[4E] Chaos Scar (IC)

[Hircine]

From Fallcrest the King's Road runs past the Cloak Wood and through the Gardbury Downs, forking at Winterhaven to both head north around the Cairngorn Peaks and west past the Ogrefist Hills. Most denizens of the Vale don't know it, but there is a seldom used trail that wanders through the plains and low hills that rest between the Cloak Wood and the Witchlight Fens. This is the road you find yourselves traveling upon since being hired back in Fallcrest to oversee a shipment of goods headed to an out of the way settlement called Restwell Keep. Thus far your journey has been most uneventful, save for a herd of deer that needed to be shepherded off the road. Adding to the doldrum is the unchanging scenery. To the left are sweeping plains surrounded by low hills and to the right is a seemingly endless expanse of wetlands.

The wagon rattles and creaks as it rolls along the unpaved dirt path towards the Keep. Gellena Halfmoon, the halfling merchant guides her team of horses with a steady hand despite the wagon constantly being jostled by a trail littered with potholes and fissures. Those of you riding in back with the goods hang on for dear life as you're tossed to and fro.

"I'm sorry that the ride over to Restwell has been this bumpy, dears.", she states earnestly. "But I'm pretty sure this road hasn't received maintenance since the days of the Nerath Empire about two-hundred years ago. Thankfully, it should get a bit better in a couple of miles. 'Tis a shame that none of the local lords believe it's worth ponying up the coin to have it restored. I know it's not nearly as important as upkeep on the King's or Trade roads due to a higher volume of traffic, but it would certainly make traveling this way more bearable, in my honest opinion."

Stealing a glance skyward she notes the sun beginning to slowly fall from its apex in the sky. "We're still at least a half-day away from reaching our destination so I'll be on the lookout for a place we can set up camp for the night."

OOC: Everyone
Feel free to chat amongst yourselves or ask questions if you have any for Gellena. One of you may also be seated up front beside Gellena if you wish.

[Silent_p]

Thia had decided some time ago to adopt a nonchalant attitude to the constant jostling, a neutral expression on her face. She suspected that she wasn't really fooling anyone but was damned if she'd give in now that Gellena had announced that they were nearing the end of the gods-forsaken stretch of "road".

Looking over her travelling companions, she wondered about their thoughts on the matter. The journey thus far had been mind-numbingly uneventfully - granted, she wasn't quite sure why she'd expected anything more from a merchant's caravan. It stood to reason that they'd want as quiet a journey as this... even with the hellish roadway.

Noting something the halfing had said, she looked up front and raised her voice a little. "This Restwell Keep doesn't merit a decently maintained road? What of its lord? Or is it smaller than I imagine?"

[Gospel Noctis]

Balanced atop the narrow railing of the cart stood a young elven woman, clothed in light nonrestrictive garments. Despite the rumbling tremors assaulting the vehicle the dark haired monk remained unshaken, flowing gracefully between a myriad of forms and stances. Her face, surprisingly, did not reflect the typical signs of concentration the one would expect from more casual practitioners of the art. No, instead, her dark green eyes were glazed and half-lidded; her expression unfocused, seemingly dazed.

"Booooooored. So boooooored..." She whined for the umpteenth time that day. "I thought guarding a caravan would be more exciting than this. In the stories these things are always getting attacked by something. Where are all the bandits? Where are all the evil monsters? Hell, I'd even take a hungry bear at this point!"

[dickjustice]

Sitting with his legs dangling over the back of the wagon, Sharos was only slightly aware of the air of boredom that had settled over this journey. For hours now he had been absorbed in the world of spirits that constantly pervaded the living world, but was only visible to shaman. A ghostly crow had landed on his shoulder and was whispering into his ear.

"Hah!" He exclaimed, rousing from his trance-like state. "This should brighten your journey up, a crow just told me a brilliant joke!"

Sharos turned around to face the rest of the wagon. "So this pirate walks into a bar with a ship's wheel in his breeches."

"The bartender asks, 'Sir, did you know there's a steering wheel in your pants?'"

"The pirate replies, 'Aye. It's drivin' me nuts!'"

[Gospel Noctis]

The sudden unladylike snort of laughter that burst forth from Rha'ja nearly knocked her from her precarious perch. Regaining her balance the young elf looked to the shaman, grinning wildly. "You say a crow told you that one, huh? Well tell your crow buddy that he's got a better sense of humor than a whole monastery worth of people."

