Sus'Ann seriously thinks about casting a healing spell on the chieftain and his blooding eye, but than she just murmurs a silent prayer to the Refiner and follows the others out of this "holy place".
Nareth shakes his head with disappointment. He makes a discreet bow, then suddenly after a short while raises his eyes on Priest:
" I make this sacrifice in the name of your gods, Priest. So be it! ", Nareth gives a hopeless look on Lagrord. He was desperately missing Colden's wisdom at this point, the captain was confident at the battlefield but but he used to rely on someone smarter in matters like this.
" Your people took away our ceremonial weapons, but I need a sharp blade to make this sacrifice, as ritual the demands. I need my weapon of war to commit this sacrifice. We arrived to this Holy Place bearing the will of Astorwind but we obey your traditions and rituals, so expect we from you. "
" Colden, Refiner damn it! Why are you silent?! ", thought Nareth and and the shadow of anxiety crept into his mind.
*Largrord steps in front of Nareth and stares him in the eyes*
"Whatever you're about to do, don't. We don't need the help of these cowed and terrified people. They have already denied help. You can do far more good than a senseless sacrifice."
" Two of them has voted to follow us, and made a significant sacrifice. At least we can make it 3 against 2, don't ya see? As I said, I am not going to jeopardize the King's mission and quit now, when there is at least something I can do! "
Chief Aros raises his bloody eyebrows in surprise at Nareth’s proclamation. “You are not of our people,” he says. “What tribe do you represent that you can make such a sacrifice? You have no voice here. Our people did not choose you as their leader, as they did the delegates. You were appointed by one man, a wicked blasphemer, Corak the Betrayer!” His eyes flash in anger as he mentions the name, and the name of the King is nearly torn from his lips as though it injures him.
“Allow the man to make his sacrifice,” says the Delegate of the West. “It may be a step to bridging peace with our people!”
Chieftain Aros glares at the delegate. But then the Delegate of the South says, “Aye, they came here as brothers, let him placate the spirits as a brother.”
The other delegates are nodding in agreement. Chieftain Aros raises his arms. “So be it! But this man does not represent a tribe, therefore his vote will not sway the tie. He has not been chosen by the people, therefore he cannot speak for the people. But if he wishes to appease the spirits, he may.”
As Nareth steps forward to the pit, the Delegate of the West hands him his ceremonial battle axe.
My gosh, interesting stuff is happening there, @ThacoBell
Mmmkay... Nareth's stats are Strength 16 (+3), Dexterity 14 (+2)
I am still not sure if he can resist sudden Lagrord's blow, with Sus'Ann's help...
I think, we need @Skatan to join the party here as well
Nareth falls on the ground and angrily spits the dirt out.
" Are you nuts, matey? What do ya think ya are doing?! You are no my King, Lagrord! Who gave you the authority to decide what should we do? Witchcraft bounds Master Colden's tongue but I still remain His Majesty's Senior Guard and Regiment Captain!.. And I will not back down, as long as there is at least some hope of fulfilling our Quest. And this is what ya should do! "
Nareth gazes angrily and surprised at Lagrord. He prepares himself for the next blow of the half-orc.
Sus'Ann desperatly tries to think out something, with which she can improve the downhill moving situation, but every intervention she can come up with makes this even worse, so she just set her jaw, and pretend to be a statue.
Chief Aros and the Delegates look on at the proceedings with surprise.
But Chief Aros, well spoken and quick thinking, speaks out to the crowd. “Behold! Our enemies can’t even unite themselves in our holiest of temples! They are blasphemers to the spirits, to wage violence without the proper rituals enacted!” he proclaims hypocritically, stepping over the rolling head of his morning’s victim.
The crowd roars in anger and disapproval.
“Will you sacrifice a drop of your palm’s blood to the spirits, Astorwind soldier, as you said?” screams Chief Aros, eating up the crowd’s adulation. “Or will you go back on your word and prove my wisdom in refusing to trust your people?! Do you allow this half-orc to dictate your honorable word?”
