[IC] The Trailblazer's League <Part 1.5>: Downtime Adventures with Stray and Brigitte

[Lord Of Mantas]

The Lord of Mantas presents
A Pathfinder Tabletop RPG Adventure
THE TRAILBLAZER'S LEAGUE
Downtime Adventures with Stray and Brigitte

It had been a few months since the fateful venture of Guardian, Mirana, Stray, Brigitte, Auva, and "Jamie" (real name Kiriel, not that anyone in the league besides Christoph knew that) to the little village of Woodshaven, where they had found incredible wealth beyond their wildest imagination. In that time, word of the Trailblazer's deeds had spread far and wide across Andoran, as gossip snowballed and bards embellished. And given the magnitude of what had happened, it was suprisingly not far off.

When one charms a hydra, there's not much you can do to embellish the truth.

Stray and the others, for their part, had been busy putting their newfound wealth to work, as the fey prince instructed his new apprentice and follower Pun-Pun in the art of sorcery - particularly when it came to crafting magical items. His first task was to enhance Jamie's sword, keening the blade and applying a new layer of runes to enhance its potency. Stray, in the meantime, was hard at work creating a variety of items for himself - one of which was his new pride and joy, an artifact of legend called the Lyre of Building.

And so it is that our little interquel begins as Stray has just finished his latest project...

***

Spoiler: Stray

Show

"Are you sssure that was a good idea, Lord Ssstray?"

Piggybacking aboard his master as the two soared over the walls of Almas, with the guards none the wiser, the red kobold nervously looked upon his fey master."A magnificccent performance, but what if someone tracesss the statue back to us?"

Regardless of Stray's reply, the two eventually made their way back to the League Lodge - only to be greeted by none other than Christoph himself, two guards flanking him.

"There you are, Stray." The usually carefree attitude the leader of the League had was nowhere to be seen, a slight look of nervousness on his face. "So, you remember how you asked for me to try and get the Andoran government to stop logging in the Darkmoon Vale? Well, I've got good news and bad news about that - and I think we should be sitting down while we relate it."

Spoiler: Brigitte

Show

It was about 9:00 in the evening, and Brigitte had been sitting in the mess hall looking over some prospective blueprints from the engineering department when she heard the patter of feet approaching. Turning her head, she was greeted with a rather surprising sight, as none other than the fourth and newest Crazy Old Coot, Dopethrone the Dull, approached her.

"Hey, Brigitte! Finally managed to track you down." Stopping to cough briefly - which, surprisingly, he took the time to procure a handkerchief for - Dopethrone resumed his spiel in short order.

"So... I never, like, bothered to thank you and the rest for hirin' me on, y'know? This place has much better vibes than the last place I worked at, man. Pay's better, I can see the sun, no-one really bothers me all that much... The garden's coming in rather nicely, too." Dopethrone awkwardly rubbed his right arm. "So, like, I haven't been able to track down that Jamie or Stray dude, and Auva already said no. What would you think about stoppin' by my office, takin' some time to take a puff on the ol' hookah? I got some real good Ganja I've been saving for a special occasion, man."

What do you do?

[Nefarion Xid]

"If anyone in Almas guesses that I made the statue, I assume they'll be grateful or impressed. He's pointing his sword straight at Egorian! How cool is that? Answer: extremely," Stray quips over his shoulder.

Touching down at the lodge, and greeted by Christoph, Stray helps Pun-Pun climb down. He grits his teeth at Christoph's news. "Your office then. Just the two of us. I wouldn't want our subordinates learning any new curse words."

[Othniel]

"I would be delighted, Dopethrone," Brigitte agreed. She started folding up the blueprints and putting away the other documents and objects surrounding her. "These blueprints will keep until another time, after all. Did you want to go now, or do you have a better time in mind?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Spoiler: Stray

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Christoph raised a hand. "Easy, sailor. I did say there was some good news. Though of course..." Trailing off, Christoph nodded to the two initiates flanking him, who saluted and departed elsewhere. Pun-Pun, in the meantime, looked up at Stray.

"If it pleasesss your Lordssship, I'll be in the Dancing Dragon down at Portssside doing... um... thingsss."

Pending no objection from his master, Pun-Pun then proceeded to totter off into the darkness.

Leading Stray up to his office, Christoph pulled out one of the plusher chairs for Stray before settling into his own beside his desk, then calling out. "Dea- er, Scarlett, if you would bring out the usual?" A light blush tinged Christoph's face as he accidentally let the errant term of endearment slip, Scarlett appearing shortly thereafter. Pouring out a highball of 4699 Founder's Whiskey, Stray's eye could not help but be drawn to the diamond ring on Scarlett's left hand.

