Live in Infamy

For a few moments you hesitate. You know that Tiadora's mysterious ally is waiting for you, but that is almost all you know of them. Will you truly place your fate in such unknown hands? They surely have their own agenda, and if they broke hardened criminals out of Branderscar to pursue it then they are clearly dangerous in their own right.

Yet, what choice do you have? You bear the brand of the Forsaken, making it a crime under the laws of Talingarde for anyone to render you aid or shelter. Your Clan disowned you to save themselves from the fury of the Mitran Inquisition, and while you hardly blame them you have few other allies in this land. If you try to go it alone you will be hunted down and captured again, and you doubt they will be so kind as to wait before lashing you to the stake.

"I have allies," you say to your new companions, "The ones who smuggling in the lockpicks and other supplies for us. They're waiting out there, in a manor house on the old moor road."

"I will find it," Dorgo the Orc says with a grunt, levering himself to his feet. He lost the crossbow bolt somewhere during your swim, but the wound is still visible on his gnarled skin. If it bothers him, he does not let it show. "Follow."

You look back at the others. Mikael looks vaguely nauseous at the thought of venturing into such unpleasant terrain, as well he might with a partially-treated gut wound, but nobody raises any objections.

Article:

Dorgo tests Survival! Natural 1. Critical failure.

Grumblejack intervenes!

Dorgo leads the way across the mire with confidence, striding fearlessly through puddles of water and pushing through thickets of tangled grass without pause. The rest of you follow as best as you can, marching in silence to conserve your energy.

Perhaps half an hour in, the trek very nearly ends in disaster as an enormous toad large enough to swallow you whole bounds out of the mire… but then Grumblejack steps forward and catches the long, sticky tongue before it can snare you, and with a brutal swipe of his halberd cuts it off at the root.

"Swamp toad tongue!" he says cheerfully, ignoring the croaking amphibian as it thrashes in pain and flees back into the mire, "Good juice from this. Makes you see god!"

Article:

Valka tests Nature to recall knowledge. Roll is 21, success.

"I know the oil on a swamp toad's skin makes for a potent narcotic," you say curiously, "but I've not heard of the tongue being used that way."

"Oh yeah," Grumblejack nods, hanging the twitching organ from his belt, "Same stuff, but extra strong. Plus, grows back."

You glance at the others briefly, but they all look either baffled or utterly disinterested. Only Lisara is frowning in thought.

"You make it sound like you farm the creatures," the noblewoman comments after a moment, grimacing as she pulls her foot free of a sucking patch of mud. "I did not know ogres were capable of such things."

You wince slightly at the lack of tact, but you cannot deny you are curious. You've never met an ogre before, but all the stories you heard of them made it sound like they were little more than roving monsters, what little intelligence they might have had debased by generations of savagery and inbreeding.

"Not farm, pet," Grumblejack corrects her with a scoff, "Little ones farm. Ogres take, keep. Family with toad pets is lucky, blessed by the gods. Grumblejack's family is…"

He pauses then, gaze locked on something in the distance, then turns away. This time, even Lisara knows better than to prod, for the black mood hanging around the ogre now is one that even the densest soul would be able to read. And so you return to walking in silence.

-/-

Three hours after entering the marsh, with the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon, you at last find the old moor road, and at the top of a low hill a dark green manor house surrounded by a wrought iron fence. It looks uninhabited if not outright abandoned, and certainly unwelcoming, but as promised a lantern burns in an upper story window. Taking a moment to gather your wits, you approach.

As you draw closer, the doors of the manor house open without a sound, spilling warm golden light across the ground. Standing in the doorway is Tiadora, the same woman who gave you her veil in the prison, but while there she came garbed in mourning black, now she wears a long dress of diaphanous white and shimmering silver. It makes her look very nearly angelic.

"Dearest, there you are. We were beginning to worry you wouldn't make it," the blonde woman says, her sharp green eyes looking you up and down with cold consideration, "And you're filthy. Well, this will not do. Inside, now."

As you cross the threshold, your skin prickles violently and your teeth ache like you just bit into a lump of ice. You recognise the signs at once - this humble little manor house is warded by potent magics, and had Tiadora not extended you an invitation you would have been destroyed the second you set foot within its walls.

Inside, the manor house is as well appointed as any demense of the nobility, complete with thick red carpets on the floor and portraits of heroic looking men and women upon the walls. A broad fireplace burns merrily against the wall (but where does the smoke go, for you saw none on your way in…) and small wooden tables set with food and drink on silver platters are placed unobtrusively in the corners. Most striking, however, is the veritable platoon of servants who await you, men and women in traditional livery standing in a long line with heads bowed and eyes turned politely to the floor as you and your ragged band of escapees come before them.