The crowd erupts in menacing screams and cries of outrage.
You all can tell this is a turning into a more dangerous situation. Cunningly, Chief Aros has turned Largrod’s good will and concern for his friend into a tool to unite the crowd against them. He is indeed an evil and cunning man to so quickly corrupt the good intentions of the rightly worried half-orc servant.
Yet, all of you, even those of you who are not particularly pious, can feel a sense of comfort about you. A light falls upon Nareth, faithful of his Refiner, in stark similitude to Aros’ darkness a few moments ago around his arms.
The sun parts the clouds and a ray of light breaks to shine on the faithful group. Lagrord feels with his mind, “Peace, my son... I know your afflictions, and command you to trust in me.”
To Nareth, “You are my voice. Speak in peace to these my children the words I command you and your blood shall not be spilled... this day.”
To Sus’Ann, “Your child is with me, faithful... know that I have strengthened thee in thy mourning.”
To Colden, “Your lack of piety is of no consequence... you are a tool in my hand to make this land holy to me again.”
He speaks to Garta, but you cannot hear the words.
The crowd gasps, and Chief Aros pulls back from the light. “The spirit of the sun!” he hisses. In the new light, you see him to be old, much older than he at first appeared, old and frail and weak and manipulative.
Nareth feels strength coursing through him, not shame or condemnation. He feels the Refiner fall upon him to speak his words to these heathens, these sacrificers of innocent, to hopefully turn some of them away from their dark, evil spirits and to the light of the Refiner.
Then the light disappears, but the feeling remains.
" Free folks of Wildlands! The almighty Will of the Refiner were exposed to all of us. Enough blood is spilled today! I sacrificed the most precious belonging of mine - my immortal soul - to the Refiner, and my flesh and blood belongs to him forever... He accepted this gift by exposing his Will to all of us today. Hear his Will as the Refiner speaks with my mouth: " I, the Delegate of the Astorwind, vote to unite our efforts under the one banner and face the foe! Here, within the walls of Warne Harsard-Wast I give you my oath of peace, as an ally, as a friend and a brother-in-arms! The Sun God is patient to other beliefs and I shall not disobey your worship of the Spirit of Dizrym, as never be Refiner's Word disobeyed. Join us in this struggle and shall the Sun God lead our folks to victory, to light and prosperity. "
The people of the crowd fall silent at Nareth’s proclamation and vote. The delegates look at each other, and at Chief Aros, who is huddled away from the light, unsure how to respond. The Delegate of the West takes off his Astorwind helmet to reveal a very young face, barely old enough to be a warrior. He looks at Nareth with admiration.
Then Chief Aros seems to gain his confidence back. He speaks, but it is tinny and empty, as though his voice pales in comparison to the will of the Refiner.
“My people!” he squawks. “This man has no voice here! He does not speak for you! His vote is voided! I vote to follow the spirit Dizrym!” He quickly slits his palm of his axe and splashes his blood into the pit, where a sizzling sound can be heard.
The crowd rumbles, but whether it is in agreement or not is unclear. The Delegate of the West screws up his face in anger at Chief Aros vote, but no one seems to notice.
“Guards, please kindly escort our guests, who came in peace and may leave in peace, out of our holy temple,” says Chief Aros.
Left with no choice, you follow the guards back through the pits and debris to the chain fence, leaving rather anti-climatically. The guards do not speak to you when they bring you back to Jirt, Kefto, and FG-11.
“Well, how did it go?” asks Jirt as he hands you back your weapons.
@ThacoBell, mate no! Basically I did just wanted to cut my palm - not sure it would have been enough though. My soldier is kind of stupid, but not that stupid.. Sorry for misunderstanding, because I did not get why Lagrord is against this as well. Why would somebody jump into pit? Nareth would probably through babbling gnome though, it's a shame our party missed him. But from the other side this Gnome is definitely a more talkative person, than the captain.