It had been three months after the incident at Woodshaven, Stray recalled, when it had happened. Since then, Christoph and Scarlett had been seen in each other's company a lot more than usual, and then it all came to a head when, at the Summer Solstice festival, Christoph had apparently not only 'forgotten' to order the traditional hookers, but had apparently ducked early out of the party. Next they were seen, Scarlett had the ring, they'd worked up a fine sheen of sweat, and both of their outfits were suspiciously wrinkled.

After a polite greeting, Scarlett excused herself, and Christoph cleared his throat.

"So, good news. Thanks to the hundreds of thousands of gold coins you earned for us, as well as the may more we've earned from renovating, renting, and researching the Sanctum, I've got enough of the People's Council on our side that we weren't immediately laughed out. Bad news is, there's still not enough for the two-thirds majority required to pass the motion to cease logging."

"However, I think we have a way out. The Council is calling a meeting tomorrow to discuss this, among other things, and they've requested your presence. And if anyone has a way with words it's you."

Spoiler: Brigitte

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"Nah, nah, come on now. No time like the present."

Leading Brigitte up through the winding corridors and staircases of the lodge, Dopethrone and Brigitte eventually came to a firm oak door with a small plaque labeled 'Dopethrone' on it. The room was rather large, about 40 by 40 feet, and was decorated in an exceedingly bright and psychedelic style. The dark red and green carpet of swirling stars and dragons from the Serpens Sanguis Sanctum was there in all its glory, along with the thick green crushed velvet cushions and ornate glass and porcelain hookah in the middle - though strangely, it seemed to be disassembled at the moment.
A large mandolin decorated with bright pink stars lay in the corner, along with various pin-ups of women in provocative poses with 'pharmaceutical' paraphanelia and posters of various bards who were advertised as playing psychedelic music. Rather than a normal bed, Dopethrone had apparently opted for a large hammock with several thick blankets laid in and on top for bedding, and random clothes and dressers and various other pieces of junk were strewn around in the corners of the room. To the east, Brigitte could see a walk-in closet closed off from the room by what looked to be some sort of curtain made of sequins, and to the north, several wide windows and a balcony looked over a magnificent and lush garden.

"Like the view? Christoph gave it-" Dopethrone gave off a wet cough. "Christoph gave it to me as an 'apology' for making me change my nickname. I still say it was wack, man. I don't care if these crazy old coots rely on alliteration, Dopethrone the Electric Wizard is still a much radder sounding name."

Fumbling around in one of the corners, Dopethrone retrieved a small cloth bag, and pulled out several buds of cannabis.

"Here it is, babe -" Dopethrone clapped his hands over his mouth. "Sorry Brigitte, still not used to seeing so many babes around lately. Gotta watch the lingo... Anyway, this is my latest strain. Been workin' on cultivatin' it since the Sanctum. This stuff with take you to the Moon, around the sun, to Castrovel, Eox, and out past Aucturn to the edge of the Solar System and back. You'll never feel as good in your life as when you're taking a hit of this."

Taking the disassembled hookah, Dopethrone wiped it down thoroughly before taking out a decanter of endless water and refilling it.

"Got company over... Can't have a dirty hookah... That's not chill, man..."

Lighting up the buds of cannabis, Dopethrone inserted them into the water pipe - and upon taking a big hit of smoke, passed another hose to Brigitte.

"Let's get blazed, man."

[Othniel]

Brigitte's eyebrows shot up at the word "babe," but she only smiled and shook her head. "Dopethrone the Electric Wizard does, indeed, sound much..."radder" as you say," she agreed, taking a seat. As Dopethrone handed the pipe to her she commented, "This is the first time I have experimented with this type of alchemy," lifted the pipe to her mouth, and inhalded.

[Nefarion Xid]

"That's not bad news. Don't scare me like that. You said 'bad news' and I think 'Andoran battle group sunk, demand for darkwood soars.'"

Stray mulls over his glass of whiskey for a minute, before knocking back the entire thing in one gulp. An undignified bodily spasm follows and his eyes tear up. "Nope ... still don't like whiskey."

"I can handle the People's Council. There's only one way out of this that Andoran can stomach. They can build their ships out of something besides darkwood. What they abide is a cold war with two neighbors. The Fey are slow to anger, but even Queen Syntira can't contain them forever. The people in the north are guests that have overstayed their welcome by nearly three thousand years. They were just camping out on the front lawn at first. And that's fine: it's a big lawn. But now there's twice as many of them and they're in the kitchen drinking your booze. You offer to let them continue living on your lawn instead of murdering them -- because you're generous like that."

