gold.
This is not a dungeon.
Um, but you know, we'll, we'll, we'll flavor it as a year process as you, um, keep an eye
and an ear out for your shift.
Okey dokey.
All right.
Doing a hearing noise.
Okay.
Going to be a fail.
Doing a search.
It's going to be a fail as well.
Okay.
Not a problem.
Uh, during your shift, you do not see or hear anything of note.
Who is next?
I'll go next.
Well, I think that you should go last because the sun is coming up.
You'll probably have better vision.
Oh, you know what?
Yeah.
Sorry.
I was thinking there was another person in there and then they would be that.
But no, you're right.
Yeah.
We're the only two that don't have like night vision.
I guess I'll go next and then, uh, wake up, glib after.
Okay.
I go and make the same checks for me.
All right.
No.
Uh, I rolled a 10.
Okay.
Uh, was that the listening or the search check?
I was going to go with that.
Making that the listening.
Okay.
Then search.
I got a nine.
Okay.
Got it.
Okay.
Um, during your shift, you do not see or hear anything of note.
Um, give me just a second here.
Okay.
All right.
Um, I guess I will roll for gluck and subsequently for glib.
Okay.
Um, let's see how gluck does on his roles.
Uh, terrible listening role.
Um, not a terrible search role, but also not enough for success.
Let's see how glib does.
Wow.
And so pretty much the same.
Um, none of you are, uh, woken up in the middle of the night by panicked kobolds who are like,
Oh God, Oh God, we're being attacked.
Uh, however, uh, Wolfgar, you are woken up by glib when it is your shift.
Please make your, uh, um, your listening and search roles.
Cat listening.
Damn.
Nice.
And search.
Well, you certainly don't hear anything.
Um, for the viewers at home, that was a 19 and then a five.
You, um, uh, we'll say that at one point, uh, you hear something in one of the nearby
forests, uh, but you're upon listening more attentively, you're able to determine that's
like potentially a deer or a boar.
Um, just, you know, getting, getting an early start.
Um, with that done.
Uh, it is now morning.
Uh, you have not died in your sleep.
Congratulations.
You should be proud.
That's what I'm talking about.
All right.
Um, so you all are able to, uh, pack up, uh, hop back on the wagon and continue.
Mongol forest presents some fun possibilities because you guys have, well, you guys haven't
actually explored all that much of the Viet Cong forest.
Now that I think about it, you found the dungeon pretty quickly.
The Mongol forest.
So as you all are packing up, um, I'm trying to think about who would be the best.
Candidate for this.
Uh, well, there's the best and there's the funniest.
Well, it depends.
Um, so we'll, we'll say that, um, we'll say that it's, it's one of the co-poles because
I think that's funny.
Uh, as they are cleaning up what little, uh, you know, camping supplies they actually have,
which just amounts to this little pot and the couple of sticks that they set up in a
tripod to hang it from.
Um, someone effectively just, uh, materializes out of the woods nearby or at the very least,
uh, that's certainly how it appears to people who didn't roll particularly well on their
search checks.
Would you care to describe your character?
Yes.
So my character, um, right now he goes by Ash and he's kind of a, a bit of a sketchy
looking fellow.
You might not want to approach him, uh, very kind of tall and slender.
You might be able to tell from looking at him, if you're familiar with the various races
of this world that he is an elf, uh, but you might not have a super easy time telling,
uh, cause he wears a hood.
Kind of a roguish, roguish type of character.
And um, I don't know if you have to model the game, but oh yeah, curious.
So yeah, he's got long, very long, action white hair tied back in a ponytail, uh, which
again you would not be able to see if it's up.
And he carries two blades, uh, which are currently sheathed.
Uh, I'm not trying to cause any trouble yet.
Um, and yeah, that's, uh, pretty much all you got to work with right now.
Okay.
So you, um, you step out from, uh, the place where you had been observing this group, uh,
the kobold in front of you does not appear to have noticed your presence yet.
Uh, the kobold standing opposite him, uh, does and is very rapidly reaching for her
weapons.
Anything you say or do, uh, immediately or, uh,
Uh, yeah.
So I'm going to say to, uh, you know, the other people in the group that he can see,
uh, watch out, there's kobolds.
Uh, Gluck will whirl around and say, where?
Uh, I'm gonna, uh, I am going to take out my crossbow aiming at, uh, this new Elvish
character.
Uh, and I'm going to say, yeah, they're with us.
How soon after waking up is this happening?
Um, I think that's up to hash.
Probably not very long, I would assume.
Okay.
Uh, so Wolfgar's probably not zoned his army yet.
So he's just in his like standard robe.
Uh, he does, however, still has this fucking whip and he does unlike, like unlatch it from
his belt and like crack it real quick to like try to, you know, intimidate him a little
bit.
Uh, whether or not it works, God only knows.
Uh, Ash is very confused and he says, he doesn't have his weapons drawn yet, but he's, uh, he's
got his hand on his heel of one of his daggers.
This is what, what, what do you mean with you?
Um, we work for them.
Yeah, there are employees.
I get paid.
You know what that is?
I'm well acquainted with what an employee is.
