Once upon a time, several years ago, about twenty thousand people in Stormward suddenly had no place to go. The Liberators took up the call, expanding previous efforts of assisting those freed from bondage to make it work for -- a much larger number. And, because of the help of countless supporters who came together, they were able to see those people safely relocated (for those who wished to be) and resettled (for all of them) into new lives.

Well! Now we have...several tens of thousands of slaves from the Saffron Chain ending up in Arvum. That is quite a lot. Some of them already seem to be settling in the Lyceum where they landed, but the Liberators would not be doing their duty if they did not respond. And so Aleksei and a number of others are traveling south to see what can be done. A lot of ex-thralls from Stormward ended up settling in Setarco several years ago after Pravus offered such notable assistance, and he'll reach out to see if some of those people -- maybe some of them became Liberators! -- will offer some of their assistance, as people who have benefited from this sort of aid before, along with, of course, connecting with the local Seraph and the Faith discipleships in Setarco.

The process is simple enough: the Liberators always seek to give refugees as many choices as they can. Where do you want to live? What do you want to do? Aleksei provides as much guidance as he can, helping educate people on their options so they can find the path most suitable to them. And then, wherever they land, the Faith makes sure they have places to stay and food to eat as they go through the process of first finding work or apprenticeships to find their feet. A simple enough process! But one that requires a ton of work and resources.

At least it's not Aleksei's first rodeo, right?

Zara's bringing her diplomatic talents to apply to the problem. She has limited direct experience with refugees but a very great deal of experience in smoothing feathers in the midst of great change, as with the Great Road. She's also able to use her position as Voice of Valardin to aide those who would settle in the Oathlands.

Raya began her journey into the Faith, before taking her vows, as a disciple of Jayus. And she still believes there are none better who can aid those in need of finding gainful work as makers of beautiful things. So, she works her connections to help those who can craft find apprenticeships. She also offers instruction on the Pantheon and general cultural matters, so these new citizens can understand what's expected of them and acclimate to their new lives.

Having heard about the move by Aleksei and the Liberators to help settle the Eurusi refugees, Dianna is keen to go to the Lyceum, her birthplace and former home, to assist with helping smooth the transition of these people. She'll use her ability to charm and persuade mass groups of people - her prestige and renown having grown since becoming both Godsworn and a Third Reflection Mirrormask (and it hasn't hurt to be Countess Vanora's protege, as well).

In each of the encampments, inns, or other gathering places where these newly freed former-slaves congregate, Astrid will be there. She'll walk among them, shake their hands, kiss their cheeks. She'll arrange times to preach about Choice and its consequences, on the dogma of Skald. And any who wish to join the Compact (or re-join depending on where they were taken from) she will help find a new life.

Change can be frightening in the moment, even if it is ultimately for the better. Freedom may seem daunting after what feels like forever under the lash, but it is ultimately the first step to a new life. Estelle feels the divine calling of Lagoma to assist these multitudes in need as best as she is able to bolster them through to this new stage of their lives. Long trips and new places can unblance one's humors, and the Mercy will first seek to keep their bodies strong and healthy so that they are better able to focus on the encouraging mentions of what the Liberators and Arvum can offer.

Once upon a time, several years ago, about twenty thousand people in Stormward suddenly had no place to go. And Kennex were greatly in need of help and were greatly assisted by the liberators. Since then, Kennex has grown into a duchy and has a reputation for being one of the most progressive houses in Thrax, and all because of the Liberators help.

It is now time to help pay forward the help the Liberators gave to Kennex all those years ago, by providing support and assistance in the form of writs and silver and support. Catalana will leave the ships and moving people to the others more experienced with boats, while Catalana Kennex will come herself and help take charge of the paperwork. If it's one thing the lady knows, is that paperwork saves lives. She'll take note of what people say in their interviews and where they are interested in being placed. She will look at lists of who has lands available and match them to where is most suited. She will co-ordinate all ships coming and going and make sure each ship has the correct rations and passenger loads. At the end of the day, she will present summary reports and cost analysis to Aleksei and hopefully save him from pulling all his hair out.