Stray waves Christoph off before he can interrupt. "I know. If it comes to war, the Fey will lose. Sprites are no good against Eagle Knights. If the army wants to march into the Vale and slaughter us, they're perfectly capable. I'm just saying, that's not a war they can stomach. Codwin can't allow that. But that's exactly what it will come to if the Lumber Consortium continues to push."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Spoiler: Stray

Show

Christoph breathed a sigh of relief as Stray reacted unexpectedly well to the news his proposed order had been blocked. "Hey, badness is relative. Until we get your motion passed, it's not quite time to celebrate."

He then looked a little miffed as Stray dinged the vintage whiskey he'd brought out, but listened attentively and with a very serious face as Stray outlined his views on the matter, nodding all the while. "All very true. Codwin's too much of a goody-goody to ever engage in something like wanton slaughter of an entire race just because they won't let us graciously invade their land and cut down their trees and dig up their earth." His tone of voice indicated that he clearly thought that not doing such things was, in fact, a very good thing. "If our past adventures are any indication, I'm sure you've got this in the bag. I just wanted to give you the heads up. Even if you get this passed, there are going to be a lot of resentful war hawks in the audience."

Downing the rest of his glass, Christoph did cough a little as it went down. "Damn, that's a strong vintage. So, anyway, how was your evening before now? Scarlett and me went out for a bit to the Field of Concord for a night walk."

Spoiler: Brigitte

Show

Inhaling the thick, THC-laden smoke, Brigitte voluntarily rolled a 1 on her Fortitude immediately felt the effects of the psychoactive buds hit her head as her vision began swimming, and her body began to feel blissfully warm, relaxed, and comfortably numb.

"Hehehe... Check this- check this out, duuuude." Dopethrone took a long, deep drag from the hookah, then blew a large plume of smoke. As Brigitte drew in another drag of her own, she saw a ring form from the smoke before a full ship sailed through the ring. This was quickly followed by a mighty eagle, and then - of all things - a rampaging elk.

As the elk leapt through the ring, he turned into a kaleidoscope of color, which then burst out and colored the rest of the room. And that was when the world melted.

Spoiler: Select your music

Show

The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

Foghat - Slow Ride

High on Fire - Rumors Of War

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

Immediately, psychedelic music began ringing through Brigitte's ears as she and Dopethrone were both transformed into a pair of tutu-wearing tyrannosaurus rexes. Prancing about the field of crystal marshmallows, the two rolled down the magic cotton candy hill before tumbling into a pair of head skates and skiing down the river of molten rainbow tar past the kumquat canoe racers and up the waterfall at the end. Hitting a rock, their pink-feathered wings spread and they took to the air, tiny mountains beneath their pawed feet as a fairy dust wind trailed through their whiskers and they sneezed chili powder. Heading toward a vortex in the sky the two shot out of the atmosphere and past a miniature model of colored spheres around what looked to be a model star of some sort, heading into infinite blackness. Then, a pinprick of light appeared, and they plummeted toward it rapidly before crashing headfirst into a plush red leather couch.

The cacophony of flying splintered furniture was deafening, tempered only by the feeling of sudden wetness and warmth.

Reorienting herself, Brigitte rubbed the green liquid out of her eyes, and looked across the table at Cayden Cailean. The accidental god looked a tad dumbstruck for a moment, then began laughing.

"ONE OF YOU AGAIN? IF I'D KNOWN YOU WERE GOING TO DROP IN I'D HAVE BROUGHT CHIPS."

Dumbstruck, Dopethrone looked down at the joint in his hand. "Duuuude... I must have made that last batch stronger than I thought."

[Othniel]

Brigitte appeared just as, if not more, dumbstruck as the being seated across from her. "Oh! Who..? Where..? What?"

[Nefarion Xid]

"Hmph. When do they want me to speak? I might have to think about what I say for once."

Stray helps himself to something cheaper from Christoph's liquor cabinet with Mage Hand.

"I may have spent the last few hours erecting a giant statue in Cayden's likeness just west of the city. I'll deny that in the future, but I just wanted to test the capabilities of my lyre. I almost want the Lumber Consortium to test me -- if this is the kind of thing I do when I'm bored, just imagine what will happen when I'm mad."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Spoiler: Stray

Show

"The session is being held tomorrow, at 9:00 sharp. The war hawks are getting antsy and they want to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand."

