[X] Plan Vampire Hunting
-[X] [Thamara] Magical Healing
-[X] [Alexis] Vampire Hunting
-[X] [Tasha] Vampire Hunting
Magical Healing (Thamara)
DC: 10. Roll: 5+9 = 14
While the rest of the company goes off vampire hunting, Thamara stalks the streets of Oriva. The village has an odd sense of tension that Thamara can't quite place and the only thing she can tell about it is that it does not come from the presence of the vampire threatening the village. If it did, Thamara could place it.
Ultimately, it isn't her concern. Any of the others can deal with it if it is even something that concerns their merry band of sellswords. The Kirman's problem is finding a healer to tend to Toldur's wounds that the man sustained fighting Lena Cosmili.
She isn't sure whether to shake her head at her Jorgardian boss sleeping in his armour or to be grateful that he was. At least she didn't lose a good boss and a friend that night. Still new to this whole mercenary business, Thamara has learnt to be grateful to having a bunch of Jorgardians backing her up as she still learns the tricks of the trade.
Normally she would go to a priest, but both her employer and the local priest are busy with vampire stuff while the healers that the prince brought with him are attending to the injuries that his own people have suffered, leaving Thamara to see if there is any non-divine healers in the village. It takes some time, but Thamara is able to find a semi-practicing witch in Oriva.
The woman has a decent proficiency in potion making despite only dabbling in the art of potions and while it costs a fair bit of coin, the witch is able to provide Thamara with a potion to deal with lightning-based injuries.
Now if only Toldur hadn't left with Carlos and the rest of his Ironsides earlier that morning.
***
Vampire Hunting (Alexis & Tasha)
DC: 22. Roll: 4+15+2 = 21
"Another dead end," states Tasha as she meets up with Alexis, hopping down from a tree that the other Alire is pacing under.
"Drat," curses Alexis as she scowls, "I was so sure that we would find her here."
"Perhaps it is for the best," says the Cari as she leans against the tree, "Frankly, I don't want to tangle with a vampire if I can't help. Accidentally running into our quarry would be worse than not finding her at all."
"Aren't you supposed to be a mercenary?" retorts Alexis, turning her glower on her partner, "What sort of fighter wants to avoid battling their enemy?"
"The smart kind who wants to stay alive," counters Tasha, "I'm no Dragonborn or Jorgardian. A vampire is so out of my league it isn't even funny. If I did find her, my only chance would be hope I could get away alive."
"I do wish we found her," grumbles Alexis as she kicks a rock, conceding the argument to Tasha.
"We still got a few more location to check," says Tasha, "Maybe we will find her tomorrow?"
"Maybe," says Alexis half-heartedly, "I just hope the others are having more luck than us."
***
Investigating the Site (Carlos & Toldur)
DC: 26. Roll: 6+16+2+2+2-1 = 27
"Here it is," says Carlos as your group approaches the clearing where the old Order of the Black Boar used to have their headquarters.
"Look empty," you say with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, it does," agrees Carlos before frowning, "Too empty even. There should be something here. Ruins of the old buildings or perhaps just overgrowth given it has been a few centuries since the Black Boars stopped being a thing during the rise of the Kingdom of Daven."
"We are here to investigate it," you muse before striding forward, "Let's get to it."
You feel a slight something as you march into the clearing, an urge to leave or go elsewhere. You shrug off and then as if a switch had been flipped, the clearing before changes. No longer it is plain and barren, but there is a set of half-buried ruins in the centre, partially covered by overgrowth.
Or perhaps judging by the number of armed and armoured undead standing guard, it is actually half-unburied and partially cleared of overgrowth. As the undead begin to move, you draw your sword and call out your Ironsides forward.
The undead come and you slew. They slash, stab and even claw at your armour, but they fail to pierce your steel plate. In turn, you hack one down with every other swing, smashing all those that charge the front whilst those that try to flank are shot down by your hunters.
