Thanga, after the ceremony, leveling
Subject: Thanga
This wasn't going quite the way Harp thought it would.
"You wouldn't have to "work" for the house, if you did not want to. You could just be a serving girl, or you could try to learn a trade. You could continue to "hostess" if you really wanted to, but I was sort of hoping that.... you know...maybe we could get to know each other better???"
From: Kevin
Subject: After the ceremony
Harp sits in awe of the display of power he had just seen. He had heard stories during his training of similar things happening in the Order, but only rarely and in great times of need. The raw sense of power was truly humbling. Arcane folk might think themselves masters of the power of the universe, but this was a display by one who helped create the universe.
As Salix walks over to the group, Harp holds out his hand to grasp the hand of his friend. Harp had just seen one of the most rare dispalys of divine power, and he had been there to share it with his freind. This did not happen every day. Salix had lost one whom he saw as a father, but it has been to balance things. Harp says nothing, but lets his friendship show in his handclasp.
From: Mark
Subject: Thanga
Thanga gives Harp an evil griin "Didn't we get to know each other pretty well the other night?"
"I already know a trade and I am good at it. I was never that good at the serving girl thing. Too many things to remember."
From: Kevin
Subject: Thanga
"I'm not sure that "trade" is accepted in Gorn. You can give it a try, if you want. I was sort of hoping you might want to try something else. There aren't many of our type where I come from. Your'e gonna standout, and maybe not in a good way.
Haven't you ever wanted to do anything else besides that?? Learn a trade that you can do you whole life and not just while your young?"
From: Karl
Subject: After the Ceremony
Salix accepts the offered hand, grasping it firmly and putting his free hand to Harp's elbow, cementing and returning the gesture. A couple of passing druids give the pair an odd glance, one of them mumbling something under his breath. Salix hopes Harp does not notice this, but understands the oddity of the sight. Half-Orcs were seldom seen among the druids at all, and never in the inner circles, at least not in the memories of any of the wards or few if any of the brothers or sisters. Those in attendance at the ceremony knew of Harp, at least, but who knew what the wards had been told if anything.
Salix smiles solemnly at Harp's gesture of friendship. He wants to say more, but the events of the last couple of days have left him with few words to express his feelings. "Shall we attend to the Mountainfather then?"
From: Kevin
Subject: after the ceremony
"Yeah, let's get that gem. I know these bauble can be expensive, but this one has had a steep price."
From: Karl
Subject: After the ceremony
"More than you know," Salix says, his voice cracking slightly before he gets it back under control. "The circle taken a terrible loss today."
From: Mark
Subject: After the ceremony
OODM: Terrible loss my ass. I could have killed dozens. :)
From: Mark
Subject: Thanga
"I've never really thought about it. I mean in Bodentown, most people like me don't make it to old."
She thinks for a bit. "How about this instead? I met this guy once. He told me about this place to the west. Sador, I think he called it. Said that in that town, everyone who wanted to do something was allowed. Anything went. He said girls like me could make a fortune. Maybe I should go there?"
From: Karl
Subject: After the ceremony
Well, to Salix it's a terrible loss. I'm sure to many in the circle, losing the Stormfather was exceedingly tragic. The loss of Lantono? Meh.
From: Porter
Subject: After the ceremony
Hey! It's a terrible loss to Mund as well. He was really lookin' forward to the stormfather owing him. :(
From: Kevin
Subject: Thanga
"But I'm not going that way. I thought, maybe, I could take care of you, like. Oh, I don't know, I've never met anyone like you before, and I thought maybe we could see if we could work something out between us.
I've overstepped myself here. My apologies. If you accompany us back to Gorn, I am sure I can find someone who can get you to where ever it is that you want to go."
OOC: Harp is coming to realize that she does not see him the same way he would like to see her. He's emberrassed and just wants to move on.
From: Karl
Subject: After the ceremony
Hey, you got a really useful brooch out of the deal. I bet you won't see many of those outside druid circles. If Mund doesn't realize what an honor *that* is, I'm sure Salix will be glad to teach him. ;-)
From: Porter
Subject: after the ceremony
Mund doesn't realize what an honor it is, but he does recognize the practical value of the broach. Even still, the broach hardly seems sufficient tit-for-tat for "I laid my life on the line, and nearly lost it to rescue [i]you[/i] from torture and being used in a ceremony most foul. Which do you think would have been worse -- the continued torture, or it finally ending?"
*a moment of silence for lost guilt-trip opportunities*
From: Mark
Subject: Leveling up
As some of you know, all major combat is over for this leg of the adventure. We are now in what might be called the clean up and/or epilogue. I expect that the XP characters will get from the encounters and role play will put everyone over 8th level, some just over and others well over.