Jyri has experience of similar situations, though the scope of this is much bigger than anything he's been involved with before. Either or, he hears Aleksei's call and immediately offers his help. His expertise in survival and leadership is his focus, he knows how to make much out of nothing, so he comes along - despite being quite dubious about travel at sea, should they need to get on a ship.

Before leaving, he held a raffle with one of his paintings as a prize, and a fair bit of extra resources was the result, all to help the refugees with. He also adds on a considerable amount of his own. As a former refugee, he knows fully well how rough this will be for them and every bit of coin helps.

So, his services are protection, and he can train refugees or put his skills as a leader to good use, making sure things run smoothly with his commanding aura. But, additionally - he is the Minister of Population for house Whitehawk and his house is offering housing and work to refugees, to as many as Whitehawk land can reasonably accept.

Darren loves a good liberation, and will gladly travel with Aleksei and the others down south with little grumbling to do his best to help out. He'll extol the virtues of the Northlands and Freedom and offer jobs and homes to those that would take Redrain up on their offer. He also brings with him a contingent of soldiers to ensure that both their own journey, and the journeys of those that wish to travel onwards from the Lyceum, are suitably protected.

Tatienne is a skilled merchant, affluent and willing to invest in this heavily to help the newly freed acquire genuine freedom. She figures this many people will need to be fed and clothed, and so she pulls in on her considerable network contacts to provide abundant amounts of both; and any excess funding can go to building up homes for the newly freed.

Orrin has done this before! Orrin has done this before repeatedly. Between readying his land for refugees with a particular focus on thralls (action 3129), building an entire town set up for the care and education of newly freed folks (action 3284), to screening refugees (acion 3358) and several rounds of hunting down cultists on the heels of that (plot 425), to freeing slaves in the Saffron Chain and settling them at Pearlspire (plot 595), Orrin is prepared for this in particular.

He's going to do three things.

1: He's going to make sure that everyone working on this - from Liberators in general to folks with their specific holdings - have an accounting of what has worked to prepare lands for refugees, what has been good but extraneous, what has been less effective. He's going to make sure that everyone working on this knows what has worked to find cultists and bad actors amongst refugees, in particular using those more familiar with the cultural background of the refugees in general to make note of those acting in ways that are inconsistent with people who legitimately just want to live their best free lives.

2: He's going to identify helpful folks from those who have successfully settled in Pearlspire from the Isle al'Aswaq, whether they are helpful because they have linguistic skills, keen insights into other people, or other social skills that would make them persuasive and capable of helping, and lead them through the process of refugee screening. For those holdings that are taking refugees who don't have such help, he'll try to identify people who would be willing to travel and do this work in other holdings as well.

3: He's going to offer homes to as many screened refugees as possible, with a focus on populating Breckendale Vale.

When the offer to help slaves from Eurus comes her way, Raja was dubious. She has her own private reasons to not get involved. However, curiosity wins at the end. This would be an opportunity to mingle with people from her place of birth, even though they are the lowliest slaves. She sets off with the Liberators, working alongside them to help settle in the now freed people.

Alessandro will be assisting with the finances of this sort of endeavor. There has to be some sort of budget, and the more it's stretched, the more refugees can be settled somewhat comfortably and hopefully happily. He will also offer Greenhaven as one of the choices for the refugees to settle in, should they wish to. He has some experience with resettlement due to the aftereffects of the Great Road, and so he puts those to use now.

Porter Kennex will be using his position as Admiral of the Stormward Fleet to help transport refugees and get them resettled. They'll be given an opportunity to settle in Stormward, if they should so choose to.