You idly note that despite how easily they are falling, these undead must be Lena's elite reserve, judging by how they remember how to wield weapons and fight with them. Certainly a tier above what Prince Rolando and his retinue faced even if they are nowhere near as numerous.
As the last of the undead fall, you are left to wonder just what you have found. It is definitely something important to Lena if the vampire used her elite reserves to guard it, but is it just her base or something more? Given the odd magical readings, you certainly suspect the latter to the former.
With the site clear of hostiles, Carlos moves up and begins to investigate the old ruins. The Nirean priest is slow and cautious in his examination, wary of any traps left by Lena or old dangerous from further back as he attempts to figure out why the divine magic of this place is acting so weirdly.
He apparently finds it as after a few minutes, he suddenly goes very still and you notice something trickling down the side of his leg.
"It is a Fragment of Vrondrunt," whispers Carlos as he turns to look at you, staring at you in pure horror, "Bound by the Moridea thousands of years ago and over half of the bindings are broken."
Okay, you are little scared too now. A vampire freeing a piece of their god would be a small apocalyptic event and if there is what you are looking at...you are going to need more than your handful of Jorgardians to deal with this.
The stakes have just gotten a lot higher.
***
Random Event Roll: 12
When your group returns to village to plan how you are going to deal with this dire revelation, you are unpleasantly surprised to find that Prince Rolando and his royal retinue left in a hurry earlier in the day. Things were going terrible wrong in the south so as a member of the royal family, Prince Rolando had left to help his father deal with the matter.
From what Claudia has to tell you, the merchants of Daven have misused their recent good luck to do horrible things to the kingdom's economy. The majority of them apparently decided that the response to their potential customers having more money to spend was to greatly increase their prices as a good way to take advantage of the additional coin to be spent.
It has backfired horribly as too many of them put their prices up too high for customers to reasonable afford them even with their increased spending capabilities. The matter was compounded by the fact that the panicked general response to not being able to afford prices for their needs was to increase your own prices so you had more money to afford everyone else's higher prices.
The situation was a mess and while the worst of it was still confined to the major settlements on the southern coast, you were beginning to feel the impact even here in Oriva.
***
Budget:
Magical Healing: -8
Vampire Hunting: -2
Payment: +10
Upkeep: -8.265
Net Change: -8.265
While you are certain you have taken out the last of Lena's undead army and you know what the vampire is after, both the prices and stakes have gotten a lot higher. To your employer's relief, you reassured the man that you wouldn't be increasing your own prices unlike many others. In fact, you promised that you would stick around for free if you had to given the stakes involved.
Speaking of the stakes involved, this matter had gone far beyond a lone priest and his band of hired help. A potential apocalypse was brewing and you need help to deal with it. Fortunately, Carlos had a plan to deal with that as it turns out that the Nirean priesthood has a global communication system put in place to inform everyone of a major crisis that needed to be dealt with.
Surprisingly smart of the southerners.
You get one action for Thamara, one action for Alexis and one action for Tasha. Toldur is locked in for Guarding the Apocalypse Site. You may put them on the same action for a Cooperation bonus on that action. Use Plan Voting and mark who is doing what action in the plan.
Diplomacy Actions
[] Talking to the Boss
Spend some time with Carlos Axel as it is rarely a bad idea to get to know your boss better and the man seems like a decent fellow.
DC: 10. Costs 0 Budget.
[]
The People of Oriva
It looks like you are going to be spending a fair bit of time in Oriva, it should be a smart idea to get to know the locals a bit better.
DC: 12. Costs 0 Budget.
[]
Local Folklore Inquiries
The vampire came here to Oriva for a reason. Ask around about the local history and legends for any indications why she did.
DC: 12. Costs 0 Budget.
[]
The Kingdom of Daven
The Kingdom of Daven has a brewing apocalypse in their backyard. Even if they got an major economic crisis kicking off, surely they will send aid to deal with this other crisis.
