Birthright: Ruins of Empire

[(me) Melchior]

Really? you come into our house uninvited, burndown half and steal the rest, and when you inevitably start burning down your own shitty homes it's supposed to be our job to fix it? .. fine we'll come and fix it.

[JLT*]

Your house? You totally left those trees unattended when my ancestors cut them down to build their homes. And for good measure my people kicked out the goblins that were harassing your kin as well. You should actually be thankful.

When evil invades, good people try to stop it. If you don't, you're clearly not good people.

(Glad YOU're coming to fix things, though..)

[(me) Melchior]

Unattended?? We had a whole race of attendants You killed half and enslaved the rest!
But don't worry, I'm here to help and stop the invaders.

[SageGenesis]

Was too busy yesterday for a post. So today will be two of these.


What do we know about... Alamie and Tuornen?

They're under siege!

Alamie was decimated by the war, much like Mhoried and Elinie, but with far fewer goblins roaming about today. Tuornen's capital fell and its eastern border has seen several raids, but further west the lands remained untouched by the invasion.

That is to say... the Gorgon's invasion. Now, a few years later, Boeruine invades from the north through mountain passes, while Avanil invades from the south along fields and over the Maesil river. Both of these mighty countries seek to claim the Iron Throne and expand their power. Tuornen is rich in lumber, metals, and coal. Alamie has enormous stretches of grains and many good harvests. Whoever can take these resources is sure to reforge the Empire.

[SageGenesis]

What do we know about... the Spiderfell?

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderfell is open for business!

The Spiderfell is one of the darkest and most dangerous forests on the continent. Goblins and other humanoid monsters lair here, servants of the dreaded Spider abomination itself. These enemies have often raided human settlements and waged war with little rhyme or reason.

But the forest is also the domain of numerous intelligent, lesser Spiders (still the size of a man or even larger) who can be reasoned with. And in recent years they've become quite open to outsiders. Chatty even, some have said. They hold ancient dark lores and hoard lost treasures. And they're willing to share, for a price. No, not gold. Spiders have no need for the yellow lead. But everything is negotiable. You've lost all those people and kingdoms, surely there's something you crave? Won't you step into the Spiders' parlour?

Visitors should ensure that they have something real with which to bargain. Windowshoppers are not welcome and the forest remains as lethal to them as it ever was.

[JLT*]

Spiders? Aw man. I hate spiders..

[(me) Melchior]

Yes, I'm loving the lore, but not feeling the spiders

[AlfaGirl]

(16-03-2018 11:38:51)(me) Melchior Wrote:  ... not feeling the spiders

No, you see, the problem with spiders is that as soon as they are mentioned, you _do_ feel them. Everywhere.

XD

[(me) Melchior]

Dang it, spiders are involved.
Verder erg leuk weer. Veel gedaan en ontdekt.

Voor 21 april, willen We overdag? Savonds? Beide? Dan ga ik daarvoor vrij vragen.

[JLT*]

21-04? Die kan ik wel opschrijven.

---

Savonds kan ik sowieso, overdag zou ik nog moeten overleggen.

[JLT*]

Nas Wrote:My name is Nasir ibn Assan ibn Daouta ibn Malik. Not even twice has Haelyn’s Crown lowered under the Northern horizon since when I was sixth in line for my father's crown. Now, after the Great Beast’s rampage, I am most surely the last scion and heir of the powerful Daouta bloodline that for many an age allowed my family to rule the Anuirian Duchy of Elinie for the honour of our Lady Avanalae. My father Assan, my brothers and sisters and myself were all paladins fighting to uphold Avanalae’s ideals. For justice, we-....

Okay I was not a paladin officially, like, knighted and all that, but I sure as Belinik’s fist would be. Soon. ish.

That’s not the point. I mean, come on, stop with the cross examination already. Ugh. Where’s my ale?

---

nas Wrote:See that kid over there? The one downing that cup, er, that bottle of-. Oh dear. Two bottl- ahem. That guy passed out under the table? That’s my saviour’s son, they smuggled me out of Ansien Castle while my father was driving the Black Prince back in single combat. Name’s Johann Blackhand. Good guy, when he’s sober.

[JLT*]

Nas Wrote:An elf from the Sielwode? Yeah I think he has human parents here. Or had. He’s not very open about his family. He’s here to help, I think. Has great amounts of honour, for an Elf. I think he’s like, decades old or something. Have you seen him shoot a bow? Never seen anything like it. And my brother Jamal used to win every contest in the county! The Elf’s sort of watching my back now. We’re pretty close. … Yeah well Elves probably don’t need to assert their friendship every time we meet. You know, he’s- Oh here he comes. Hey Gal’Hadar! Hey! Gal’Ha- Hi, it’s me! Remember me? Nas? Nasir! Hi!