I've never seen one of, shall we say, this stature working with...
Oh, how do you know I'm tall for a cobalt?
Have you ever tried to hire a cobalt as an employee?
They're quite resourceful.
I was going to say they're cheap.
That too.
I would, I personally have not had the pleasure of doing so.
Yeah, well, there you go.
You wouldn't know them in that case.
So we really appreciate if you don't harm our friends.
Of course.
I would never intend to without good reason.
What business?
I thought perhaps they were threatening.
What?
Oh no.
That makes sense.
I am pretty threatening.
Yeah, but they're not threatening us.
You're very threatening.
Uh, don't worry.
Exactly.
Right.
Killed the dragon.
Yeah, I helped.
I didn't do it.
He truly is going to point it's horrible.
He did not need to know that.
Truly can't be serious.
A dragon.
Yeah.
We're a merry band of adventurers, actually.
What we do is we go around adventuring, pick up quests, that kind of stuff.
Kill dragons.
Yeah, dragon.
We've killed a dragon and a lady with an army of beast men and zombies and skeletons.
Oh my.
I see.
Well, it so happened that I'm on my way to Turo's Orn and I could use the assistance
of those looking for coin who have experience with fighting dragons.
Well, I mean, you had me at coin.
What's your business at Turo's Orn?
Well, it's a bit of a dilemma, shall we say, that someone I've been working with has been
trying to solve.
And I've been sent by him to Turo's Orn to speak with somebody that might be a bit more
reasonable as the legate in the surrounding area is not so agreeable.
But we have a commission and we were looking for assistance with the subjugation of a dragon.
A dragon, eh?
Well, I mean, you know, wouldn't be the first time we slayed a dragon.
We just happened to be on our way to Turo's Orn to investigate the lonely island on the
lake that has been inhabited by a wizard or some other folk.
And there are now demons and other things coming out of it.
We're going to get more information once we get there, I'm sure.
I see.
Well, if you wouldn't mind me tagging along with your very bunch of adventurers, I'm sure
we might be able to help each other out.
All right.
Let us confer real quick and we'll get right back to you.
How fucking funny would it be if we said no?
I'm going to leave.
Oh, you're awful.
New Care.
All right.
What do you guys think of?
I mean, he seems he seems nice enough.
He was trying to warn us.
And, you know, he says there's coin involved.
I wouldn't mind slaying another dragon.
That was pretty fun.
Get more experience in it.
Never a bad thing.
I'm hesitant to trust a man who appeared out of the forest and tried to attack our employees.
Well, again, I feel like that was a miscommunication.
Yeah, I see where you're coming from, Wolfcar.
I mean, I definitely wouldn't want to trust him fully right off the bat because, you know,
he's a complete stranger.
But I will also say, yeah, like, you know, having Cobalt's employees is not necessarily
a norm, I guess, around these parts.
But, I mean, listen, if you guys really don't want him in, then you won't take him in.
I personally think that maybe we could use an extra pair of hands for now.
And, you know, Wolfcar, you can always just stand behind him.
And you know, you're a pretty suspicious guy.
So I'm sure you can figure out a couple of ways to slip a knife between his rib cages
if he tries anything funny.
Give me the Phil special after.
Rib cages, plural.
He's got two like a fucking centaur.
Between the ribs.
I mean, I have no issue with him tagging along if he wishes to.
I don't mind being outvoted in this, however, I will be keeping an eye on him.
Absolutely.
Roos is disloyal.
Yeah, I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we've aligned ourselves with incredibly suspicious
characters and I just stare at Wolfcar.
Wolfcar stares back and smiles.
Fucking pointed teeth.
Alright.
Okie dokie.
What did you say your name was?
So having a bit of a conversation with the kobold, Ash turned around.
Still just bewildered that he's, you know, talking about weapons and sharpening them
with a kobold.
That's not something he's had the experience of.
Sorry.
Please call me Ash.
Pleasure.
Yeah, we wouldn't mind you tagging along.
My name is Dalmos Graham.
Nice to meet you, Dalmos.
I am Zarvol, Dragon Slayer.
Pleasure to meet you.
Zarvol, Dragon Slayer.
Where's my title?
Oh yeah, where?
Let me see my title.
You got nerfed.
Got nerfed.
Wolfcar nerfed.
Reset every quest.
There we go.
Level one, here we come.
Yeah, I bet, you know, having a guy with the title of Dragon Slayer and you're helping
us, helping you out, I'm sure could fetch a lot of coin, huh?
Oh I'm sure my employer will be quite pleased to hear it.
And who are these two?
Oh, that's Gluck and that's Glib.
Of course they are.
Yes, yes you are.
Before we depart Ash, might we ask who your employer is?
Yeah, I was gonna ask.
I'm not privy to giving out too many details, but he's from the southern region of Ardbol.
And I'm sure we will be able to meet him, once I have a word, with the Legate of Turothorn.
Is he in Turothorn?
Is your employer in Turothorn?
No, he has sent me to Turothorn when you speak with the Legate, such that we might subjugate
this dragon together.
So you intend to just, what, kill this dragon?