Sus'Ann feels warmth and comfort as the Refiner's light and words imbue her. She feel a teardrop escaping from the corner of her eye.
*Forgive me my my lack of faith my Lord in the moment of despair. I had been frozen in the time of need, i should have known all i have to do is pray and ask You to be with us. Thank You your help and please, shine your light on these poor souls here too.*
Being pulled by the guards, Nareth yells to the crowd:
"You can stay! Take cover in burrows and hope that the Horde won't fond you! It’s still not too late to join and fight back with joint efforts. Otherwise, soon those of you who chose to sacrifice the best warriors instead of facing the foe, will envy the dead! The Refiner grants salvation to those who fight their way to freedom instead of hiding behind!" , but his fervor diminished markedly, the fanatical gleam in his eyes began to vanish slowly.
Oh man.. I missed all the fun, the climax! I''m back now from my vacation. It seems Nareth stepped up though and did all the things Colden failed to do Well played guys! And awesome narrative @mashedtaters!
Not sure how I should RP that Colden was silent. A cat got his tongue? :P
Colden contemplates these events thoroughly. He has doubts and he feels he failed the team. His plan nearly worked, but in the end he failed to bring it to full fruition as he froze and remained silent. Why did he freeze? It must have been the Refiner itself who made his tongue stick to his gums. He had tried to speak, but no words had come. He had struggled to open his mouth, but his lips had remained sealed. His logic dictates the only sane reason for this happening was the Refiner's plan to elevate Nareth. Yes... that must be it. He didn't particularly like to be played with like a little puppet by the Gods. Pff.. "Gods".. who needs them when we sentients have reason, logic, learning and even magic? But.. the Refiner had actually spoken. Colden can't hardly remember reading about any similar situation before. He looks at Nareth again, with different eyes now. It's no mere grunt, no mere soldier walking there. It's a leader and Colden is a better advisor than he is a leader. Yes. I shall groom him as I have groomed The King, sharpen him and mold him into a great commander.
Colden walks in silence towards the exit as he listens to Nareth's last words being shouted at the denizens of the burrows.
“Well, how did it go?” asks Jirt as he hands you back your weapons.
"As expected." Colden replies laconically. "Who knows, perhaps we swayed part of the crowd, perhaps not. We are here, we are alive, and.. " Colden throws a glance at Nareth, ".. ." He let's the sentence die out, not really knowing what to say. How can anyone explain what just happened in there to these grunts? No, it's better Nareth do that.
"Team, when you're ready we should hold a council and decide on our next action. "
Nareth spits on the ground in the direction of leaving guards:
" Morons!.. ", he turns to Jirt and Kefto " We have nothing to discuss with these barbarians anymore! Having these bloodthirsty fiends among our rows is unacceptable. Refiner knows, what should we do next, ya were right woman ", Nareth turns to Garta " these folks prefer blood rather than words. After they ignored the Refiner's Mark I won't speak with them anymore. "
Nareth tries to avoid Lagrord's gaze. The captain was abused by sudden half-orcs blow and ashamed by his fall. Maybe he is becoming old? His warrior's reflexes have let him down for the first time. Nareth notices Colden:
" M'Lord Colden! What in Refiner's Name did just happened? What sorcery bounded your tongue?! How can we continue our Quest further from now on? "
Colden feels the shame of being blocked and takes a second to come up with a reply..
"What happened was exactly like I planned, I set the stage and you - Nareth - took it and delivered just the kind of passionate response we needed. It was obvious my logic was not enough to reach the hearts of the crowd, we needed something more.. genuine. I hadn't planned for Lagrord's intervention though, heh. ." Colden chuckles to de-dramatize what could otherwise be seen as critique, he knows the kid is probably beating himself up already and doesn't need any more.