Shard has limited resources, of course, but what she does have in abundance are a whole lot of sellswords available for work, and the ability to provide said work at the cost of their contracts alone, and without taking a cut herself or doing the usual mark-up for profit. And it just so happens that a fair chunk of those sellswords are ex-Kennex Thralls, recruited during that crisis many years ago. They'll be providing security and protection for the incoming refugees, as well as any necessary escort to wherever said refugees choose to go. She'll also be offering a place to any former slave who wants to actually take up the life of a mercenary.

Oh, and if any of her sellswords get any ideas about taking advantage of the needy circumstances of the people they're protecting, or for that matter sticking their fingers into the vast amounts of wealth that need to be moved around to make this happen, well, there are other examples to be taken from the Valorous Few's time in Kennex lands; that of the very swift violent end a few of them met when they decided to start looting. The Captain-General has no intention whatsoever of letting her crew run wild on this trip.

Mailys is a merchant, and that means several things:
1) She has considerable liquid assets, and she'll personally contribute five hundred thousand silver to this cause.
2) She has a talent for getting a -lot- of goods at a discount, and so many of these new refugees will need the sundries. They'll need a change or two of clothes, soap, pots and/or pans. They're going to need bedding, and tools of their trades-- or their apprenticeships, or whatever path they take. Mailys is going to do her absolute best to get the most bang for her buck, trying to get the perfect balance of quality and quantity. None of it's going to be amazing, but it'll all be quite serviceable.
3) She'll offer free room and board within Arx for one (1) year, for any refugees that don't find a place elsewhere, whether that is at Casa di Corsetina or one of the various boarding houses within the city.
4) Employment! Corsetina Merchantile has a wealth of job opportunities for all kinds of skillsets.

Elora accompanies her husband, Jyri, as he provides protection and trains/leads the refugees, she would provide medical services and advice to anyone that needs it, using her skills to spot illnesses and injuries before they become worse (or in the case of diseases, spread to the greater population), as well as providing triage so as not to no misuse valuable resources to ensure the best outcome for all of the surviving refugees.

A well-known merchant, Svana has the gift of a silver-tongue and a perceptive eye. House Stahlben and Svana will donate silver to the cause as well as other resources - though Svana's main goal during this trip will be to help manage those resources. There is a art to stretching both gold and resources. And due to Svana's exquisite charm, it might not hurt to have her talk to those who might be liberated or are newly liberated. She can be very persuasive - even better when the cause is a good one.

It's a huge undertaking, but goes well as can be expected. The largest concern for most is of cultural clashes, as most of the Eurusi fleeing the war in the Dune Kingdoms are aghast at the thought of giving up their worship, and it's complicated that the Eurusi don't all share the same religion with one another, and that the Oathlands Orthodox would be horrified at the thought of thousands upon thousands of non-believers settling among the Compact. True, they all swear oaths of fealty under the sight of Limerance, so they don't -reject- the Pantheon, but that's not the same thing as whole heartedly accepting it. Still, through a monumental effort, the Eurusi ex-slaves and refugees are spread throughout the Compact and it's a triumphant relief effort.

Which is not to say there's not incidents.

While searching for the ill intentioned among the Eurusi, Aleksei gets an uncomfortable feeling among one particular group that has a few burly ex-soldiers that deserted from the Dune Emperor's armies. The soldiers are three scarred and dangerous looking individuals, standing out in a group of a mix of refugees that includes a kindly old woman who must be in her eighties. The little old lady walks haltingly with a cane as she translates in heavily accented Arvani for the group of Eurusi, and seems a little frazzled as she struggles to respond to the angry demands of the former soldiers. The soldiers seem to have a cultural clash with the idea of taking an oath of fealty underneath a foreign god, as they fear it will bind them and make them slaves, misunderstanding the implications. A group of templars moves in to help keep the calm, as Zara tries to ease tensions, and Aleksei, Astrid, Raja and Shard approach to assist.

The little old lady seems very grateful for the help, and turns towards Raja, "Oh! Dear me, you're the whelp of Rasheem Al'Harashi the Traitor, aren't you? I'm going to eat your heart." She smiles toothily and begins to reach forward towards a recoiling Raja, as a templar instinctively steps forward in reflex.