[JLT*]

Nas Wrote:So, you were there, right? When the Castellan of the Castle on the Rock assembled the town to ask for volunteers? Did you see me? I was totally, like, “By my honour, I will find your man, and bring him back safely!” Like a boss. Or Duke.

Anyway, so, yeah the Castellan had sent that runner guy Berron to Stalkers Hill, in Cwlldon, you know the place? Used to be a fort or something where the Guardian’s scouts used to hang out. Berron had not returned from Stalker’s Hill, so Castellan asked for volunteers to go and look, right?

When I had volunteered, The Elf and the Blackhand kid seemed to support me, and wanted to go with me. They didn’t really seem happy about it at first, but they soon came around when I told them I knew the way, and we’d be back within a few days. Castellan gave us a sealed letter to give to the new Lord of Stalker’s Hill, we gathered some supplies and were rowed to the Mhoriedian shore of the Maesil.

So, back when I lived at Ansien Castle, I had my own horse you know, but I couldn’t bring him when we left. That meant travel from the Rock to the Hill was all on foot. Man, that was rough. At one point I totally lost track of where we were and everything. No, I did know the way. I’d seen all my grandfather’s campaign maps. But I’d never actually been to Cwlldon myself. I tell you, distances become a lot greater when you actually have to walk up every Learme-loving hill and past every little Shadowed-up wood. We didn’t bring nearly enough food for the amount of days we were actually on the road.

Then, by a stroke of luck, or Avanalae’s blessing, we came up to a little abandoned loggers cottage and went in looking for food. Guess who was lying there, on the floor, bleeding? Right. Berron the Runner.

[JLT*]

Nas Wrote:Berron was in a really bad shape, but I managed to stop his bleeding by applying a few tricks my older brother had shown me once when one of our hunting dogs was gored by a boar. Berron was feverish though, and there wasn’t much to do from that point except wait. We were convinced that moving him while his fever was this high would surely kill him. Berron wasn’t talking so we didn’t know who had hurt him.

Gal’Hadar the Elf took his bow to the roof and Johann searched for the larder while I tended to Berron. The elf tapped the roof a few times and then I saw them approaching. Four hunters with big dogs. They didn’t look the type that hunted for game, though.

Johann and myself rode out to meet them, headi- What? Yes, yes, walked out to meet them. Their leader was like this, big, powerfully built woman who seemed like she could at any point attack and gnaw one of Johann’s ears off. She said they were looking for a thief who had stolen something from Hadred, the Lord of Stalker’s Hill. They were totally looking for Berron. And their Lord’s name sounded totally evil.

I told her Berron was or lord’s man, and by our honour we would not easily give him up, but we were happy to follow the hunters to the Hill once Berron was back on his feet in a few days. We wanted to talk to this new Lord of Stalker’s Hill anyway. Johann can be really convincing, you know, when he’s sober. He convinced the hunters to go and ask their Lord whether it’s be alright if we’d be coming by in a few days.

A few hunters left, a few stayed, to watch us. The Hill was a days ride- huh? yes, walk. A day walk away. After two days, four hunters returned. They came in the cottage to talk. You know what they said? “Boss said to kill the nobles, bring the thief.” Jerks.

[SageGenesis]

Loving these, but the new lord of Stalker's Hill is called Hadred.

[JLT*]

Haha I just remembered it was something profoundly evil. XD

[JLT*]

Actually, there's a lot I dont really remember from the second part of that evening, I should've done these right away.
Perhaps app me some notes.

[SageGenesis]

I'll go over the highlights. No IC notes though.

* The warriors of the Hill were defeated after a tense but brief battle. The hounds were slain but the surviving men were allowed to return home, with the message that you were not their enemies. You then returned home as well, with Berron.

* Back at the Rock, you eventually received word that a wizard named Vaelen was calling for a moot. Important peoples from the southern provinces of Mhoried were invited to come to Ghieste, which is an important trade city downriver in Ghoere and remained untouched by the war. The purpose of the moot would be to find common ground again and eventually gather enough strength to push out the goblins.

* You went as representatives to this moot by boat. On your travels you spotted numerous settlements along the riverbank, some of which were doing alright but many were abandoned husks.