She paused briefly, looking between the wagons occupants before finally settling back on the deva. "So, what brings you on this 'epic adventure' known as caravan guarding? Are you a professional guard or something? Or, or maybe a wandering mercenary!" Her eyes seem to light up with excitement as she rambled on. "No, no! A spy! Are you a spy?!"

[GPuzzle]

The metallic humanoid, sitting aside the cargo, looks at the overly energetic elf who's at the other side of the wagon.

"I highly doubt that a spy would be dressed like that. Most of them seem to prefer to pretend they're some sort of thug, or something. First fight we get in, they try to run away with the cash or some important document. I really doubt this guy would do such a thing."

He shrugs, accidentally tipping a box on its side.

[dickjustice]

Sharos let out a chuckle. "Aha, yes! Crows do tend to have a wicked sense of humour, they're the jesters of the spirit world."

"And the mechanical man is correct; I am a little overdressed to be an undercover agent, and I would die before deserting my allies during a ruckus. In truth I was a privateer. I spent decades fighting the good fight on the Moonsea whenl one morning I awoke with an irresistible urge to wander. After a few months of rambling I found myself traveling with this caravan."

He tilted his head to one side, as if listening for something. " My ultimate purpose is not yet clear but the spirits....yes, the spirits whisper. They say that the truth will be revealed where the fire met the ground. With the Chaos Scar so close, I'm beginning to think I will soon have some answers. "

[Shyftir]

"The search for answers is something I relate to well, Sharos." The young githzerai began, "However If you have been searching for humor, it has clearly been elusive."

Rajan's dark-eyed stare was difficult to read and perhaps a bit imperious but after a few seconds a smirk formed on his speckled features. The Tome-Seeker's sense of humor was somewhat dry as befit his serious demeanor.

[Gospel Noctis]

"I guess..." She relented, still eyeing the shaman curiously. "So, you were a pirate? Everyone I've met so far that has claimed to be a privateer has been a pirate. I'll assume that privateer is just a nice way of saying pirate. What about the rest of you?" The monk asks, gesturing around the wagon. "Are you all pirates too? Wait, are you land pirates? I know that they're supposed to ride ships out on the ocean, but I guess this could kinda be considered a land-ship or something. Are you all actually a crew of land pirates?! Are we off to pillage things? Are these boxes actually full of pirate booty?!" She exclaims, going off on another tangent.

[Hircine]

"You have to understand, dear. Restwell is a small out of the way community that isn't able to sustain itself without trading with other settlements for much needed supplies. Additionally, since they generally only requisition supply caravans once a month, the other local governing bodies view repairing the road as cost prohibitive. Whether the current "ruler" of the keep cares or not depends on whose running the place at the time. From what I've gathered talking to the locals, power changes hands quite frequently. Why just a couple of years back the place was run by a group known as the Six Blades of Fortune. They were adventurers, but...something wasn't quite right about them. I was always uncomfortable when one of them was around. Anyway, a year or two back they got run off by this holy man of Erathis, Drysdale I think? Yeah, that's it. Peridin Drysdale. Now I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the man but he genuinely seems to care about the people more than the Blades ever did. And while I'm sure he'd like to see the road restored he seems fixated on dealing with the threat posed by the Chaos Scar."

[Silent_p]

Concentrating on Gellena's explanation proved difficult between the wild theories of an excitable elf and the sudden improvement in the wagon's atmosphere. Thia idly concluded that it must relate to the imminent improvement in the road's condition.

She nodded her head at various points, impressed with the merchant's knowledge. Making a mental note of the information, she thanked the woman and sat back to consider what she'd heard.

Her gaze drifted over her companions and she watched, mildly amused, as Rha'ja latched onto the notion that their current circumstances facilitated some off-the-books swashbuckling.

"I think you've mistaken us - or me, at least - for being far more mercenary than the usual caravan guard," she said, as the elf paused for breath. "Also, this would be a poor choice for plunder given I can't recall the last time we passed anyone."

[Shyftir]

"I have business in the Scar." the Githzerai added, "It's not piracy. Also, a privateer is like a pirate except a legitimate government commissions them to prey on a specific kind of ship. The gith shook his head ruefully. "You say you are a monk? Let me guess they sent you from the monastery to get 'seasoning'."

[GPuzzle]

"I protect. That's all I know how to do."


Can I do a small change in the character/backstory?

Rock wasn't built by an human - he was an human who lost body parts and had them replaced with mechanical parts by another person. That doesn't bother anyone, right?

[Gospel Noctis]

"Six Blades of Fortune? That's a pretty cool sounding group name. Maybe we should call ourselves something really cool like that. Maybe, The Defenders of the Lost Caravan! Or The Wandering Wagon Warriors! No, that last one sounds dumb... I'm not really very good at naming things..." The monk mutters, before latching onto her next topic of interest.