The old woman casually juts her cane towards the templar and it pierces through his platemail breastplate as if it was paper, and she flicks her wrist up and down, lifting the impaled templar in the air with her cane and bringing him crashing down on the cobblestones with such force that the templar's upper body turns to an unrecognizable paste and the stones shatter below.

In the next few seconds,dozens of swords leave sheathes, even as the templars look around in confusion at what the threat in could possibly be as screams and panic takes the crowd, with the previously worried eurusi soldiers scrambling and running. The little old lady is pouncing forward as Raja dances back and stabs with a previously hidden alaricite dagger as dozens of Culler thugs that had been milling around the docks rush forward to help Raja. Arrows whistle through the air from Shard, punching into the old woman who is tittering with a disturbing laugh as she skitters forward spider-like, reaching up to tear a Culler gang member in half with her hands as one gets between her and Raja.

Then the templars and Culler gang members are on her, as well as a half-dozen arrows feathering her body from Shard. As the little old lady tears another templar's head off, dozens of dagger, sword, spear and mace hits impact the horrifying threat, and though she is impossibly tough, the wounds start to cut her apart. Jyri finally cleaves off her head with the Howl, his massive glaive, and the decapitated head is still laughing, "THE PROPHET WILL DRINK DEEP OF YOUR BLOOD! THE PROPHET WILL COME FOR YOU ALL! THE PROPHET WILL..." And an arrow through the forehead from Shard silences her.

So that happened.

With a band of skilled outdoorsmen, explorers, cartographers, soldiers, and other miscellaneous tag-alongs, Baron Silas Whitehawk sets out on a quest to further acquaint himself with his lands. Beyond mere curiosity, this is also to ensure there are no nasty surprises when he expands his demesne. Goals are as follows:

- Map the region in its entirety, accurately. Note mountains, landmarks, villages, mines, etc.
- Explore ruins, if any, unless inhabited by hostile entities
- Determine which land is suitable for additional farming, mining, and housing
- Try to do all the above without trespassing on abandoned land or running afoul of hostile abandoned tribes in the area

Additionally, he is also interested in uncovering what may have happened to the noble houses who once oversaw his lands - before they were apparently exterminated during the Elven War and Crownbreaker Wars. Could there still be artifacts left behind from these battles? Or were they completely wiped away, leaving absolutely nothing to denote their existence? He hopes his own doesn't meet the same fate as House Grayfellow, House Tallow, and nameless Bisland vassal house.

A small military retinue will be deployed in case they unintentionally run into trouble, but not one large enough to draw alarm if they approach borders.

A soldier and a survivalist, Jyri puts his skills to use for the Whitehawk barony. He's no cartographer, but he knows the forest and can lead any team safely through dangerous areas. He'll use his scouting abilities and expertise at surviving in the wilds, tracking abilities and hunting skill to good use. The dogs will go with him for extra help with that. If encountering Shav'arvani, he'll avoid violence and try to talk with them instead, but he'll try to avoid meeting them entirely for this particular mission.

Elora will be on the outskirts of helping. She doesn't want to put herself in danger in her current state, however, she will help chart the safer areas, and speak with the local wildlife for clues and information that only the animals of the area might now.

Evonleigh is not a skilled explorer, cartographer, soldier, or outdoorsmen, but she is a miscellaneous tagalong -- one with a charming demeanor and skills in diplomacy. These she will put to work by chatting up the locals and making sure that her party doesn't offend the wrong people. She'll ask for directions, advice and stories from the people she encounters, and make sure the group is seen in a good light to the best of her ability.

Oswyn's good at a few things - he maps, he's good with riddles, puzzles, and lore, and he's a decent healer. Cuts? Scrapes? Broken legs? He is along to fix them. Making friends with isolated villagers that might need basic medicine is also a thing. He'll keep his eyes open, too.