DC: ???. Costs 6 Budget.
[]
Most Ancient Jorgard
Jorgard has fought the Elder Gods for as long as they have existed. Even without Toldur and the other Jorgardians in the company giving you an in, it would just be a matter of informing the closest Jorgardian Hold of what Lena is up to. Unfortunately while you know the answer to whether Jorgard will help, there is still the question of how quickly that help will arrive.
DC: 3. Costs 6 Budget.
Martial Actions
[] Patrolling the Village
With a vampire running around, have your Ironsides spend some time patrolling the village to deal with anything untoward happening and limit your quarry's ability to act.
DC: 10. Costs
6 Budget.
[] Patrolling the Site
Do not let the vampire anywhere near the site. Lena Cosmili cannot be allowed to finishing freeing this fragment of her foul god.
DC: 10. Costs 6 Budget.
[] Vampire Hunting
You tracked down most of Lena's possible hiding spots. Go on the offensive and rout her out.
DC: ???. Costs 6 Budget
Stewardship Actions
[] Head Count
Oriva is a decently sized village, but it is still small enough to do a head count of everyone in it. Doing that may be a good idea as it will let you know if people start to go missing.
DC: 18. Costs 6 Budget.
[] Company Logistics
There isn't much to do around here except make sure that your company doesn't use up any more supplies than necessary and try to stretch what it does have.
DC: 15. Gain 4 Budget.
[]
Investigating the Order of the Black Boar
The site of weird unstable divine magic that Carlos has uncovered is the old headquarters for the now extinct Urbadist holy order known as the Order of the Black Boar. Investigate them further.
DC: 20. Costs 4 Budget.
Intrigue Actions
[] Spying on the Boss
Carlos Axel seems like a decent person, but better safe than sorry and you don't want any unexpected surprise from him with the vampire to worry about.
DC: 15. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Investigating the Local Leadership
The village leadership seems alright, but appearances can be deceiving. Investigate them further to uncover any hidden secrets.
DC: 18. Costs 4 Budget.
Learning Actions
[] Pray to Mirra.
While you worship all of the Winter Gods, the Lightning Soldier is the one whose path you follow. Make some offerings to gain a Blessing from the Storm Goddess.
DC: 12. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Pray to Dorra.
You are on a hunt and therefore you wish the Blessing of Dorra, the Frost Hunter and Ocean. Make some offerings to gain a Blessing from the Frost Hunter.
DC: 12. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Pray to Moridea
With the exception of Jorgard, Kalirea worships the Young Gods, known as the Moridea. Seek a Blessing from one of them with a pray and offering.
DC: 15. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Local Spirits
While nowhere near the power of a deity, local spirits are nothing to scoff at and earning their favour can grant some useful boosts since it looks like you will be spending plenty of time in Oriva.
DC: 15. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Justice Spirits
You are seeking to bring a monster to justice and stop her from preying upon the innocent. Seek aid from a justice spirit in the pursuit of this vampire.
DC: 14. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Hunting Spirits
You are hunting a dangerous prey and that means it may be a good idea to seek aid from a hunting spirit in this hunt.
DC: 14. Costs 4 Budget.
[] Anti-Undead Enchantments
Alexis is a sorceress of minor skill and you have got an army of undead to worry about. Have her enchant your gear with anti-undead magic in that the lesser style of the southerners.
DC: 18. Costs 20 Budget. Only Alexis may take this action.
***
So the stakes just got a lot higher and a bit beyond your small company of mercenaries. Fortunately you done a good job of finding Lena's hiding spots and her army is pretty much gone at this point. She herself remains as a dangerous threat, but she will need to find a new army if she wants to use one.
Also the costs are all doubled due to the random event roll and will remain that way until the economic crisis is handled with the possible that they might increase further is the economic situation gets worse.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to. Feel to ask questions for more details and information.