"We did what we could and we have gained valuable information. We know the name of our enemy and we know these barbarians are terrified of it.. which should make also us think twice before we engage in open battle. We should probably head out and meet up with the King's army and give him this information. What do you think Nareth, what would be your next move? And also the rest of you, Lagrord, Garta, Sus'ann?" Colden deliberately neglects the grunts, he doesn't want their superstitions and fears infecting the group.
“ But we ... I mean, I failed the King’s Mission, now we can’t find allies to confront the Horde. We have got a valuable information though, but it by itself cannot hold the sword and fight in the battle. We can - and must! - provide this information to King. But ... ", Nareth’s face becomes stern" I admit that the original objective is failed and I don’t know what to do next. It remains only to join our King's troops until these ... savages sacrificed us. However, I acquired something more important by Refiner's Revelation, so I must not fear anymore. "
"We came with nothing and leaves with something; information and a new powerful ally.. maybe not the allies we seeked, but nonetheless.. " Colden gestures towards FG-11, "Effigy" as he calls him in his head. Who knows, perhaps the mighty golem could prove to be a mighty warrior on the field of battle?
"Laggie, everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure Nareth knows you meant no harm, quite the opposite really. "
I gotta admit I've forgot, but weren't we supposed to meet the main army rather than walk all the way back to Astorwind? My character should not have forgotten even if I have, haha I'm fairly sure that's what we said before we headed out.
Garta seems subdued and a little confused by light of The Unblighted she witnessed. She hardly seemed to be paying attention to the conversation.
“What?” she says after another prompting from the others in the form of an awkward pause, with everyone staring at her.
“Oh, yes... as you say, dwarf, we must meet up with my father and the army at the northern border.” She looks at her still broken leg and frowns. Then she looks up at FG-11 and her face screws up in interest. But she doesn’t speak her mind.
She kneels down to draw in the snow with a stick. “Here are we.,,. Here is Astorwind... here is he northern border. We traveled west and crossed the western border of the mountain range, here.” As she finished drawing three points in a triangle, she points to the huge mountain range you just passed. Then she looks north and points. “If we follow the mountain range to the north, we will come to the same pass that the orcs have used to cross into the Astorwind border. We may even get there before the king does. It will be easier going on this side, but it will be more dangerous as we are no longer in Astorwind lands.”
She looks at her broken leg again. “I had originally planned for us to climb back onto the mountain range and follow along its spine—” she points again to the mountain range and draws with her finger along its breach with the skyline “—but that is a decision which must be left to you. It would be faster to travel down here, as long as we avoid the monsters and enemies of this region. However, there may also be enemies lurking on the mountain range itself. We are no longer in friendly country, and I would not be surprised if we would have to fight before we get to the army.”
Jirt and Kefto nod grimly, gripping their weapons tightly. They appear to be ready for battle, despite Jirt’s shoulder wound and Kefto’s head bump. They are seasoned warriors, if a little on the spoiled side, and fiercely loyal to their Captain.
FG-11 looks in shock at Garta. “Fight? You mean argue? I hope you don’t mean we would have to hurt someone?!” He seems particularly disgusted with the idea, as though it causes him physical pain to even think about it.
I gotta admit I've forgot, but weren't we supposed to meet the main army rather than walk all the way back to Astorwind? My character should not have forgotten even if I have, haha I'm fairly sure that's what we said before we headed out.
Oh, my! Yes, you are right, the party has to venture forth and join the main army, bacuse Gressick now is in Astowind, keeping an eye on the garrison. I edited my post.
Comments
" I make this sacrifice in the name of your gods, Priest. So be it! ", Nareth gives a hopeless look on Lagrord. He was desperately missing Colden's wisdom at this point, the captain was confident at the battlefield but but he used to rely on someone smarter in matters like this.
" Your people took away our ceremonial weapons, but I need a sharp blade to make this sacrifice, as ritual the demands. I need my weapon of war to commit this sacrifice. We arrived to this Holy Place bearing the will of Astorwind but we obey your traditions and rituals, so expect we from you. "
"Whatever you're about to do, don't. We don't need the help of these cowed and terrified people. They have already denied help. You can do far more good than a senseless sacrifice."