Vitalis is along as eyes and ears on the foray into the lands surrounding Hawkhold. He's an experienced scout and works well to fill out the mission's objective of cataloging the lands in detail. He is not familiar with this part of the Gray Forest and is quick to ask those who are about things he notices, trusting both trained and innate senses to alert him to anomalies or dangers.

There is a special importance to Whitehawk's lands for Sparte, and he is more than happy to help in this. Pulling from his experience as an explorer and a cartographer, he'll do his best to ensure the goals set forth by Baron Silas are met.

he will be particularly interested in any of the history of the land that comes to light, given his connection to the lost House Grayfellow.

The survey takes quite some time to complete, and even then it's not truly complete. For the most part, Sparte is able to make a lovely map of the area as a whole. But there are several areas that he cannot thoroughly map.

One is an Abandoned area where Vitalis and his scouts encounter opposition and hostility - they've set perimeters and while they don't leave those boundaries, they are obvious enough about their rather thorough guarding of their determined border that Vitalis and his scouts know it will take a fight to oust these people from this small section of territory.

Another is a section where Oswyn seeks - and he falls to the ground at one point, blinded. "It's so -bright-," is all he says before he passes out. And when he awakens, hours later, he has a terrible headache that lasts for two days.

Evonleigh visits a few places, with Jyri making sure she's well protected as she goes. There are a few taverns and places for travelers to stay that aren't really part of Silas' lands, but after talking to them it seems they might not be averse to joining those lands. Provided the terms were acceptable to both parties - those tavernkeepers have an eye for business, and will need to be convinced that joining Whitehawk would be good for business and not bad - and they have no intention of stopping caring for those travelers not part of the Compact - silver spends, regardless of source, after all.

And Elora points to a place on the map where she says the animals will not go. Absolutely will not, cannot, not ever go. They call it "theplacewhereevilgoeswhywouldyouevengetcloseyoulunatic" and speak dark words of death and horrors.

But overall, the map is complete - the area surveyed.

As consul of Arvum Refugee Relief Group, Jyri is not one to be idle. In fact, he might be doing things a bit too fast sometimes, but he sees little point in waiting around while people suffer, and if he can do something, he will do it. This mission, under the (literal) banner of ARRG (he's made one, based off a painting he's made), is something that he feels strongly about. However - he really can't do this alone because he is not a diplomat. Hence...

Jyri gathers a team of diplomats, healers, empaths and soldiers who will go out and talk to refugees along the great road, abandoned ones particularly but others too if there are any. Abandoned refugees will be given an offer: bend the knee, swear fealty to the Compact, and they will be given quite a few good options.

1. Move to Stahlben lands - the Stahlbens are willing to take refugees on and give them homes and work.
2. Move to Laurent lands - Laurent house too has offered to take in refugees and offer homes and work.
3. Those of an agricultural bent (farmers, crafters) can move to Igniseri lands as Countess Quenia is in need of workers. They will be provided homes.
4. Soldiers can apply to join the Iron Guard, assuming they get through the vetting process.

Families will not be split up and groups will be moved with their tribal affiliations in mind as much as possible. They're not choiceless and will be listened to, even if there is a hard demand on them to bend the knee before being offered new homes.

To ensure this meets with some success, he won't be the one doing the talking if he can help it; that's why he's asked the experts to help with this. He will lead the group, he will protect them (and bring some hired guards along), and he can tell any Shav'arvani about his own experiences as an ex refugee who has joined the compact, but smooth talking is not his forte.

Additionally, a lot of resources and silver will be poured into it. The refugees will be well fed and equipped with good basic gear if they are lacking (even those that do not want to bend the knee will be given this.) Medical supplies will be provided too, for those that are hurt or sick, as much as they can be helped. The ARRG has received a fair few donations in a raffle and through the Whitehawk Charity shop, which is put into this endeavour.