Cristoph then laughed at Stray's antics with the lyre. "Don't ever change, Stray. Man, I want to see the faces of the guards when they look at that-"

Before Christoph could continue any further, a loud fwooomph sound, followed by the splintering of wood and glass, echoed through the League Headquarters. Leaping to his feet, Christoph opened the door to his office... then shook his head.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time before Dopethrone had his own accident."

The halls filled with the shouting and stamping of feet as those on duty scrambled to respond.

Spoiler: Should Stray choose to peek out the door...

Show

Looking out the window on the opposite side of the hallway, Stray could see that the room across the courtyard, just above the garden, had apparently been blown open. Various personal possessions were scattered about, and the roof and outer wall had been almost completely destroyed. A trail of bright green magic trailed out of the room, soaring into the heavens. Looking up into the sky, Stray could see what almost appeared to be some sort of comet at the end, streaking into the celestial sphere.

Strangely, at the center of the room, completely unharmed, stood a hookah.

Spoiler: Brigitte

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Cayden Cailean would almost have looked offended at Brigitte's remarks if he hadn't been so busy attempting to conceal his laughter.

"WHO? MADAM-"

The accidental god coughed, then spoke again. This time, his voice was much less deafening.

"MADAMOUISELLE LESTRADE, YOU WOUND ME. I AM NONE OTHER THAN CAYDEN CAILEAN! (Trademark.) ACCIDENTAL GOD, LUCKY DRUNK, DASHING SWASHBUCKLER-" He waggled his eyebrows flirtatiously at bBrigitte as he said this, "AND PATRON SAINT OF GOOD-SLASH-DARING ADVENTURERS EVERYWHERE."

"FOR THE WHERE, YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN MY PERSONAL QUARTERS ON THE PLANE OF ELYSIUM, LOUNGING ON MY ANTIQUE OSIRIAN FAINTING COUCH. WHICH APPEARS TO BE BROKEN..." Cayden extended a hand, then channeled his power through it, the counch mending itself under Dopethrone and Brigitte. "MUCH BETTER. AND AS TO THE WHAT, THERE ARE TWO WAYS THAT COULD GO. AS TO 'WHAT IS THAT GREEN STUFF' -" Cayden indicated the now-spilled cauldron, "THAT IS A CAULDRON OF RAW NATURE-ALIGNED COSMIC ESSENCE. WE GODS INFUSE OUR BELIEVERS WITH THAT STUFF WHEN THEY BECOME DRUIDS, SO, WHEN YOU GET BACK TO GOLARION, DON'T BE SUPRISED IF YOU SUDDENLY START MANIFESTING DRUID-LIKE ABILITIES, OKAY? ALSO, YOU MAY SPONTANEOUSLY FIND FLOWERS SPROUTING AT YOUR FEET, BIRDS NESTING IN YOUR HAIR, AND PEOPLE STARING IN WONDER AS YOU MANIFEST THE BEAUTY OF NATURE IN A SINGLE MORTAL VESSEL. THAT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL, NO REASON TO PANIC."

"AS TO 'WHAT IS GOING ON', YOU APPEAR TO HAVE SMOKED A STRAIN OF MARIJUANA SO POWERFUL THAT IT INTERACTED WITH THE LATENT MAGIC ABILITIES OF THOSE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY AND SENT YOU HURTLING INTO THE OUTER PLANES, WHERE BY SHEER COSMIC COINCIDENCE YOU LANDED AT MY FEET. I'M IMPRESSED. THE LAST MORTAL WHO DID THIS ONLY GOT HALFWAY THROUGH THE ASTRAL PLANE BEFORE FALLING BACK."

Dopethrone, at this point, had recovered from being dumbstruck himself, and spoke up. "Duuude! You mean that one time wasn't a dream?" He then blinked, and a broad smile appeared on his unkempt face. "Duuude! Cayden Cailean! You're, like, the most partytastic god to ever ascend to goodhood, man!" Dopethrone held out yet another portion of the offending marijuana. "Wanna hit?"

"AH, DOPETHRONE! IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU'VE FOUND BETTER COMPANY - I ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU HAD BETTER THINGS IN YOU. AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE A HIT, I'M AFRAID THAT WE NEED TO CUT THIS SHORT. TOO MUCH TIME SPENT IN THE OUTER PLANES IN THIS STATE AND WEIRD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOUR BODY." Cayden raised a hand, channeling yet more magical power through it. "ANY LAST QUESTIONS BEFORE I SEND YOU OFF?"