Well we're certainly not trying to keep it as a pet.
Okay, okay.
I mean I don't know, for any specific reasons, you know.
Depending on the convenience of things, if you do want our help we might have to do our
quest first, but of course if things turn out...
Oh this dragon's been around for many, many years.
A long time.
Longer than surely any of you have been alive.
So I'm sure a couple more weeks.
A couple more weeks.
He doesn't know that yet!
Don't ruin this for me!
Anyway.
I give him a nookie.
And these two survived the fight.
With the dragon.
Oh yeah, they were imperative to defeating...
We actually have a whole, I guess, what would you call it, a squad?
A squadron of Kobolds.
It's a warband!
A warband that resides in a dungeon that we've sort of taken over.
They were all Kobolds.
Yep, the Koboldusy.
I hate that.
No.
Everyone disliked that.
So we have experience, well, in slaying dragons.
Dragon singular.
No, no!
Don't do this to me!
Yeah, it was...
What's your color?
What was black?
The dragon we killed.
He was black.
Can't just ask that question.
Why can't?
Why not?
No, actually that is a very good bit of a question.
Actually, for a...
Would I have to do a knowledge check for my character?
Would he know what a black dragon would mean?
You could definitely give me a roll with threshold of 18+.
Just like, add your end mod.
Okay.
Okay, that's a 5.
Okay, yeah.
No idea what a black dragon, or fighting a black dragon entails.
All you really know is the dragon that, you know, you've been trying to deal with.
I see.
Well, can't say I ever familiarized myself with a black dragon, but the dragon that we
are trying to deal with is green.
Not sure if you know anything about what that would mean.
I suppose so.
Well, if it's anything like me...
Hmm.
I can definitely count, because I can count.
If he's anything like you, we have nothing to worry about.
Yeah.
Yeah, he's got a winning attitude.
Humps, orms...
Are those the names of our horses?
Yeah, I did that while you guys were talking.
I was gonna ask if they had names earlier, and I completely forgot.
No, you guys have not named them.
I just did that because I was bored.
No, that's candid now.
They're named humps and horns.
Yeah, I like those names.
Yeah, we got them secondhand, so...
Secondhand horses, that's fucking awesome.
Yeah.
All right, well, seems like the group has a tentative new member.
For now?
That's exciting.
So I have to ask, there's only so much room in and on the wagon.
Now that you have a relative stranger in your midst, how do you organize yourselves?
Wherever Ash sits, Wolfguard is gonna sit directly across from him and stare him down
the whole time.
Okay.
Zarval will continue studying.
Okay.
I'll be at the front of the wagon, driving it.
And then, I don't know if this would work, but maybe Glyph and Glyph could just be riding
on the horses.
Yeah, they're actually light enough that I don't think they would constitute any additional
burden on the horses as they pull the cart.
I like to imagine that we lift them up and put them on the horse.
You absolutely have to do that.
And Gluck is two foot nine and Glyph is two foot flat.
Yeah, so we do that.
We do that.
And then, well, let's see.
Put them over here for...
I guess.
Do we have enough room to have three people in the cart and then I drive it from maybe,
I don't know.
Oh, sure.
Yeah.
It's spacious enough that that is not an issue.
I can go to the cart as well then.
All right, sick.
Well, I mean, I don't need to actually put any of you guys anywhere because we're going
to leave this map in a session.
All right.
Okay.
So you guys continue on your merry way.
Travel for...
Let's see.
What's 18?
Six.
12.
18.
Okay.
Yeah.
This was the...
Or yesterday, I guess, was the final day of travel before actually reaching Tyros Orn.
So I talked about this a little bit with regards to Tyros Tem.
Each fort has a, relatively speaking, a small settlement around it where just regular people
live.
Tyros Orn's village is significantly larger actually than Tyros Tem's.
Let me see if the module gives any sort of significant description of the place.
I'm just realizing that it might.
It won't.
It's the one thing it doesn't describe.
All right, here we go.
Yeah, yeah, we got a whole description.
Nice.
Let's see.
Just reading through this, seeing if there's anything I got to omit for lore spoiler reasons.
Okay, yeah.
All right.
The great fortress of Tyros Orn was built a millennium ago during the Empyrean War on
the shores of Lake Lemmon by the great warrior king Valerian Belisarius.
It has been sacked and rebuilt dozens of times over the centuries, and local legend hasn't,
but there are hidden chambers in Tyros Orn that no one has seen in a thousand years.
Tyros Orn nowadays guards these strategic crossroads by Lake Lemmon and serves as the
seat for one of the borderlands for Palatines.
Tyros Orn serves as a supply depot for the adjoining forts, and a small but thriving
market town has grown up around this sprawling fortress.
Yeah, okay.
That's the end of the description of the place itself.
It goes on to give a description of the legate in charge of the place, but you haven't met
her, so meaner, meaner pumpkin.
As mentioned in that description, Tyros Orn has been attacked, destroyed, rebuilt, or
partially destroyed, not entirely, over and over and over again over the course of many
years and many conflicts.
To that end, at least from the outside, the architecture of even the walls themselves
indicate that.