An adventure upon the Great Road in order to bring peace and prosperity throughout Arvum! That's the dream and the ambition, anyway. There are people in need... there are people out there who aren't necessarily in need, but no less need to be given the good word of the Compact. Marquis-Consort Hadrian Mazetti is there to support Lord Jyri Whitehawk's efforts. To speak to the Abandoned about the virtues of the Arvum Refugee Relief Group(ARRG), the works they've done thus far in settling those returned to the Compact and even those citizens of the Compact, into new homes. Fluent in the shav'arvani dialects of the Lyceum and Oathlands, he lends his aid in that manner. Acting as both a translator and hosting more direct communication between himself and those they encounter. He lays on the charm, of course, because that's what Hadrian Mazetti do... but neither does he lie to these people - he's honest that reintegrating into the Compact can have challenges that one must face and overcome. He points to Lord Jyri Whitehawk as a success story, points to other renowned Prodigals within the Compact in recent years who have distinguished themselves with service to the Compact, the Pantheon, and more.

He would be remiss not to include mention of the many Prodigals which joined the banners of House Mazetti with the threat of the Pirate King on the horizon and how they have prospered under Mazetti rule, under the auspice of the Compact. He, again, is not above being honest and forward in mentioning that while the Prodigals under House Mazetti (and many other Houses, no doubt) have prospered, so too have those lands and noble Houses which the Prodigals have bent the knee to. A House, its lands, and cultures are people. From high to low, it takes all working together to create a brighter future, which is what is on offer. A chance to work together through shared dreams, mutual cooperation, and an eagerness to forge a better (and perhaps bolder) future for all.

Ever eager to prove she's more than a mere character on a stage in a pretty costume, the actress-turned-diplomat Evonleigh Whitehawk is happy to speak to the Abandoned and other Refugees. She speaks persuasively on the behalf of her fellow Whitehawk Jyri, the Compact, and the houses Stahlben and Laurent, lauding the merits of their lands and the security of life under their protections. Lady Evonleigh uses her charms, as ever, but her recent experiences with diplomacy have taught her a bit more about knowing how to approach different groups of people -- what approach will work best, which to steer away from, when to change approaches, etc. Evonleigh will rely too on her knowledge of Crownlands Shav, to pick up any tidbits here or there while they travel, or to use when she thinks showing she can speak it might earn her a point or two in her favor. And she'll play with the children, teaching them here

Cambria lends her aid to Jyri's grand effort. As they travel the Great Road, she does her best to promote those key points that all are hoping to drive home to those who are either uncertain, or against what is being proposed.

Lothar is, of course, ready and willing to help when the call comes; he's there to help protect the other envoys as they travel out along the road, though it happens that his own life serves well as an example of the benefits of bending the knee and accepting the light of the Gods into your life, particularly Gild.

Mina has been doing a lot of work for the Iron Guard, it's a lot of talking and soothing bruised egos, but it's something she loves doing. Amicable outcomes are extremely satisfying, but improving a group of people's lives would be even better. After hearing about Lord Jyri's raffle, she dumped quite a bit of her resources gained from her work into it to help out with the refugee problems. It didn't hurt that there was a beautiful painting up for grabs, either.

When Lord Jyri offered the country bumpkin a place in the group to reach out to the refugees she could hardly believe it. She could change people's lives by just using her silver tongue. It's never too difficult for the farm girl, the promise of something good along with a cheery demeanor and some flattery would convince many a listener. And Mina certainly had a cheery demeanor, she was so excited to talk with them and greet them with all of the stories of how so many of the people of Arx, nobles included, welcomed and helped her get settled in. Surely some first hand experience with relocation would be beneficial.

If there's any arena in which Isabeau might arguably excel, it's matters of diplomacy. Accordingly, she will accompany Lord Jyri's small contingent of those looking to persuade any Abandoned refugees to consider bending the knee, joining the Compact, and settling in House Laurent's lands. As it so happens, she is versed in Oathlander shav'arvani slang, and may even be able to communicate with them in their own tongue.