" Two of them has voted to follow us, and made a significant sacrifice. At least we can make it 3 against 2, don't ya see? As I said, I am not going to jeopardize the King's mission and quit now, when there is at least something I can do! "
“Allow the man to make his sacrifice,” says the Delegate of the West. “It may be a step to bridging peace with our people!”
Chieftain Aros glares at the delegate. But then the Delegate of the South says, “Aye, they came here as brothers, let him placate the spirits as a brother.”
The other delegates are nodding in agreement. Chieftain Aros raises his arms. “So be it! But this man does not represent a tribe, therefore his vote will not sway the tie. He has not been chosen by the people, therefore he cannot speak for the people. But if he wishes to appease the spirits, he may.”
As Nareth steps forward to the pit, the Delegate of the West hands him his ceremonial battle axe.
*Lagrord tries to knock his legs out from under him and pull him away from the pit*
"Cram! Sus'Ann! Help me! Don't let him go through with this!
Mmmkay... Nareth's stats are Strength 16 (+3), Dexterity 14 (+2)
I am still not sure if he can resist sudden Lagrord's blow, with Sus'Ann's help...
I think, we need @Skatan to join the party here as well
Nareth falls on the ground and angrily spits the dirt out.
" Are you nuts, matey? What do ya think ya are doing?! You are no my King, Lagrord! Who gave you the authority to decide what should we do? Witchcraft bounds Master Colden's tongue but I still remain His Majesty's Senior Guard and Regiment Captain!.. And I will not back down, as long as there is at least some hope of fulfilling our Quest. And this is what ya should do! "
Nareth gazes angrily and surprised at Lagrord. He prepares himself for the next blow of the half-orc.
Sus'Ann desperatly tries to think out something, with which she can improve the downhill moving situation, but every intervention she can come up with makes this even worse, so she just set her jaw, and pretend to be a statue.
But Chief Aros, well spoken and quick thinking, speaks out to the crowd. “Behold! Our enemies can’t even unite themselves in our holiest of temples! They are blasphemers to the spirits, to wage violence without the proper rituals enacted!” he proclaims hypocritically, stepping over the rolling head of his morning’s victim.
The crowd roars in anger and disapproval.
“Will you sacrifice a drop of your palm’s blood to the spirits, Astorwind soldier, as you said?” screams Chief Aros, eating up the crowd’s adulation. “Or will you go back on your word and prove my wisdom in refusing to trust your people?! Do you allow this half-orc to dictate your honorable word?”
The crowd erupts in menacing screams and cries of outrage.
You all can tell this is a turning into a more dangerous situation. Cunningly, Chief Aros has turned Largrod’s good will and concern for his friend into a tool to unite the crowd against them. He is indeed an evil and cunning man to so quickly corrupt the good intentions of the rightly worried half-orc servant.
Yet, all of you, even those of you who are not particularly pious, can feel a sense of comfort about you. A light falls upon Nareth, faithful of his Refiner, in stark similitude to Aros’ darkness a few moments ago around his arms.
The sun parts the clouds and a ray of light breaks to shine on the faithful group. Lagrord feels with his mind, “Peace, my son... I know your afflictions, and command you to trust in me.”
To Nareth, “You are my voice. Speak in peace to these my children the words I command you and your blood shall not be spilled... this day.”
To Sus’Ann, “Your child is with me, faithful... know that I have strengthened thee in thy mourning.”
To Colden, “Your lack of piety is of no consequence... you are a tool in my hand to make this land holy to me again.”
He speaks to Garta, but you cannot hear the words.
The crowd gasps, and Chief Aros pulls back from the light. “The spirit of the sun!” he hisses. In the new light, you see him to be old, much older than he at first appeared, old and frail and weak and manipulative.
What do you do?