[Othniel]

Brigitte

The normally unflappable Investigator squeaked, at a loss for words and embarrassed at failing to recognize her own deity, "My lord Cayden Cailean, had I known the potency of Dopethrone's creation, I should not have dared to partake, for fear of intruding upon your lordship." Brigitte faltered for a moment, trying to process what was going on and to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "My lord, I have many questions about the world, but as my chief purpose in life is making of new discoveries, I feel it would be cheating myself to gain them this way, so I have only one for you: Is there any task you would have me do once I return?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Spoiler: Stray

Show

Concentrating on his spell, Stray's eyes filled with power, and he flashed back to mere minutes ago...

The door opened, and none other than Dopethrone himself came in, followed closely by Brigitte. Proudly, Dopethrone gestured to his room. With the magically enhanced revelation of how it had been before the explosion, Stray could not help but admire it.

The room was rather large, about 40 by 40 feet, and was decorated in an exceedingly bright and psychedelic style. The dark red and green carpet of swirling stars and dragons from the Serpens Sanguis Sanctum was there in all its glory, along with the thick green crushed velvet cushions and ornate glass and Dopethrone's trademark porcelain hookah in the middle - though strangely, it seemed to be disassembled at the moment.
A large mandolin decorated with bright pink stars lay in the corner, along with various pin-ups of women in provocative poses with 'pharmaceutical' paraphanelia and posters of various bards who were advertised as playing psychedelic music. Rather than a normal bed, Dopethrone had apparently opted for a large hammock with several thick blankets laid in and on top for bedding, and random clothes and dressers and various other pieces of junk were strewn around in the corners of the room. To the east, Brigitte could see a walk-in closet closed off from the room by what looked to be some sort of curtain made of sequins, and to the north, several wide windows and a balcony looked over a magnificent and lush garden.

"Like the view? Christoph gave it-" Dopethrone gave off a wet cough. "Christoph gave it to me as an 'apology' for making me change my nickname. I still say it was wack, man. I don't care if these crazy old coots rely on alliteration, Dopethrone the Electric Wizard is still a much radder sounding name."

Fumbling around in one of the corners, Dopethrone retrieved a small cloth bag. Looking closely, Stray immeditaely recognized it to be cannabis.

"Here it is, babe -" Dopethrone clapped his hands over his mouth. "Sorry Brigitte, still not used to seeing so many babes around lately. Gotta watch the lingo... Anyway, this is my latest strain. Been workin' on cultivatin' it since the Sanctum. This stuff with take you to the Moon, around the sun, to Castrovel, Eox, and out past Aucturn to the edge of the Solar System and back. You'll never feel as good in your life as when you're taking a hit of this."

Carefully, Dopethrone then began leaning over his trademark hookah, assembling and cleaning it off as best he could.

"Got company over... Can't have a dirty hookah... That's not chill, man..."

Lighting up the buds of cannabis, Dopethrone inserted them into the water pipe - and upon taking a big hit of smoke, passed another hose to Brigitte.

"Let's get blazed, man."

Brigitte smiled and shook her head. "Dopethrone the Electric Wizard does, indeed, sound much...'radder', as you say."

As Dopethrone handed the pipe to her, the investigator paused briefly.

"This is the first time I have experimented with this type of 'alchemy'."

Then, she lifted the pipe to her mouth, and inhaled, taking a long and deep breath. Dopethrone took another drag for himself, blowing a ring of smoke. Then, just as Brigitte took her second drag, something happened.

A green light tingled atop both Brigitte and Dopethrone's breasts, and a large wind kicked up. Blowing about the room, a surge of magical energy that made Stray's hair feel as if it were standing on end welled up before the room blew open from within, and Brigitte and Dopethrone rocketed into the sky.

The spell ended, and Stray was left standing alone in the ruins of Dopethrone's room.

Spoiler: Brigitte

Show

"ACCESS TO THE POWER OF A GOD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS, AND YOU STILL CHOOSE THE MORE DARING AND ADVENTUROUS WAY OF TRYING TO DISCOVER THINGS ON YOUR OWN. YOU ARE A WOMAN AFTER MY OWN HEART, MADAMOUISELLE LESTRADE." Cayden winked. "DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT INTRUDING. DRUGS LIKE THAT ARE A RARITY, AND THE CONDITIONS HAVE TO BE JUUUST RIGHT. I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN OUR FRIEND OVER HERE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW."

"Honestly, dudes, when you're as baked as often as I am, reality and fantasy tend to blur together a little. Makes the scientific method a bit slow, but that's what you get for making the good stuff."