Happy to help try to bring hope and healing to anyone, Elora joins Jyri and the others. While they work on the democratic style dealings, she will focus her efforts on looking after the sick, both animal and human alike. She'll make sure that nyone who might want aid will get it, along with offering a little teachings on their own methods of first aid to help the healers and medicine people learn more methods.

Quenia talks about the benefits of being part of the compact, and a community that absorbs other people in their environment. She speaks to the work that she did with the former Thraxian thralls, taking those that wanted new homes and lives into House Igniseri as well as giving them jobs, homes, and a solid way to live their lives on their own terms within the confines of the law. She tells them of the project that she has that's up and coming, building a large agricultural center - which should take quite some time to complete - and offers those that wish jobs and homes within the compact to come work for House Igniseri, provided of course they bend the knee. She promises they'll have a safe place to live, and additional work even after the ag center project is completed. Additionally, she will provide safe passage via ship to make the travel load for those that want to go to Arx, Granato, Artshall or Bonespire much shorter than traveling completely over land.

Rather than attempting to sway hearts and minds with logical arguments and compelling oratory, Tabitha will act to gather information that the real diplomats can make use of. She'll talk with respect and kindness to the Abandoned refugees, with the aim of using her natural empathy to discern their interest and concerns relating to joining the Compact. The idea here is to listen carefully, and to pass on her findings to the diplomats so that they can use them to figure out the best approaches to their task, and hopefully apply some diplomatic damage limitation to the endevour in advance. Misunderstandings between the Compact and the Abandoned have been an issue in the past, after all. Tabitha also speaks Crownlands shav'arvani, so hopefully this will be of use.

The amount of suffering on the Great Road for different Abandoned is immense, and Jyri on behalf of the Arvum Refugee Relief Group leads a successful effort to relieve that, though it's not without complications.

Most Abandoned traditionally flee or fight on any contact with the Compact, and most bend the knee really only after defeats, but these diplomatic efforts have a higher percentage of success, particularly when Evonleigh and Isabeau help speak to them. Some groups still refuse and flee, particularly ones with heretical beliefs that they simply will not Abandon in order to join the Compact, but it's a much larger amount that settles to Stahlben, Laurent, Mazetti or Igniseri lands than most have accomplished, and a significant number that choose to move towards Arx look to join the Iron Guard. Hadrian, Cambria, Quenia help ease the transition to the different lands, and Tabitha, Elora, Mina and Lothar help keep them safe in transit, which is no easy task.

The biggest danger, of course, is that some of the traditionalist factions that object to -any- Abandoned becoming prodigals, and associate houses friendly to refugees as extremely friendly towards Abandoned, but that will be happening regardless for any outreach efforts.

The Lodge of Petrichor stands - at a heavy price. Directly after the attacks stopped, a new unit was made in the Iron Guard: The Rangers, or the scouts. Jyri calls them The Crows. The unit will be a hundred men strong, but the Iron Guard is down with a thousand men, so recruitment is still ongoing. However, the existing new unit has some soldiers in it and they need to get to work despite being new.

Jyri will take the scouts out to the Lodge, and dispatch five groups with five men/women in each group out and scout around the Lodge. He wants to get back reports on the effects of the forst, that the Horned God and his minions left behind. He wants to see if there are Shav'arvani refugees that could be convinced to come to Arx to get help. He wants to see if there's been an effect on the land itself - trees, animals, anything odd. The scouts will be asked to stay out for no longer than two nights, and then report back. THey are NOT to engage in fights, but try to remain unseen or simply withdraw if they have to. Fighting will be if they have to defend themselves.

Jyri will scout himself as well, despite a severe lack of stealth, with a team of Iron Guards and close allies.

Reese would like to like join Jyri and help to scout. She would like to go on a scouting mission and help to collect information. She is following Jyri's lead on this mission and will only take over overall command if an emergent need for such arrives. Her goal is to find out information, not draw notice and not cause any trouble. She wants to be good strong support for Jyri and the Iron Guard on this scouting mission. She will fight if she has to in self defense, but her goal is to avoid fights and just collect intel.