Certain parts of it are stylized in such a way that it seems fairly apparent, especially
to the elf among you, that this was once an elven fort.
There's a certain artistry which isn't present in the more brutalist walls constructed by
the Orn Empire.
Nevertheless, both styles are equally as effective and seemingly, whether out of respect for
the original creators or simply due to the practicality of the thing, the eras visually
flow into one another and back again as the elven wall gives way to Orn walls and back.
The market town, as mentioned, is pretty populated and when a wagon full of people who these
folks have never seen before comes in, obviously everybody's gonna try and sell you things.
So there are, let me see if there's any listed exports in particular or if I just have free
reign on this bitch.
Yeah they're fucking, they're exporting Nikes left, right, and center.
Gotta get them kicks, baby.
Let's see, now, now it kinda looks like I could just say whatever I want, which I will.
So based on the fact that it is, you know, right next to that big ass lake, we'll say
there's a lot of people who have competing fishing businesses, lots of people are offering
fresh fish, fresh, huh.
Do oysters or mussels, those only grow in like salt water, right, they don't grow in
fresh water?
I believe so, yeah.
Yeah, okay, so nothing like that, but in addition to that, you've got a lot of forested, you
know, areas nearby, Thros Orn, you know, presuming you have the means to make the six-ish mile
journey to either of those forests.
So you know, you've got a lot of trappers, people selling pelts and meats, some people
have actually created businesses carving.
Actually, hold on, there's an actual word for this, hold on.
I have it written down here.
Yeah, selling scrimshaw, which are carvings made in bone.
So various kinds of designs, your basic stuff would be sets of dice, but then there are
also actual illustrations, various vistas.
A couple people have carved the view of the lonely island from the banks of Lake Lamont
as a little creation.
So on top of that, there's plenty of other homemade goods, nothing, you know, amazing
in terms of its quality.
You guys are in many ways still kind of out in bumpkin country, but all the same, it does
seem like people enjoy their work and are looking to make some money off of something
that they enjoy.
Let's see.
I didn't think about the fact that you guys might actually go to Turoz Orn itself, so
I'm going to be lazy.
Are you guys ready?
Yeah.
I hope you're excited.
What's that line from Nathan for you?
I hope you're ready for nothing.
I think so, yes.
Yeah.
Okay.
So give me a second here as I set this up, which ironically, this does in some ways harken
back to a joke that was made earlier.
But oh, here, before I do that, I have to, Ash, I got to make you a unique model.
I for bore.
There we go.
Now I will go back.
Yeah.
I'm a unique model.
I'm not like all these other models, you know?
All of the other models of all of the other party members are also unique models.
Exactly.
I'm not like the other girls.
All right.
So let me take that and put that here.
And we'll just go ahead and pop a couple of you wacky characters down here.
Just on the top of the wagon, just for my ease.
Things about me.
Let's see.
There's what?
Yeah.
Where are you?
There's Wolfgar.
Staring.
Doing a stare at Ash.
So welcome, one and all, to definitely not Thrust Town.
Oh, man.
In my haze of making the locations I've been working on, I totally blanked on the high
probability of you guys going to Thrust Orn.
So for the time being, we'll use the Thrust Town construction as we'll call it a placeholder.
I like to imagine it's all just the same people, like fucking what was it?
Nurse What's-her-face in Pokemon?
Nurse Joy.
Yeah.
That would be very funny, but no.
I mean, to be fair, there will invariably be a certain level of similarity in some of
the constructions between Thrust Town and Thrust Orn, as they are both forts which have
been under Imperial control for, I don't know, 150-ish years.
Sorry, what did you say?
A bad joke.
Oh, okay.
Did you say in control for a fortnight?
No.
Oh my god.
Playback the Zakes.
Yeah, we have you on fucking record now.
Keep getting away with this.
So yeah, in terms of the general procedure which you encounter, you're going to have to
be careful, especially considering this is the biggest fort in the Borderlands, it's
a tight ship.
Now as for the one-to-one nature of this place, due to the fact that I am reusing the map,
at least for now, that is not accurate.
In point of fact, I am going to say, because I don't believe there's any information contradicting
this, Thrust Orn is actually more squarish and slightly hilled at the center.
But anyway, I am going to
be pattern staring the Shrewd Option because as part of, because work can throw a nuisance
But anyways, the point is it's structured in such a way that it's making use of the
minor hill in the area to add a slight further defensive nature.
So that established.
So in a procedure which is very familiar to a lot of you, you're stopped a ways off by
guards manning this particular guard post or gatehouse, right?
And it's definitely a less jovial attitude to them than what you have come to be familiar
with at Turo's Tend.
Most likely for the simple reason that you were not known here.
So we got jumped in Turo's Tend when we first went there.
That is true.
That is a good point.
So well, actually, we'll say that when you first approach the gates are closed.
And as you as you approach somebody from within the gatehouse calls out, what do you want?
Hail we're here on to fulfill actually a few quests that have been asked of around this
area, including one having to do with the issues in the lonely island.
We have a letter of introduction from the legate from Turo's Tend where we are originally
from.