Cayden nodded. "QUITE. IN ANY CASE, THERE IS ONE TASK I WOULD HAVE YOU DO WHEN YOU RETURN TO THE MATERIAL PLANE. YOUR FRIEND, THE FEY PRINCE STRAY, WILL SOON BE CALLED BACK TO DARKMOON VALE ON A PLANE OF GREAT IMPORT. THERE IS EVIL AFOOT IN THAT AREA, AS THE LUMBER CONSORTIUM IS PRESSING HARD DOWN ON BOTH ITS PEOPLE AND THE FEY. I WANT YOU TO HELP HIM RESOLVE THE SITUATION. THERE'S ALSO AN ERRANT TRIBE OF KOBOLDS IN THE AREA WHO ARE HAVING AN 'INSECT' PROBLEM, AS WELL - HELPING THEM ISN'T QUITE AS IMPORTANT, BUT IF YOU SHOULD RUN INTO THEM IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THEY'RE COMPARATIVELY NON-EVIL KOBOLDS, SO YOU SHOULDN'T FEEL TOO BAD."

"ALSO, JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR HUMILITY AND GOOD CHARACTER, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP AND AN OFFER. ASMODEUS IS UP TO SOMETHING, AND HE'S GOING TO SPRING IT ON ANDORAN IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. I CAN'T SAY MORE THAN THAT, SADLY, DUE TO 'RULES'." Cayden made air quotes as he said this, a clear note of disgust in his voice. "LASTLY, IF EVER YOU SHOULD MEET SOMEONE WITH PLANE SHIFT..." Channeling yet more magic into his voice, Cayden blew a magically infused kiss at Brigitte. "STOP BY AGAIN. I'LL BRING OUT SOME OF THE GOOD WINE."

And as the cosmic dust impacted Dopethrone and Brigitte, the two went tumbling, tumbling down...

*** The Next Day... ***

The next day dawned, and Christoph went to fetch Stray and Pun-Pun at 8:30 so they could get to the Palace of the People's Council with time to spare. As they approached the palace, however, they were treated to a very strange sight indeed.

Approaching the end of the Field of Concord, at the statue of Lady Liberty next to the Archstone Monument, the three of them spotted a small group of Eagle Knights scratching their heads, looking at the statue in puzzlement. Approaching, they then realized that they were not looking at the statue itself - rather they, were looking at what Lady Liberty held in her arms. Sprawled out and unconscious, none other than Brigitte and Dopethrone lay in Lady Liberty's embrace, dead to the world - and both, for some reason, lacking their breeches. Blearily, both of them opened their eyes...

"Duuude... I am totally doing that again."

It was at that moment that an enormous elk came out of the bushes, the Eagle Knights jumping back a little in surprise. Pawing at the ground, it looked up and regarded Brigitte with a curious sniff.

Spoiler: OOC - Brigitte

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You may now begin using your new character sheet.

[Nefarion Xid]

"Don't just gawk like your mothers didn't teach you manners. Give the lady your coat, corporal! And you, fetch a hansom!" Stray snaps with a convincingly military canter before catching sight of the elk. Naturally, he assumed the giant woodland creature was for him and shyly pointed a finger at his chest, as if the elk might give him an affirmative nod.

Spoiler

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Stray cast Glibness before he left (duration of 100 minutes). He's wearing his normal outfit, (mended and prestidigitated clean the previous night) with the addition of a sapphire blue cravat. His bandana is worn as neatly folded as possible beneath his circlet.

[Othniel]

The first thing Brigitte noticed as she slowly came to was a draft. Blinking away the after-effects of a very wild, very memorable night, she looked around. "Where in the Nine Hellth...?" Spotting Stray below, she tried to wave an arm and call out, but she felt weird, and her mouth tasted like...moss. It tasted like moss? "Thhhray! Blatht it...Sthray! Argh...STRAY!"

[Lord Of Mantas]

The Eagle knights, initially emboldened by Brigitte waking up, turned back and jumped once more as Stray walked up and barked out a command.

"Y-yes, of course, sir," replied one of the younger-looking ones, taking off his jacket. He was stopped, however, as the apparent leader of the group outstretched a hand.

"I'll do your friend one better." Extending a hand to Brigitte, he helped her down from the statue, then reached into a bag that had gone heretofore unnoticed. Rummaging around in it, he proceeded to pull out an oversized pair of pants. "Take some cord for an improvised belt and they'll be a perfect fit."

"...dare I ask why you're carting around a bag full of pants, Captain?"

"You remember that Archer's Day is coming up soon, right?"

The recruits looked between the bag and Brigitte/Dopethrone and shuddered visibly.

"Oh gods, they're coming out of the woodwork early."

Dopethrone slid out of the statue's arms, falling onto the cobblestone road with a dull thud.

"Ow."

Meanwhile, the elk looked in Stray's direction, and after chuffing briefly, promptly ignored him in favor of turning back to Brigitte, nuzzling up against the recovering Investigator.