"These people are our guests," Tiadora says imperiously, "See them to their rooms. I want them washed, dressed and refreshed, ready to meet the master. Quickly."

Something about that last word has the air of a threat, and certainly the servants take it as such, hurrying forward to bow and murmur quietly and split your group up as they lead each of you away. Lisara sighs with relief at being attended to as she no doubt expects, but you are a little more uncertain.

Article:

Valka tests perception, DC15, roll is 17+6 = 23. Success.

Perhaps because of that lack of certainty, but you find yourself noticing something as the pair of servants assigned to you escort you up the stairs and through a set of double doors. Their soft smiles, the faint slur in their voices, the way they don't even seem to look at you… these people are enchanted, much as the late and unlamented Sergeant Blackerly was.

Except… you cannot feel any magic around them now. There ought to be some traces, especially when you know what to look for, but there are not. You've heard that repeated use of enchantment magic over the course of days or weeks can have long-term impacts, wearing down the will until the mind begins to reinforce its own subjugation, but this is the first time you've seen such a thing in person.

Article:

How does this make you feel?

[ ] [Thralls] Approving and Covetous
Trust is a luxury for any covert group, and enchantment is a lot more reliable than mere bribery or self-interest. If you'd had access to such magic to secure the loyalty of your aids and contacts, perhaps the Inquisitors would have never found you.

[ ] [Thralls] Cautious and Uncomfortable
You've always been uncomfortable with the idea of violating another's will like this, and you prefer to avoid it whenever possible. Apparently your new benefactor does not feel the same way. You will need to be careful to avoid him ensnaring you in similar chains.

(QM note - This is a bit of a meta vote. Think of it in terms of what kind of minions (and what relationship with said minions) you want Valka to have.

'Approving and Covetous' means going Full Sauron, One Ring to Rule Them All and In The Darkness Bind Them.

'Cautious and Uncomfortable' locks you out of that path, but leaves others (like undead or weird cultists or sith apprentices) open.

Such thoughts are easily pushed aside, however, when you at last reach your assigned room and find within the very definition of paradise. The bed is large and soft, the clothes on the rack are better fit for a noble, and more important than anything else, there is a large bath of steaming hot water waiting for you in the corner.

The Church of Mitra preaches that the brand on your arm marks you as Forsaken, damned in soul as surely as you are condemned in flesh. If being damned means getting pampered like this on a regular basis… you think you can live with it.

Article:

Having escaped Branderscar Prison, and been given a place to properly rest and recuperate, Valka is now Level 2.

First, choose a Thesis, indicating the particular direction of your magical studies and the benefits you reap from it:

[ ] [Thesis] Experimental Spellshaping
Your gift lies in modifying and adjusting the structure of spells as you cast them, allowing for far more varied effects. You gain additional spellshape (also known as metamagic) feats, and can swap them out on a daily basis as suits your intended pursuits.

[ ] [Thesis] Improved Familiar Attunement
You specialise in building and developing a mystic bond with another creature, allowing you to draw greater strength and flexibility from your familiar than most wizards can even begin to imagine. You gain a familiar, and any familiars you have now or in the future have extra abilities.

[ ] [Thesis] Staff Nexus
You prefer to work with runes and other enchanted items where possible, and are an expert in getting more out of them than others. You can create magical staffs, and when you do, they gain additional spells and are easier to charge than those of other wizards.

-/-

Next, choose a Class feat, something that makes you better at being a wizard.

[ ] [Class] Spellbook Prodigy
You are a master of magical writing and academic study. Learning a new spell takes ten minutes. All critical failures become normal failures, costing no resources, all successes become critical successes, costing half the normal resources.

[ ] [Class] Counterspell
When a foe casts a spell which you have prepared, you can expend a spell slot to attempt to counter that spell. You roll your spellcasting attack roll against a DC of the enemy caster's save DC, and on a success you negate the spell entirely.

[ ] [Class] Familiar
You gain a familiar, a bonded animal who can share its senses and provide other benefits, selected each day. If you select this and the Improved Familiar thesis, your familiar can benefit from twice as many abilities.

-/-

Finally, choose a Skill Feat, allowing you to do more with a specific skill in which you are trained:

[ ] [Skill] Alchemical Crafting
You are able to craft alchemical items, such as potions, elixirs and bombs. You require formulae to do this, and gain four of them for free.

[ ] [Skill] Battle Medicine
You can perform a Treat Wounds check for one action in combat, instead of ten minutes outside of it, restoring HP as normal. A target can benefit from this once per day.

[ ] [Skill] Dubious Knowledge
You are a font of information, not all of it verified. When you fail a skill check to know something about a target, I will provide you with two pieces of information about it, one correct and one incorrect.