At that the gate will open and a couple of points actually.
So a couple will step out very clearly to prevent you from going forward while also
confirming the information which you just presented the gate behind them.
Also, this one will come up to the side.
The wagon is not as tall as it is in Tailsfire.
Or rather, I suppose it could be.
But almost you would be sitting in that seat that's further down.
You wouldn't be sitting all the way up there.
Yeah.
Obviously, it's hard to navigate a character down right there.
So but he walks up to you and says, in that case, you shouldn't have any issues handing
over your recommendation for us to confirm the validity of.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
But I was told to that this is for like it will on his eyes.
So please make sure that it's not open before him.
Or at least, you know, put back together if it is open.
So he'll he'll take the scroll case out of your hands.
And as you were saying all of this stuff, like, you know, it's supposed to go to this
person.
Please treat it carefully.
He just opens the bucket and reads through it.
OK.
He turns to the to the other guard.
Says, they're legit.
He puts the scroll back in to the case and back to you.
Says, you're free to answer, but you're going to have to leave your wagon out here.
How many of you are there and what weapons do you possess?
Well, currently, we're six, including the two Kobolds in the back.
They are our employees.
And I mean, I don't know.
Sorry.
They're beast men.
Yes, but we have hired them.
Money goes a long way.
The the very professional facade falters for a second.
This guy looks at looks at his fellow guard.
He says, I'm.
I've never seen this before.
What do we do?
Don't worry.
You're very well trained.
Speak.
Yeah, tell him, Glock.
Tell him what?
You know, how how much you like working for us.
Oh, yeah, it's all right.
I get paid.
That's nice.
I got this sword.
And he un-cheese the sword and starts waving it around.
Yeah, he's got he's got the sword.
That's his weapon.
And he's a.
Yeah, keep all your weapons sheathed for now.
Don't don't take them out.
OK.
Oh, I'm just trying to show you.
We don't want anybody poking their eye out.
I'm pretty careful.
You're not careful until you're not careful.
You're not careful.
You're not careful until you're not careful.
Yeah, it's the first time for everything, right?
And that's Glib as well.
Glib will just sort of wave casually.
Glib is infinitely smarter than Glock.
Yeah, by a lot.
If you saw her stats, you would understand.
So the two guards look at each other.
They sort of turn around.
Start whispering to each other.
A couple of seconds go by.
Eventually, this one turns back around.
He says, are you intending to let your employees roam by themselves?
Because if you are, we're going to ask that they remain outside.
If you're planning on accompanying them during your business here, then they can remain.
Oh, yeah.
They don't leave our site.
Yeah.
All right.
That's a new one for the books.
What weapons are you all currently carrying?
Well, you just heard Glock talk about their weapons.
I have a crossbow and a dagger.
I mean, out of character, I technically have a short sword, but it's not like on me.
It's just like on the wagon.
Yeah.
So I am carrying a crossbow and a dagger.
Yeah.
Mace, whiff, dagger.
I just rolled up my wand.
A stick.
He recognizes that it's probably a wand of some kind.
Stick.
I'm in possession of a dueling sword, a short sword, a throwing dagger, and a composite bow.
Holy shit.
All right.
Composite bow?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a thing you can get in Axe.
Well, all right.
We will monitor your wagon as you do your business.
We'll pull it off to the side.
Noise.
Battery noise.
My god.
It's got the power to move the dirt itself.
Oh, wait.
We forgot the glib.
What weapons do you have?
This.
She'll hold up a crossbow.
This.
She'll hold up a dagger.
Dagger.
Dagger to crossbow, just like me.
In my head, I'm like, these people killed the dragon?
Listen, it's a really good...
It's starting to maybe doubt if these people are telling the truth.
The joys of new party members.
Run that trial mission on the lonely island and see if these people are the real deal or not.
I'm going to keep rolling one.
All right.
So the guards will open up the gate and allow you to enter.
We'll save this one.
Unless you have additional business interests on, I will direct you to the Legate's home specifically.
Potentially, we might need to be here for a few days, weeks, or however long it takes to complete this quest.
Do you happen to know where we could... any lodgings as well?
We don't have civilians. I'm sure you can find somewhere to live in the village.
Okay, gotcha.
And then I'm assuming you have a...
Oh god, what the fuck was Quinoa's disposition?
Quartermaster?
Yeah, quartermaster. We might buy some supplies and maybe...
Yeah, just buy some supplies.
I don't know where you might have been previously or what they're doing at Turoast Hem, but...
Oran Empire officials do not deal in commerce directly with civilians.
That's a rather significant breach of code.
Oh, I think we were temporarily established as, I don't know, some sort of employees of the Oran Empire
because there was a great, great, great need for help with the beastmen issue they were having.
Right.
Anyway, if you'll follow...
Could I run a manual of arms check to see if I might be able to discern the difference between Turoast Hem and here?
You haven't directly experienced Turoast Hem, so you wouldn't necessarily be able to vouch for that,
but you can certainly do a manual of arms check to suss out the sort of training nature.
Yes, yes, very funny.
The nature of the training which soldiers here at Turoast Oran receive.