"Fine, you're not land pirates... Yet. Wanna be land pirates? I'm pretty good at sneaking around and taking stuff, I had to steal a bit of food after I first left the monastery. I learned how from my mom. From what I've heard, she used to be a really well known thief back in her day; before she settled down and had me that is... And I probably shouldn't have just told you all that." She says, tensing, suddenly looking a bit distressed. After a few more moments of internal debate she simply sighs before relaxing once more. "Oh well, what's done is done. And you all don't seem the type to try to throw me in some sort of dungeon or anything. Just don't tell anybody."

"As for being 'sent out to get seasoning', ha! I wish! No, it was always, Rha'ja, you must read these boring scrolls. Rha'ja, you must do these boring meditation exercises." As she continued, her movements became more and more forceful as irritation and an almost animalistic growl began seeping into her voice. "Rha'ja, you must calm down! Rha'ja, you must learn self control! Rha'ja, you must learn to master your lycanthropy! Bah, I'm in perfect control! So I turn into a wolf sometimes and I like my meat a little bloodier than most, what's the big deal?! Eventually I got fed up with it and ran away."

And as quickly as it came the anger seemed to vanish. She stopped and sat on the rickety railing, gazing off into the plains, a melancholy-tinged smile on her face. "I bet mom is worried I'll do something stupid. She apparently got cursed with lycanthropy before I was born. I hear she couldn't control herself and ended up doing something really stupid herself before she found the monastery. They taught her all of that inner peace crap, and that really helped her learn to deal with it. Then when she had me and I started showing signs of it, she brought me to them so they could help me too. But it's not a 'curse' to me, y'know? It's how I was born. I've always been like this. I don't really need all the monk crap to be myself. That said, I do appreciate all the physical training. That was fun. But all that philosophical stuff isn't for me. Anyways, sorry 'bout rambling on about my issues to you guys. Guess I bottled that up for a bit too long. Feels good to get it out in the open though."

Well, finally got some background information out. I've known all of this for a while but had never gotten to writing it down. In character that had probably been building up for a good while, Rajans question just provided a good trigger for it.

And I've loved the concept of a human ship of Theseus since I heard the phrase, so I don't mind Rock once being human.

[GPuzzle]

"I don't really mind,", shrugs the half-machine man, "because you're still who you are, the you you've known since you were born. I'm not sure I can be considered that anymore."

[Gospel Noctis]

"What do you mean?" The elf asks, quirking an eyebrow at the metallic defender.

What does Rock look like? Does he have the typical warforged look, or are there any obvious human aspects to him?

[GPuzzle]

Rock moves his head from behind the cargo - he appears to be a completely normal person who'd work in a lumber mill or a job that needs equal, if not more, strength - with the exception of his left arm and his right leg, which, once clearly visible, appear to be mechanical in nature.

"I once lost my arm and my leg doing my job. The blacksmith of the village fixed me. I can use those parts just right. I just barely feel something. I wonder whether I'm human or not anymore. But that doesn't pay the bills, does it?"

[Gospel Noctis]

"I don't think I really get it," She started, brows furrowed, head slightly tilted in contemplation. "But a persons more than just an arm and a leg, right? So not having limbs doesn't really make you stop counting as being a person. At least I don't think it does. Is there some sort of official rule for this sort of thing? I figure at the very least you'd have to lose a lot more than just two for it to matter. I mean you still have more meat to you than any halfling I've ever met, and despite the name, they don't count as half a person. Or do they? To be fair I've never really paid them much attention. Do they count as half a person? What about those gnome guys? Do they also..." And so Rha'ja rambled on over the correlation between size, limbs, and what it means to be a person.

[dickjustice]

Sharos sat contentedly at the back of the wagon and listened as his travelling companions conversed amongst themselves.

[Silent_p]

Thia listened thoughtfully as Rock spoke, her interest piqued by his philosophising. As the elf mused rather vocally on the more literal aspects of his statement, she leaned forward slightly, hoping to catch his attention.

"I recognise your conundrum. I have, on occasion, fallen between two proverbial stools myself." Tossing her hair back, Thia gestured briefly at her slightly pointed ears. "Ultimately, I feel you are correct, it matters little in paying our debts. After all, elf, human-" She paused, glancing at Rha'ja. "lycanthrope or otherwise, what matters is how true we are to our word."