* Prior to the moot itself, you spoke with Vaelen in private. It seemed to some of you that besides his noble intentions there was also another, hidden motive. Most likely to obtain something from a goblin leader called Duura the Witch. Vaelen may also have some partner, ally, or superior working behind the scenes.

* At the moot itself things went mostly well, although lots of boring matters were discussed. The more noteworthy things:

• Representatives of Durwyn the Thief-King showered everybody with food, drink, and trinkets.
• A dwarf merchant named Bofri had a stand at the side, showcasing all sorts of sharp objects. From razorblades and embroidery needles to daggers, swords, and various polearm heads. All were of exceptional quality.
• Lady Maeve Arcrest, a paladin of the Western Imperial Temple of Haelyn, sought the locals' permission to construct a temple-fortress from which to launch a crusade against the goblins. Although this could potentially extend Avanil's influence into these lands, anything is better than goblins. A workable compromise was reached.
• Boeram, a commoner from Elinie, asked for the blessings and assistance of the moot for a large group of refugees to settle somewhere for a few years while they prepare to retake their homeland. They will find a warm welcome at the Rock.
• Finally, Hadred the Lord of Stalker's Hill made an appearance, joined by well-armed warriors. He presented the moot with scores of goblin heads and made them a simple ultimatum: he has many warriors and has kept the southern provinces safe from goblin raids, even if they didn't realize it. Now he wishes to stand at the head of future moots, plus he demands gold from the traders, grain from the farmers, and wives for his soldiers. His demands were refused and he retreated, promising to withhold his protection for a full month. Then they shall see the folly of their decision.
  

* The moot over, everybody returned home. At the Rock, Berron had regained his health and consciousness. And he revealed what happened: he reached Stalker's Hill just in time to see goblins invited in, as guests! He immediately turned back to warn everybody, but he was spotted and chased down until eventually he was found by our heroes.


And that's the first session. I'll do the second session later on.

[SageGenesis]

And on the second session...

* Nasir spent time guiding and organizing the refugees from "his" land. The others meanwhile looked towards defensive measures, worrying that a goblin raid would only be a matter of time. They salvaged half-burnt beams for basic palisades and blocks, surveyed the land for decent defensive positions, and tried to teach the locals a trick or two. But it soon became apparent that their biggest concern right now was a lack of arms and armor. Without those they could never set up a halfway decent local militia.

* The heroes decided they needed an expedition towards Castle Botan, which stands to the very north of Maesilar at the very edge of the forest, watching over one of the few major roads which leads into the forest towards the capital. When the Blight set in, the castle and the surrounding city were abandoned. Perhaps weapons still remain within the armory? They arranged for a cart and a donkey.

* A fortunate alignment of interests! The wizard Vaelen wished to inspect several sites in the southern provinces, one of them being the very Castle Botan itself. He has heard of druids of Aeric having set up there to research the Blight and a potential cure for it, but more recently he's also heard rumors of goblins within that place. Our heroes and the donkey cart shall travel with him north.

* Goblins were met and slain during this voyage. Some of them were scum, others possessed an almost noble bearing. Didn't save them from the sword though. One of the local wandering goblin brigand-leaders is Dharg, and his warriors are marked by three lines scarred on the back of the hand. His followers seemed especially foul. Other goblins served the goblin witch Duura, marked by red paint on the left side of the face (or a half-lacquered helmet for those with better armor). These seemed more educated.

* Castle Botan and the city stood empty indeed. Vaelen set to investigate the library and the notes left behind by the druids, while the others snooped through the rest of the castle. They found some interesting things, such as a dead goblin with the mark of Duura and also some dead druids in the moat, but also a collection of notes with recent and detailed information about local human settlements. The goblins have spies amongst us!

* Our heroes found an odd red gem, glinting with an inner light as if it held an anvil's spark captive within. And better yet, an armory with indeed a decent haul of arms and armor.

* The investigation was then rudely interrupted by the sudden appearance of Dharg and his roaming band of goblins. Dozens, perhaps a hundred of them swarmed into the castle. Ghal’Hadar and Cruniac snuck out into the city, where they had hidden the donkey and the weapon-laden cart. Johann went to look for the wizard. He eventually found him in a high tower, where he had barricaded himself. Odd... it sounds as if he's talking to someone. Complaining or blaming them, even. Johann knocked and Vaelen said he was alone. He also said the heroes should get out of there without him, for he is a wizard and can escape by himself if needed.

* Our heroes then returned home. During the travel, a wrong fork in the road led to a bog where the cart got stuck. The donkey sank and drowned. The heroes could barely get out the cart, which they then had to pull by the hand the rest of the way, which was long and miserable.