Okay, sure.
I think that's what, 11 plus?
Yeah, it's an 11 plus.
Alright, perfect.
And I got an 11.
Alright. I mean, based on how these guys are equipped, and they're very business-like manner of interacting with the public,
it seems like these guys are your average rank and file of the Imperial Army.
Okay.
So, what does manual of arms say you can tell?
Because there's definitely a couple of specifics I could give you.
Let me see.
M for...
Mango.
Manuel?
Manuel of arms?
Yeah, that's him.
Why does he have so many arms?
Manual of arms.
This character is finely experienced in military discipline, physical fitness, and weapon drill.
He can automatically identify the battle standards, equipment, great captains, military slang, and rank insignia of his homeland.
He can identify those of other realms with the proficient to throw up 11 plus.
He can fight as a regular, troop-informed, and loose units.
He can begin to play as yada yada yada.
Yeah.
Okay.
Based on how they are equipped, both the guards that you just interacted with, as well as some of the other guards, which you see as you enter into Throsborn,
the general principle seems to be that there is a majority who work with spears.
When they get close enough with opponents that spears become too cumbersome, they switch to their swords, which they have on their sides.
And then they are supported from range, or more accurately, when conflicts begin and opposing sides are a fair distance apart from one another, that's when crossbows are primarily used.
So, the general principle is use X weapon until it is no longer efficient, then switch to Y weapon when that is no longer efficient, switch to Z weapon.
So, that's the principle. It's always faster to switch to your spear.
I don't remember that reloading.
What's that from?
Hologram.
Oh, okay. Gotcha. I haven't played much CoD.
So, yeah, you walk you through the fort, and, you know, again, you guys never really asked anybody what a lot of these buildings were, presumably barracks, storehouses.
There is a, I will say that there is a meeting hall, similar to the one that was present in Drostem.
The residency of the Legate, however, is significantly less impressive than this.
And the fact it actually comes as a surprise to you guys that he stops where he does.
Hope you're not getting motion sick.
Because the building is all in all, fairly plain.
Which, which any with any of the other locales, I mean, physically, it's somewhat larger.
But as you enter in, it's pretty clear that that is just due to the fact that much like the Villa and Drostem, there is a essentially a waiting room for civilian.
So, reach the front doors, he turns around and says, you all may now enter, I will await you after you have concluded your business.
Very briefly, know you the name of the soldier who opened our letter of recommendation.
Sorry?
Do you know the name of the soldier who opened our letter of introduction? Sorry.
Are you asking me as judge or this guy?
I'm asking this guy.
I basically want to throw him under the bus if they start talking shit about it being open.
I gotcha. Yeah.
That was, that was Elion.
Of course. Thank you.
Elion is, you know what I'm saying?
Let me, let me find a suitable mini here real quick.
If you guys want, we can take another quick file break.
So, I'm going to drag you all outside technically within the engine outside of the walls, Drostem.
You're in the void. Welcome.
So, again, pretty modest looking building.
As this man swings you around with his telekinetic powers.
And he'll say, I will await you out here after you have concluded your business with the legion.
Absolutely. Thank you.
All right. And one of the guards by the door will open the door for you.
All right. Let's walk in.
And you didn't check for traps. So you're all going to die now.
Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
So,
though it is
somewhat less impressive looking due to the fact that it's
constructed out of simple lumber instead of the impressive marble edifice of
Valerian, like at Valerian's
Villa.
This building does still
have a waiting room, which you're able to
sit in and
relax in question mark.
This is the sort of environment you consider relaxing.
So when you enter
the
soldiers will shut the door behind you.
One of these soldiers will
knock the door will be opened. You will enter the door will shut behind him.
What do you guys do in the moment?
You all have, you know, at least a few moments to
converse amongst yourselves.
If you choose to do so.
Yeah.
So we'll just go in there, explain our
quests, right? And then a little nervous.
I'm not going to lie to you guys. Seems like a pretty
serious operation we've got going here, but we'll see.
I don't I'm going to say this like intentionally, like loud enough for the fucking
guard nearby to hear is going to be like, I don't find these ones as likeable as one in Turo's 10.
You know, I agree with you completely.
Let's let's give them a chance. You never know. Maybe they're just shy.
Yeah, that's also very good. Maybe once they get to know what the sigma.
All right, Ash. Sorry. That's an old elvish phrase.
I'm I'm I'm a bit worried that
my name isn't in the fire.
You know what I mean? My name wasn't in the letter.
So, oh, well, I don't know. I don't actually know what's in the letter.
Do you guys even know it's written?
No, I didn't. I didn't find out.
Hopefully, hopefully it didn't say names because actually, yeah, it has been open.
Can I just read it at this point? Sure.
Absolutely.
Just watch. You're going to like read it like in here right now.
You could have done that like on the fucking washing right over.
Oh, wait, it wasn't open. Yeah.
Fuck you.
Late now. It's too late now. We're not reading it.
It's staying in the box. I don't want anybody to screw up what we've got going on.
Got a good thing going on here. Yeah, I got a good thing going on here, guys.
Come on. In terms of your predicament, Ash, I think it will be OK.
