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| Action Id: 4555 | Crisis: | Participants: Lou, Lucita, Lisebet, Caspian, Mirk, Kedehern and Icelyn | |
| Status: Resolved | Submitted: Oct. 1, 2022, noon | Public: True | GM: Herja |
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Action by Lou
After attending several defense meetings, being involved in helping evacuate refugees during the razing of Artshall, and meeting with the Society of Explorers as a whole, Lou is taking the Explorers to help House Grayson scout the northwestern part of the Crownlands as indicated in the depicted map: https://imgur.com/a/CNeLZHg (the parts that are circled yellow and red -- also see @clue 4635).
The Explorers will start at northern most portion of the map outlined, which is closest to Frosthaven and Whitepeak and moving south toward the territory just at the base of the mountains above Cedar Vale. They will avoid going into Whitepeak at all; traveling up the mountain is an arduous task and also dangers may still lie there. They will check out the ruins at the base of the mountain where Forsthaven is located, then sweep through the remaining countryside. They are particularly interested in the area where the Arbres used to be homed (all in the red area circled on the map), since the whole tribe of shav'arvani vanished.
While they are almost certain that the Traitor was involved in clearing out the area, they are searching for any signs of survivors among the villagers and baronies that were known in those locations, additional information on how the potential abductions were carried out (all in the yellow circled area on the map), and any new dangers that might be presented in the area. It will be as meticulous a sweep as needs to be in order to bring further information back to Houses Redrain, Grayson, and Valardin.
In particular, they are also looking to see if any areas are being used as a staging grounds for a standing army or group that might do harm to the Crownlands holdings in general in hopes of getting that information back to Liara in order to mobilize the Grayson army if there should be need.
Action by Mirk
Mirk will be accompanying the Explorers in search of signs of the Traitor's involvement. Though he travels into the Crownlands, it's near to his usual stomping grounds: Cascade Springs, a Halfshav township he helped to found, isn't much further north, and he's had encounters with Shavs in the Grey Forest more than once. He's even traveled though those regions to visit Whitepeak before (Action 4273), though he doesn't speak of that incident.
He accompanies the others and where villages are found or tribes encountered, he gets to know people, never driving for information if he can help it, but always listening and learning their stories. He attempts to get to know the lands they travel in the same way, communing with the spirits where he can and listening to the signs around him, while he pays special attention to anything that distinguishes those places from others. It might present hints of what had happened, leads of where the expedition might go.
Because while these might not be his lands, the Metallic Traitor threatens all, and uncovering his schemes is the first step to stopping them.
Action by Caspian
Caspian is heading out with the Explorers! While not a fantastic scout in his own right, he knows his way around the hills and woodlands. He is handy in a pinch, can tell horrible jokes and fanciful stories by the fire side, and doesnt mind carrying an extra pack. honestly a great boon on any prolonged scouting trip! That he has done this before is an added bonus. The war on the isles is demanding of his time, but if the Traitor is not stopped, there isles won't matter. And if the Traitor wants something, its a good bet we DONT want him to get it.
Action by Kedehern
Action by Lisebet
Lisebet has been on a few exploration missions with the explorers, and is entirely willing to go along on this one. More, it's important to her to be helpful and useful in the fight against the traitor and his minions. She sees this overall as helping to protect the people of Ashford, and is determined to do all she can to help out.
She's a diplomat, obviously, and so will be there to try to smooth over waters where needed. She'll go along with the group, looking to try to gently get information where she can, if there's any to be found. She's investing resources in order to bring items that are small but valuable, that might be useful in any trading/treaty discussions or to ransom anyone who gets kidnapped. (I was thinking 2000 Economic resources - though am open to any suggestions.)
This diplomacy is the nominal reason she's with the group, and may turn out to be the most important, but she is also an occultist, with a fairly extensive knowledge with regards to things occult, not that she talks about that very often. She'll be looking for anything obvious or obscurely occult, if she can identify it, and if there's a chance it might help, she'll be willing to try mage sense to see if she can learn more - this has helped her at least once (PRP: Tale of the Mercier Massacre) providing some additional information that helped to solidify the picture and understand what was happening. Given that they are searching for information that may relate to a powerful mage, this is possibly a risky but important part of trying to figure out what is going on and how to stop it.
Action by Icelyn
Icelyn is joining the Explorers as a scout. As former Knight of Solace likely she has travelled the roads of the Crownlands before, even if she is not necessarily familiar with some of the settlements they intend to visit. So she'll scout forward where needed and report back to the main group to help keep their people safe.
Action by Lucita
Lucita has been a member of the SoE for years and is an experienced explorer. She was present at the initial attack on Bastion and at Artshall and is very aware of the threat against the compact. While not the best of scouts, she has traveled through the territory several times on the way to Whitepeak, a matter of which she can not speak (action 4021), to Aviarion's Peak and Bonespire with Quenia (action 4451). She also traveled to Everwinter near Clearlake Hold and Lastlight Hold while attending the wedding of Rowenova and Tarik (event 6542). Bards are generally welcome anywhere. She seeks to ease suspicion of any who are encountered and hopes some of the villages through which she has passed peaceably may remember her kindly enough to share gossip and information.
Result
As the Explorers make their way through the Crownlands, looking for any clues as to what Helena Thornweave might be after or where she might attack next, they pass empty village after empty village. Their mission was grim to begin with, but each abandoned village makes the mood of the party more tense, particularly for Lou who seems to retreat within herself the further they get into the forest without discovering another single living soul.
There isn't even much to hunt for food, forcing them to rely on their rations and whatever they can scavenge in these abandoned villages. Caspian brings back a brace of rabbits for stew one afternoon only to find them all full of maggots when cut open. The forest is quiet for the most part lacking even animal sounds. As Icelyn and Caspian scout ahead, they finally find a village with signs of life? almost.
The carnage is recent with fresh blood making mud of the village green. In the center of it, a twisted amalgamation of red thorny vines rises nearly twenty feet into the air. At the center is a dark haired woman. She has been pierced through with smaller vines and thorns, barely clinging to life. When Lou sees her, the princess immediately backs away to vomit into the nearby grass. The woman looks at Mirk and manages a smile, her teeth limned in blood.
"Take my brooch back to Arx. To? Aindre Grayheart. He will know why. The witch is heading east from here. You.. don't want to catch her." The woman coughs, more blood staining her lips. "She made a monster here, in the green. Made me watch. I set it on fire so she chose to kill me slow."
The woman heaves a few breaths and manages to gasp out, "She doesn't like fire. Tell Aindre that, too. Tell him I'm sorry. Tell him to take care of my brother?" She slumps forward with a sigh of relief and goes still. Before the others can hack apart the vines to put the woman to rest, Caspian spots a copper brooch in the dirt and picks it up, turning it over in his hand with a frown on his face, before handing it off to Mirk as Lou is shaking too hard to take it in her hand.
Lisebet stares at the vines as the others try to remove the woman's body from the cluster. Suddenly, she cries out and drops to her knees, head in her hands as she whispers, "Oh gods, no." Over and over again until she faints.
The Explorers put the woman to rest solemnly, during which Lucita sings a sweet and sad song of mourning for her, and move to head back to Arx as it becomes quite clear that Lou isn't capable of continuing the journey in her current state, Lisebet probably needs to see a Mercy, and they have a message to pass along, it seems.