Elora is going to be joining up with the scouts, working on her own stealth (which she currently has none of). She'll join Jyri in helping with the Shav'arvani refugees, offering medical aid where she's needed to them, soldiers, and wounded animals. She'll also be checking the area to make sure that the animal's homes are mostly undisturbed and that they can continue safely. She has a hawk and a hound to help aid her during her searches, one on the air and one in the ground.

concerned with the possible affects upon the land, Rhue has gone to specifically evaluate the trees and other flora for anomalies. While she does not have any stealth, she does have skills to assist injurred parties if necessary.

Marian offer her services to Jryi and the Iron Guard. She is willing to lead one of the parties sent out to scout into the forest. She will use her knowledge of survival to navigate the forest, treading lightly while she records the aftermath of the Horned Gods minions. She will bring her bow and on the journey teach the new recruits in her party how to survival in the forest. When she meets any Shav'arvani in the woods she will approach them as a prodigal, telling them of her experience in joining the Compact and trying to convince them to bend on knee. If they refuse, she will leave in piece, having the location mapped by one of her warriors. If they get aggressive, she will use her knowledge of the forest to quickly withdraw and disappear into the trees.

Harper has her own new orders to get underway from Bosshawk, but she's worked with Jyri for a long time and trained with him. So when her friend puts out the call for help, she naturally pitches in to help him build the team. When the time comes for the scouting, she'll head out with the others, taking along some of their new recruits on her team to use this as a training opportunity, as well as to gather information. Once in the field, she will set each of the recruits to their tasks before heading out herself with clear instructions not to engage, to stay low and out of sight, and to report back at regular intervals.

After all the trouble at the Lodge, it's hard to find any shav'arvani at all willing to talk to them. In fact, most scouts can't manage to find anyone at all. Whoever's still there in the Gray Forest, they're being extremely cagey and not at all welcoming to visitors. But this team is filled with seasoned scouts, so it's highly unlikely that they're going home empty-handed, right?

Reese, with her knowledge of the Gray Forest and her experience here, suggests they head northeast. There were plenty of problems coming from that direction toward the Lodge it's true, but by her reasoning that's also the most likely to have people resettled, now that the Compact has spent such time clearing out cultists and very large creatures who were perfectly normal and not any sort of name rhyming with "marmantuan."

Rhue keeps an eye on the foliage now too. With winter passing this should be the time of rebirth, but the foliage here in the forest is much greener than expected. The flowers are blooming early, and in such an abundance it's a heady trip through trees and grassy clearings of wildflowers. Dark red blood apparently does make the green grass grow.

Elora catches the next hint of life, studying the animals and their paths through the forest. She sees a family of deer, squirrels scampering through the trees, the trill of a delighted songbird. She stops, listening to the sounds of the forest and then she looks down and points. "That way," she says as she corrects their course due north now.

It's Harper that catches the next shift - she turns into the wind and sniffs, and there's a faint scent of smoke in the air. She raises a finger to her lips, a call for silence. Together they draw weapons, get ready, advance. Jyri shifts to point, Marian moves to rearguard. They move forward, together.

And they come upon.. a family. Around a campfire. They startle when they see the Compact's scouts, standing up quickly. The parents hide the children behind them protectively, but they raise their hands. It's clear they don't want trouble.

When questioned, they are quick to give up details. The cleansing of the Forest went surprisingly well. Those who followed the Horned God have gone, and their relief at not having the cultists and zealots nearby is palpable. Slowly they're returning to their homes, the shav of the Forest. But though they're grateful to the Compact for handling the massive problems and cultist issues, most of them simply want to live their lives. "No trouble," they says. "We want no trouble."

And that is the current status all through the Forest. Oh, the scouts find evidence of squabbles, and once in a while what looks like signs of a raiding party. But it seems that relative peace has returned to the Gray Forest.

For now.