" Refiner almighty!.. You glanced at the unworthy in this difficult moment! I'll do what you say. ", the captain folds his hands in prayer.
Then the light disappears, but the feeling remains.
" Free folks of Wildlands! The almighty Will of the Refiner were exposed to all of us. Enough blood is spilled today! I sacrificed the most precious belonging of mine - my immortal soul - to the Refiner, and my flesh and blood belongs to him forever... He accepted this gift by exposing his Will to all of us today. Hear his Will as the Refiner speaks with my mouth: " I, the Delegate of the Astorwind, vote to unite our efforts under the one banner and face the foe! Here, within the walls of Warne Harsard-Wast I give you my oath of peace, as an ally, as a friend and a brother-in-arms! The Sun God is patient to other beliefs and I shall not disobey your worship of the Spirit of Dizrym, as never be Refiner's Word disobeyed. Join us in this struggle and shall the Sun God lead our folks to victory, to light and prosperity. "
Nareth exhales.
Then Chief Aros seems to gain his confidence back. He speaks, but it is tinny and empty, as though his voice pales in comparison to the will of the Refiner.
“My people!” he squawks. “This man has no voice here! He does not speak for you! His vote is voided! I vote to follow the spirit Dizrym!” He quickly slits his palm of his axe and splashes his blood into the pit, where a sizzling sound can be heard.
The crowd rumbles, but whether it is in agreement or not is unclear. The Delegate of the West screws up his face in anger at Chief Aros vote, but no one seems to notice.
“Guards, please kindly escort our guests, who came in peace and may leave in peace, out of our holy temple,” says Chief Aros.
“Well, how did it go?” asks Jirt as he hands you back your weapons.
*Forgive me my my lack of faith my Lord in the moment of despair. I had been frozen in the time of need, i should have known all i have to do is pray and ask You to be with us. Thank You your help and please, shine your light on these poor souls here too.*
"You can stay! Take cover in burrows and hope that the Horde won't fond you! It’s still not too late to join and fight back with joint efforts. Otherwise, soon those of you who chose to sacrifice the best warriors instead of facing the foe, will envy the dead! The Refiner grants salvation to those who fight their way to freedom instead of hiding behind!" , but his fervor diminished markedly, the fanatical gleam in his eyes began to vanish slowly.
Not sure how I should RP that Colden was silent. A cat got his tongue? :P
Colden contemplates these events thoroughly. He has doubts and he feels he failed the team. His plan nearly worked, but in the end he failed to bring it to full fruition as he froze and remained silent. Why did he freeze? It must have been the Refiner itself who made his tongue stick to his gums. He had tried to speak, but no words had come. He had struggled to open his mouth, but his lips had remained sealed. His logic dictates the only sane reason for this happening was the Refiner's plan to elevate Nareth. Yes... that must be it. He didn't particularly like to be played with like a little puppet by the Gods. Pff.. "Gods".. who needs them when we sentients have reason, logic, learning and even magic? But.. the Refiner had actually spoken. Colden can't hardly remember reading about any similar situation before. He looks at Nareth again, with different eyes now. It's no mere grunt, no mere soldier walking there. It's a leader and Colden is a better advisor than he is a leader. Yes. I shall groom him as I have groomed The King, sharpen him and mold him into a great commander.
Colden walks in silence towards the exit as he listens to Nareth's last words being shouted at the denizens of the burrows.
"As expected." Colden replies laconically. "Who knows, perhaps we swayed part of the crowd, perhaps not. We are here, we are alive, and.. " Colden throws a glance at Nareth, ".. ." He let's the sentence die out, not really knowing what to say. How can anyone explain what just happened in there to these grunts? No, it's better Nareth do that.