Spoiler: Brigitte

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As the elk nuzzled up against the Galtan woman, she instantly felt something strange, as if a bond had formed between her and the animal. A feeling of... devotion? Affection, perhaps? Made itself known at the back of her head, as if the elk were offering her its services.

You will be my companion.

Spoiler: OOC - I am posting your sheets here for easy reference.

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Brigitte: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=635104
Jean: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=641889

[Othniel]

Her face turned near scarlet in a blush, Brigitte graciously took the pants from the Eagle Knight Captain and pulled them on quickly beneath her frock coat. Some semblance of decency regained, she gave a curt bow. "Thank you, Captain, for your timely assistance. I am embarrassed to admit that I am not entirely sure how to explain my situation here," she admitted. "I do hope I have not caused an annoying disturbance or anything of the sort..."

As the elk drew nearer, Brigitte couldn't resist an undignified giggle as the large creature nuzzled up to her. Holding her new pair of pants up with one hand, she reached out the other to stroke the beast's flank. "He warned me something of the like might occur, but I never imagined anything like this..." She thought for a moment and then, "I shall call you Jean. It is a good, strong name for a good, strong beast." Remembering the conversation with Cayden Cailean earlier, she called over to Stray, "Stray, I must speak with you..."

[Nefarion Xid]

Stray scooches forward and leans down a bit, putting his hands on his hips. "Lestrade, I'm absolutely and sincerely convinced that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the pantslessness and the wizard (good morning, Dopethrone; no, don't get up on my account) and your new cervine friend. But I've got to address a special session of the People's Council now. See the cravat? Cravat means Serious Stray. This is my serious face and this is my serious neckwear."

He straightens himself and spares a glance up and down the street to see if any of the gathering representatives were looking his way. "Take a shower, drink some water, have a nosh and I'll be back in around noon -- depending on if someone challenges me to a duel or not. Wish me luck! Erm, on the speaking, not the ... well it doesn't matter."

[Othniel]

"Cayden Cailean spoke to me!" she hissed. "And you should know what he has to say."

She moved closer and explained. "I am to accompany you to Darkmoon Vale to address problems caused by the Lumber Consortium and to help a tribe of kobolds if there is time and opportunity." She paused for effect, "And Asmodeus has designs against Andoran sometime 'in the next few months.'"

[Nefarion Xid]

Stray feigns a gasp. "No one could have possibly foreseen such portentous portents. Cheliax is colluding with the Prince of Darkness to plan the downfall of Andoran? I am shocked. Just ... no, look I believe you. I do! I just ... I know. I know. The Lumber Consortium will do something stupid, requiring my personal attention. And Cheliax will attempt to exploit the civil unrest."

He steps back and folds his hands politely behind him, doing his best impression of a responsible person. "The Consortium controls the north and they will want to keep that control, no matter what politicians and princes say. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd attempt to secede to Cheliax. Paracount Theroux Muraine -- I can see it now."

"I'll be glad to have you with me, though."

[Lord Of Mantas]

With Dopethrone staggering on back to the Trailblazer's Headquarters (pants forgotten as he staggered down the street in red polka-dotted boxers for all the world to see), Brigitte, Christoph, Pun-Pun and Stray proceeded onwards to the Palace of the People's Council.

***

A short while later, in a large, ornate ampitheater within the palace, the bang of a gavel rang out as the session was called to order. With the exception of Brigitte, Christoph, Pun-Pun, and Stray (who, as guests, were sitting in a special box in the front row), those in attendance were dressed to the nines in ornate blue and gold cloaks and cream-colored tunics - the colors of Andoran, whose states and cities they represented.

At the front of the room, speaking from atop the podium, People's Voice Jarlisa Hermedas cleared her throat.

"We now begin Session 87 of the People's Council of Andoran - and thanks be to all of you for coming on such short notice. For those not aware, which should hopefully be less than a handful, we have gathered on this day to call a final vote on Law 1857, the Darkmoon Vale Preservation Act, wherein further logging activity in the Vale shall be banned outright, along with any expansion of existing mining activity. We begin with representative Kevin Marksman of Augustana, speaking for those in favor?"

Stepping forward, a rather young-looking and impeccably groomed young man with brown hair spoke.

"Thank you, People's Voice. As we are all aware, good members of the council, the Fey have lived in the Darkmoon Vale for nigh on centuries, longer than even Andoran when it was initially founded as an offshoot of Taldor. Throughout that time, the Vale has been an important source of darkwood for Andoran, particularly in these modern times as we steel ourselves against Cheliax."