I mean, you said you had your own benefactor, so I don't know if you drop names or whatever.
But if not, then I mean, you know, it'll be OK. We'll just we'll just tell the truth.
We'll see. We'll see.
It's a roguish fiend that made his way into this private residence.
It's fine. No big deal.
What are they going to do? Saint everyone, but you can go on this quest to an island where demons are coming from and stop them.
That's kind of stupid. Yeah, that is kind of stupid.
I think we should say that to them.
If they say that, I will say, with all due respect, that is pretty stupid.
With all due respect, are you dumb or something?
Fuck you, idiot.
Why didn't they let him accept their help? Are they stupid?
Maybe you can bust out some elvish.
What the sigma?
All right. Eventually, a soldier comes back.
He opens the door.
Says the legate is willing to speak with you.
Please enter.
All right.
Are you guys going to have the coals come with?
Well, they did say not to let them out of sight.
Should bring them along. All right.
Shit, dude, look at this table, bro.
Damn.
They're playing fucking board games over here.
They're playing RISC.
Got some dice.
Oh my God, is that a
game?
I don't know.
It's a game.
is a fairly, fairly gruff looking elven woman.
As is the case with the model,
she is wearing an eye patch
and does have a fairly prominent scar
across part of her face.
Unlike the model, her hair is cut very short.
Instead of it being a bun,
it's simply just nearly a buzz cut.
Despite the fact that you all have entered the room
at this point and presumably are,
next up on her docket,
she is continuing to issue orders
to the soldiers surrounding this table.
Essentially it's things like
shoring up defenses along supply lines in one area,
ensuring that this or that request from a civilian
is dealt with in timely manner, asking about,
and receiving information on the status
of equipment shipments that are meant to be coming here.
Number of things.
As you all approach,
she'll hold up her hand
and very clearly indicating
for the rest of her soldier base here
to pause conversation
and she'll look at your group, right?
And, Joel, around the table here.
Which one of you has the introduction?
I'll hand it to her.
Take it from you.
Open it up, read it.
So, what are you here for?
We are here for two reasons.
First, to help in dealing with the trouble
that is happening on the Lonely Island.
Good.
And secondly, we actually have a quest
from a new member of our party in which we will,
I guess, be dealing with some green dragon
that's around these parts or near here.
So, as you mentioned this,
her eyes definitely narrow a little bit.
What do you mean you're going to deal with it?
Are you even aware of the situation?
Do you know where it is?
Do you know what it wants?
Our party member would have more information.
He was asking about the factor.
Yes, would you like those details now?
Well, ultimately, that dragon falls outside
of my jurisdiction.
However, I do feel that I have some duty of care
to ensure people who are ill-equipped to deal with
a situation do not go wandering into it blindly.
It would not be the first dragon we've killed.
So, you aren't aware of the situation.
Good.
I assume you are?
Yes, indeed.
It's been my understanding that there have been
a few of our kind and shown gesture to the point of the ears
both of you share.
Taking up residence in the forests nearby,
are you at liberty to disclose the specific number?
I would have character what I know.
It's not a lot, dog.
It's, here, let me, you do know whether you would want
to share is purely up to your opinion of the situation
and of this legate, but let me get that number.
It's like they got something up their butt,
I wouldn't share shit.
Let's see, that is gonna be, where is that?
Oh, okay, I see.
Too high up.
I'm too high, bro.
High as fuck.
Where are you?
I'm fast as fuck, boy.
I'm fast as fuck.
God damn, where is it?
Oh, wrong goddamn document.
Honestly, it's fine because I'm not gonna tell her
the amount of exactly anyway.
Well, point is it's not a lot.
Gotcha, yeah.
Yeah, it just says, I'm afraid I don't know exact numbers.
I see.
Are you under the impression that these individuals
will be enough to turn the tide
or are you simply recruiting in general?
I'm recruiting in general.
Is there a particular reason aside from, shall we say,
some of the more obvious issues with the leadership
in the nearby region as to why you are looking
for recruits here and not more nearby?
It was either here or two routes, 10.
Good choice.
Of course, the new year's a little bit at that.
So what are all of you looking for more specific?
More specifically, we would love information
about this quest, any that could help us out
as well as rewards for the quest.
Also, if there's any place we could get equipment
for fighting as well as potentially hire more recruits
for this quest or our cause in general.
That's what I would need at least.
As much as I trust Valerian's judgment to a certain degree,
I am not the sort of leader to allow unknown quantities
to benefit from my fort's resources.
After all, you could be a band of bandits
who simply picked this up off of a legitimate group
of adventurers who you killed and took the clothes off.
No offense.
That being the case, if you are able to successfully resolve
the situation on the Lonely Island,
I expect I will be able to offer certain opportunities
for acquiring equipment.
In addition though, I would heavily encourage you
to inquire with the townsfolk surrounding Turros Orn.
It is very likely that there are a number
of talented individuals who are willing to help
and a number of talented individuals who are ready
and willing to join a cause such as yours.
The information which I can give you
likely doesn't extend past what you would have heard
and therefore what would have brought you here.