"Team, when you're ready we should hold a council and decide on our next action. "
" Morons!.. ", he turns to Jirt and Kefto " We have nothing to discuss with these barbarians anymore! Having these bloodthirsty fiends among our rows is unacceptable. Refiner knows, what should we do next, ya were right woman ", Nareth turns to Garta " these folks prefer blood rather than words. After they ignored the Refiner's Mark I won't speak with them anymore. "
Nareth tries to avoid Lagrord's gaze. The captain was abused by sudden half-orcs blow and ashamed by his fall. Maybe he is becoming old? His warrior's reflexes have let him down for the first time. Nareth notices Colden:
" M'Lord Colden! What in Refiner's Name did just happened? What sorcery bounded your tongue?! How can we continue our Quest further from now on? "
"What happened was exactly like I planned, I set the stage and you - Nareth - took it and delivered just the kind of passionate response we needed. It was obvious my logic was not enough to reach the hearts of the crowd, we needed something more.. genuine. I hadn't planned for Lagrord's intervention though, heh. ." Colden chuckles to de-dramatize what could otherwise be seen as critique, he knows the kid is probably beating himself up already and doesn't need any more.
"We did what we could and we have gained valuable information. We know the name of our enemy and we know these barbarians are terrified of it.. which should make also us think twice before we engage in open battle. We should probably head out and meet up with the King's army and give him this information. What do you think Nareth, what would be your next move? And also the rest of you, Lagrord, Garta, Sus'ann?" Colden deliberately neglects the grunts, he doesn't want their superstitions and fears infecting the group.
“ But we ... I mean, I failed the King’s Mission, now we can’t find allies to confront the Horde. We have got a valuable information though, but it by itself cannot hold the sword and fight in the battle. We can - and must! - provide this information to King. But ... ", Nareth’s face becomes stern" I admit that the original objective is failed and I don’t know what to do next. It remains only to join our King's troops until these ... savages sacrificed us. However, I acquired something more important by Refiner's Revelation, so I must not fear anymore. "
"M-master Nareth, I apologize for attacking you. I was afraid you were about to do something dangerous. It was not my place."
"And master Sus'Ann, I also apologize for addressing you so informally."
Here it comes. I let myself get too comfortable and treated them as equals, rather than my surperiors.
"Laggie, everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure Nareth knows you meant no harm, quite the opposite really. "
“What?” she says after another prompting from the others in the form of an awkward pause, with everyone staring at her.
“Oh, yes... as you say, dwarf, we must meet up with my father and the army at the northern border.” She looks at her still broken leg and frowns. Then she looks up at FG-11 and her face screws up in interest. But she doesn’t speak her mind.
She kneels down to draw in the snow with a stick. “Here are we.,,. Here is Astorwind... here is he northern border. We traveled west and crossed the western border of the mountain range, here.” As she finished drawing three points in a triangle, she points to the huge mountain range you just passed. Then she looks north and points. “If we follow the mountain range to the north, we will come to the same pass that the orcs have used to cross into the Astorwind border. We may even get there before the king does. It will be easier going on this side, but it will be more dangerous as we are no longer in Astorwind lands.”
She looks at her broken leg again. “I had originally planned for us to climb back onto the mountain range and follow along its spine—” she points again to the mountain range and draws with her finger along its breach with the skyline “—but that is a decision which must be left to you. It would be faster to travel down here, as long as we avoid the monsters and enemies of this region. However, there may also be enemies lurking on the mountain range itself. We are no longer in friendly country, and I would not be surprised if we would have to fight before we get to the army.”
Jirt and Kefto nod grimly, gripping their weapons tightly. They appear to be ready for battle, despite Jirt’s shoulder wound and Kefto’s head bump. They are seasoned warriors, if a little on the spoiled side, and fiercely loyal to their Captain.
FG-11 looks in shock at Garta. “Fight? You mean argue? I hope you don’t mean we would have to hurt someone?!” He seems particularly disgusted with the idea, as though it causes him physical pain to even think about it.
Garta just looks at him, speechless.
What do you do?
Oh, my! Yes, you are right, the party has to venture forth and join the main army, bacuse Gressick now is in Astowind, keeping an eye on the garrison. I edited my post.