* Back home, there were some reports of goblin attacks but none too nearby. The goblins come from the north and seem to lack boats to properly invade Carrach Maesilir itself. Other settlements, however, are less fortunate.

* True to his word, Vaelen managed to escape and came by to visit and ask how things went. The red gem was mentioned and Vaelen said that such items are known by many names, but the more common one is a Witch-Eye. They can be used in certain arcane rituals where they improve precision, range, and fine manipulation. Much like a glass lens can do for the eyes. Vaelen desired this gem but our heroes kept it for now. There was something fishy about Vaelen, and they confronted him with the things they had learned and heard. Vaelen was limited in what he could say, as he was under a geass-oath which prevented him from revealing the truth. But our heroes managed to guess: Vaelen is working together with a Spider!

* Vaelen could now say more, and revealed that back at the Royal College of Sorcery, he and a cabal of other wizards have turned to... less orthodox methods of acquiring power, for the sake of restoring the peace and (gods willing) the empire. His particular avenue has made him deal with a Spider, and the price demanded is a Witch-Eye gem.

* The heroes decided Vaelen could not get this gem from them.

* The heroes instead decided that this gem was better off with the elves, in exchange for their assistance with curing the Blight. Ghal’Hadar would know some people there who could help. He contacted the dwarf merchant Bofri (he was also at the moot if you recall), who often sails past Carrach Maesilir in his large merchant's barge. He knows of a hidden elf-path through the Sielwode, which he and his men may use to cross from the dwarven realms to the riverlands of men. They could sail up with him and cut through the smuggler's paths in the hills to elude the goblins, thus reaching the Sielwode.

* After some time the merchant and his entourage were stopped, as their group contained humans and a half-elf, which was not part of the deal they had struck with Bofri. Ghal’Hadar quickly explained the situation. A wise and particularly ancient elf was summoned, who arrived after a few days (meanwhile everybody could camp out and wait). The bargain was sealed: the Witch-Eye as a gift to the elf in exchange for them researching a cure for the Blight.

* Bofri continued on and the heroes went home again.

[Oddman]

Thanks! Good times.

Some more notes:

(27-03-2018 19:17:40)SageGenesis Wrote:  * The investigation was then rudely interrupted by the sudden appearance of Dharg and his roaming band of goblins. Dozens, perhaps a hundred of them swarmed into the castle. Ghal’Hadar and Cruniac snuck out into the city, where they had hidden the donkey and the weapon-laden cart. Johann went to look for the wizard. He eventually found him in a high tower, where he had barricaded himself. Odd... it sounds as if he's talking to someone. Complaining or blaming them, even. Johann knocked and Vaelen said he was alone. He also said the heroes should get out of there without him, for he is a wizard and can escape by himself if needed.

* The heroes decided Vaelen could not get this gem from them.

Vaelen's blaming of the counterparty was about sending the goblins there in the first place, to 'spur Vaelen to action'. This was a pretty clear indication that the counterparty was in league with goblins, or at least bad news. Vaelen's initial unwillingness to divulge his motives and his patron caused us to be very reluctant to trust him.

It may also be important to note that this Witch-Eye apparently carried a possession curse: hard to let go, impossible to take by force, only possible to be traded or given away. Hence us, a third party, having to loot it off a corpse; the original culprit being unable to do so.

In the end, Vaelen's decision to cooperate with Awnsheghlien is his own; we are not responsible to get him out of trouble. We would like to, but in the end we decided the cost of a Witch-Eye falling into the hands of the Adversary is not the way to go. Especially given Vaelen's stated end, curing the Blight, can be achieved without doing so. That was worth the 100-odd Treasure offered to us.

Other important clues: we interrogated a goblin, one of Duura's, and he confirmed friendly goblin dealings with humans. (I'm not 100% sure it was Hadred, but it was probably Hadred.)

[JLT*]

Maaan I hate missing most of the plot.

[SageGenesis]

You always miss some details in a hurry...

Also important note, Vaelen's deal is with a Spider, not the Spider.

[(me) Melchior]

We also found out that creating a witch eye is hard to do and particularly evil/shadow point generating, human sacrifice level.

[JLT*]

Seems like a very, very bad idea to keep that for long. Or to give it to anyone else, for that matter. And we would need an active vulcano to destroy it?

[SageGenesis]

Although the creation of Witch-Eyes involves some shady business, the objects themselves aren't evil. Nor is using one evil per se. Think of it like... having evil parents. Bad heritage but doesn't mean you also have to be evil.

And as for not holding on to it, good news everybody!