Civilians have reported seeing
some manner of demonic entity or entities
circling the island as they approach.
I have personally noted that these apparitions
only appear when you are a certain distance away
from the island.
To me, this indicates that they are at least in the
at least in part illusory.
All the same, I have instructed
average individuals to not make their way
to the Lonely Island.
It is my understanding that there was a wizard
who had filed some paperwork.
I shall snap point at one of the guards
and then gesture at one of the bookcases
who had filed some paperwork stating that he was intending
to take up a residence there.
There were no prior claims to residency
so it likely went through without issue.
She's handed a document.
She looks it over quickly, hands it back to that guard.
Yes.
However, shortly after construction concluded
on that building, an explosion was heard
approximately coming from the island
after which point the potentially illusory demons
began appearing and we have not heard
from that wizard since.
Okay, thank you.
That is actually helpful.
We had no idea about the potential
for the demons being illusory.
Would you also happen to, and I don't know
if this would fall under the resources
that you're understandably unwilling to let us have
or share, but anywhere we could potentially
shit out a character, I'm pretty sure,
but like put the wagon away.
Not stow, that's not the right word.
House?
Yeah, house, yeah, like house, a wagon,
because you might not be able to have that on us at all time.
Well, you certainly can't keep it here.
I would imagine that any number of inns in town
would offer some amount of stabling for the horses.
No idea if washing over the wagon
as you do your business on the island would be an extra.
Okay.
Was there anything else?
Not that I can think of, I don't know if anybody else.
So Ash, she will look back at you.
She's spinning, oh Lord, she's spinning.
Oh Lord.
Ash, she'll look back at you, approach you somewhat.
What are you looking for?
What are you looking for from Toros Orn?
Truth be told, I was sent here by
Eugen, I don't know how to say it.
Eoghan.
I believe he was looking for assistants, troops,
fellow adventurers and contract workers,
such as these lovely people over here.
Mm-hmm.
Our smiles.
Essentially anybody who's not stupid enough to go walking in
and getting themselves killed,
that may be able to assist with the problem at hand.
Mm-hmm.
Well.
I am genuinely apologetic about this,
but I am unable to offer any troops.
The current situation within the Many Coast region
is troubling.
It's my understanding that there are a number of individuals
seeking aid within that region,
and the general poor management of the region
has resulted in, shall we say, misplaced resources.
Right.
I am doing what I can to ensure that this region
does not become that region, or God forbid, the Samos region.
So, again, I cannot offer you any troops.
What I can tell you is, similarly to what I just told him,
it is entirely possible that you will find a number of people
who are ready, willing and able to assist in your cause
if you were to take a look through
the individuals present in town.
I can't vouch for the average quality.
If I had to guess, you are unlikely to find any other people
who have slain a dragon.
But we have been noting a...
I suppose you could call it an uptick
in the number of adventurers spending time
in the city around this fort.
As such, you may find some able-bodied.
Understood.
Well, thank you. I do appreciate it.
Mm-hmm.
And she'll turn back to the war table.
And as she's looking at it,
if there's nothing else, you're dismissed.
Thank you for your time.
Mm-hmm.
All right.
Cool.
Sweet.
So, you guys exit via...
Let me out!
There.
Don't worry, guys, I got out.
There you go.
So, you guys exit the war room, you exit the waiting room.
The guard who brought you here meets you as you exit.
So, a productive meeting?
I'd say so, yeah.
It was...
We got a lot of good information for this quest,
and we were told to...
We needed supplies and people, you know,
information or hiring to go to a civilian population,
local town or anything like that, maybe around Lonely Island.
If you knew of any specific places that had a lot of people
or anything like that, that would be useful to us.
Unfortunately, I don't...
I don't spend a lot of time associating with adventurers.
That's not a judgment call.
That's just due to the fact that they don't come here too often.
Usually, they're able to find some amount of business,
quests and people looking for aid, that sort of thing, within town.
I'm sure there's probably...
Honestly, if I had to guess, there's probably a couple of businesses
that their main trade is just giving people a place to sleep at night,
which probably also trade in organizing that sort of thing,
connecting adventurers to people willing to pay.
I don't think there's any sort of guild for adventurers here,
but I spend a lot of my time here.
Okay, well, that's actually really useful.
Thank you. We'll check out the town then.
All right. If there's nothing else here in Ornn,
then he'll start walking towards the entrance.
Okay.
Now, as you guys walk, do any of you try to sneak off
and go investigate this place at all, or do you all just stick with him?
I'll stick pretty close.
I don't think that's a good idea at this moment.
It's basically just a carbon copy of Tourist Hem anyway.
No, it's not. I promise.
I swear to God, it's narratively different.
It just looks the same.
It's not an asset flip, I swear to God.
Anyways, yeah, so in that case, they'll open the gates for you.
Your wagon does not appear to have been touched in the slightest.
Nobody's messed with it for good or for ill.
And you now have the opportunity to go into town.
And with that, our show draws to a close, at least for now.
I'd like to take a moment to thank you, sincerely, for listening.
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On us again next episode as we continue our adventures across the Borderlands.