Since it works out this way, Salix is going to have his "leveling" done now. This "leveling" in the story sense is the actual promotion of Salix from Wealward to Brother of the order. In game mechanics it is matching up with Salix going to 8th level. Karl and I have collaborated a bit on the structure of the druids. The PHB says that followers of Obad-Hai have no structure and I find that nonsensical in game terms. Only the most chaotic religions would have no structure.
So Karl is going to be writing his "leveling" story soon. The rest of you will be able to do so in the next few weeks as well, especially once the party returns to Gorn. I plan on the characters having many weeks to rest, recuperate, sell items, have items made, etc while in town before the next adventure starts.
I expect this next adventure to start no earlier than Aug. 6 and no later than Aug. 13. More likely the Aug. 13 date since Randy is out of town until the 6th or so. That will give him a week to do his leveling.
If you do not want to continue in the game now is the time to let me know.
From: Mark
Subject: Flint
When Salix and the other druids are done burying Lantono, he returns to the glade to join up with his companions. After a silent greeting with Harp he turns to the others "MountainFather Flint as asked that we join him. He has information about the gem we seek." The others nod and Salix leads them into the woods. They spend the next quarter of an hour following the druid. This section of woods seems to have the darkness lifted from it. The ground is still dense with undergrowth, but the tangle does not seem to go out of its way to trip them. A scent of freshness abounds and Salix has a spring in his step, even as tired as he is.
They enter a clearing with a large stone outcropping in the middle of it. Flint sits there, silent and unmoving. Salix and the other stop a few dozen feet away but Flint's voice rings out as he starts to stand. "The ground has told me of your coming. Thank you all for joining me here. Please sit. It has been a difficult morning for all of us." He gestures to the ground and all nine of them sit. "When he passed on the leadership of the Great North Woods druids to me" Flint starts "he told me many of the secrets that are known only to the head druid in each area. There were other things as well."
He turns to Salix "Salix Wealdward, by order of StormFather Acer, you are promoted to Brother. You may, as is custom, pick you sphere that you would like to specialize in. Since we are all tired and exhausted, we will hold the formal ceremony tomorrow at dawn, when we are all rested. Afterwards, we will go see what remains of the Mayor's estate and Bodentown. We will help any of the survivors of Bodentown that we find."
Flint then turns to include the rest of the party "In the late afternoon, I will take you to where the gem is kept. Only the nine of us will go. Normally outsiders would not be allowed, but that rule was put in place to protect the gem. With the gem gone, the rule will no longer apply. We will then see you on your way, with our thanks and gratitude." He looks over the party members and asks "We are all weak yet, but is there anything else we can help you with?"
OODM: Role playing time.
Unless something serious comes up you can assume that the party spends an uneventful night in the woods. Karl can write up his leveling turn when he wants. That should take place the next morning at dawn. He can have the others there. 8th level for druids is not that big of a deal: no new spell levels or fancy abilities. He does get to wildshape into large creatures now.
From: Josh
Subject: Leveling
When should the rest of us do our leveling?
From: Jason
Subject: after the ceremony
Ragnar finishes his meditation, and is surprised with just how little it had helped him. He still did not feel at peace, and though he did feel that he was justified before Heironeous by merit of being incapable of doing anything more, there remained a nagging feeling that there *should* be something more he could do. With a sigh he gets to his feet. When he petitions the blessings that would heal Ran and Salix, his mind is already on the ceremony that he would be witnessing.
****
As the ceremony ends, Ragnar leaves abruptly, a bitter taste filling his mouth and distorting his face into a grimace. While he certainly would not have preferred the followers of Nerull to overcome the druids of Obad-Hai, he wished that something could have prevented this slaughter. Perhaps what bothered him more than anything else was the fact that Salix had willingly taken part. He would not have believed any of his companions capable of such an indiscriminate slaughter; for all the quirks and failings they all had, Ragnar had never doubted that they were essentially good at heart. But for all Acer's rationalizations, it was clear to him that what had happened today had been wrong, even though Nerull had been the one to lose most. Now that belief in his companions had been shaken, and he wasn't entirely sure how to deal with that. Would any of the others have made the same choice?
With these troubling thoughts on his mind, Ragnar searched out Kal. While he had occasionally felt the elven warrior was a little too strict, he had no doubt that Kal would never condone this atrocity. Once he finds him, Ragnar is at something of a loss for what to say. Mostly, he supposed, he wanted to reassure himself that there were still others who felt the way he did.
"A dirty work," Ragnar finally says. "Something I never expected to see from those we have long considered allies."
From: Mark
Subject: Leveling
For the most part when they get back to Gorn.