[GPuzzle]

"At least you're sure you're a person. If I keep fixing myself... to use a friend's metaphor: If you have a family knife and you change its blade or its handle several times, is it still the same knife?"

[Silent_p]

Thia sat back, a faint frown on her face.

"Maybe not but it is still the family knife, for whatever that might be worth."

[Gospel Noctis]

"Gah! Enough philosophy! Lets talk about more interesting things!" The lycan women whined. "So I've heard there's a bunch of scary monsters and crap around the Scar, what's the deal with that?"

[GPuzzle]

"It's called Chaos Scar. Unknown **** is bound to happen there."

[Hircine]

With the sun quickly retreating from view, Gellena gives the reigns a shake. The horses neigh briefly in protest before speeding up to a trot. As the wagon begins tearing across the landscape you notice that the trail has finally evened out to some degree, making the trip far more bearable. After another couple of hours on the road, the halfling pulls hard on the reigns and the horses whinnie in complaint as they dig in and stop.

"We've made pretty good time today and if we start early tomorrow we should reach the keep by midday. I've found a decent spot on the plains for us to set up camp for the night. I hope you're all okay with roughing it out in the wilderness for one more night.", she says with a chuckle as she clambers down from the wagon. "Once I get the horses situated I'll whip up a nice hot meal for us to dig into."

[Gospel Noctis]

"That works out just fine for me. To be honest, I don't really get peoples obsession with sleeping in beds anyway." The elf shrugged. "I much prefer a good tree, or big pile of hay, or a nice empty field on a warm night! Though I guess they do make for a good place to crash on cold and rainy days..."

[Silent_p]

"I continue to miss a decent pillow but, in general, the experience is not all that taxing."

Thia stretched awkwardly given the somewhat cramped confines of the wagon and stifled a yawn. She began a check on her belongings, ensuring that no damage had come to any of the more delicate items she carried.

[Shyftir]

"If anything the ground is softer than my bed at the grand library." Rajan commented, then stifled a sympathetic yawn.

[Gospel Noctis]

"So," The monk called out to Gellena as she approached. "Need any help? I'm not very good with animals though. They tend to spook kinda easy around me for some reason." She commented, offering the woman a wide fang filled grin.

[Hircine]

After tending to the horses, Gellena collects some firewood with some assistance from Rha'ja. Not long after the fire's started she's got a kettle of hot soup cooking. "So I didn't ask when I hired you, but what business do you have out at Restwell Keep? If you're still in need of work after this I could use an escort back to Fallcrest."

[GPuzzle]

"I wouldn't mind a few more jobs escorting stuff. After all, what if what I do pays the bills, then I will pay the bills. Because otherwise I'll be no good."

[Gospel Noctis]

"I've got nothin' better to do." The elf responds, mouth watering as she hovers around the heated kettle. "Maybe we'll run into some bandits next time!"

[Shyftir]

"I need to go into the Scar. One way or another. Though if my business is completed before you leave, I'd have no qualms about seeing you back to Fallcrest." The githzerai's words were aimed at the merchant but his eyes were scanning the horizon in the direction of the Chaos Scar.

[Silent_p]

Thia had settled herself near the fire, listening politely as the others discussed their plans. At a lull, she looked across at Gellena. "Thank you for the offer but I too am making for the Scar."

Noting the githzerai's gaze, she called over to him. "I would accompany you. One can only imagine that a greater number of travellers would be preferable there."

[Shyftir]

"Safety in numbers.' True wisdom if ever I've heard it." The gith smiled and nodded. "A trustworthy companion to watch my back would be welcome indeed."

[GPuzzle]

"Not sure if I want to go to the Chaos Scar or not. There is something weird going on there, mind you. Most people are just too afraid to go there. Clearing the area would be useful for everyone, I think."

[Silent_p]

"Safety in numbers," Thia repeated for emphasis, nodding in turn.

Her lips quirked in a small smile as she listened to Rock. "A fine goal but I fear that it would be excessively ambitious for such a meagre group as ourselves to attempt to cleanse the area."

The smile turned grim as her thoughts drifted away from their small camp and her voice became small. "Surviving it would be pleasant, though..."

[Gospel Noctis]

"I definitely wanna go to the Scar at some point. Who knows what kinda cool dangerous stuff is in there. I mean if there's a lot of monsters and crap wandering around the place there's gotta be something worth having in there, right?" The young elf reasoned.

"And just think of the bragging rights! This awesome gold scaled cloak? Yea, totally ripped it off the hide of this huge monster in the scar, no big deal~." Rha'ja let out a girlish squeal of excitement as her imagination once again ran wild.