"But consider this, my friends. We already have one great enemy at our gates - and we have already had difficulty with the Fey, in the past. I trust you all remember the sordid tales of the Carnival of Tears a few years back?"

Discomforted muttering echoed throughout the hall.

"If this keeps up - do we really want to fight a war on two fronts? In this age of great magic, do you really mean to tell me there is not another way we can get around this?"

"YES! I VOTE YES!"

The room's attention snapped to one particularly overweight councilman. "Erm... sorry... thought it was time to vote."

Christoph passed Stray a note under the table.

Spoiler: Note

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Gold made that one a touch enthusiastic.

Jarlisa facepalmed. "Thuldrin Kreed, for the opposition."

A rather slimy-looking man with a goatee and a permanent sneer stood. "Members of the council. As has already been said, Cheliax lurks at our doors, waiting to pounce at a moment's notice. Consorting with powerful demons from afar, waiting to feast and plunder your wealth - your wives - your children! Would you really stop logging in the vale, and stop our primary means of defense against those foreign devils? Would you really listen to the words of some bedraggled mercenary -" Thuldrin's gaze whirled around to the Trailblazers, "-and let their embarrasingly naive suggestions take our safety and jaerbs - I mean, jobs? The Consortium has kept things under control in the past, and it can do so again."

Jarlisa's gaze, at last, turned to Stray. "Mister Stray, correct? If you would kindly offer your thoughts on this matter?"

[Nefarion Xid]

Stray rose, putting on his warmest and nearly genuine smile. "Prince Stray," he corrects. "Today, I am acting in my official capacity as representative of the Fey Peoples at the behest of my mother, Queen Syntira."

Glancing sideways, he makes eye contact with Thuldrin. "Mister Kreed. I hope your boy Jurin is doing well. You'll give him my best?"

Returning to face the entire assembly, he raises his voice. "Queen Syntira extends her kindest regards to the people of Andoran, our friends and neighbors. To all of you, health, long life and, above all: wisdom. On behalf of my people, I thank the People's Council for allowing our voice to be heard in the Capital. Let this be the beginning of a new era of openness and communication between our two races. Unequivocally, we wish to continue to peacefully coexist with your nation. But if logging in the Darkmoon Vale is brought to an end, you will not have good neighbors, you will have good friends."

Casually, he moves from his box to the floor to continue, trusting that should he violate the Council's decorum, he would be too imposing to be corrected. "Truly, Queen Syntira's circumspection is without peer. Something that comes with thousands of years of experience, I suppose. You all should ask yourselves, what would you do if a foreign power built settlements within your territory, took your resources and jeopardized the lives of your citizens. There would be war without question. The good Queen is not so hasty; indeed her patience and beneficence is unfathomable. Should you fail to pass Law 1857 there will be no reprisal. I will again come before you, in peace, and trust in diplomacy and democracy. I cannot, however, speak for all Fey. Should you continue to press into the heart of the Vale, I can by no means gaurantee that all Fey shall continue to trust in my mother's rule. It is in your fondest interest that Queen Syntira should continue to rule the Vale, in good graces, with the love of her people and the friendship of Andoran."

He raises his hands to the audience, "Recognize the Queen's sovereignty over the Vale and all lands from the River Foam to the Five Kings Mountains and I swear to you our eternal alliance. We shall forever stand with the people of Andoran against tyranny! We will fight Cheliax with you. We will tear down the Thrice Damned House of Thrune! All we ask in return is your good will.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Applause started to spread throughout the council room - slowly at first, then gaining in intensity. Throughout it, Thuldrin fixed Stray with a death glare rivaling the heat of a thousand suns. A few more speeches from the opposition and support followed, but even at a glance it became abundantly clear that the vote had shifted in favor of Stray - an observation that proved to be the case when the final votes were tallied.

"And so, by a vote of 253 to 97, the body votes in favor of Law 1587. This council is adjourned."

As Jarlisa banged her gavel, Thuldrin, his face a lovely eggplant-tint shade of purple, leapt to his feet.

"Mongrel! Fairy $^%! You haven't heard the last of me!"

With a downward toss, a plume of smoke enveloped Thuldrin and those seated next to him, and magic chanting and a flash of light came from within. When the smoke cleared seconds later, he was gone, the Eagle Knights who'd rushed in finding nothing.

A moderately vexed look on her face, Jarlisa descended, stopping in front of the Trailblazers. "Prince Stray, Mister Carloman... and I don't think I've been introduced to you two." Jarlisa's eyebrow was raised as she caught sight of Pun-Pun. "If you would kindly follow me, I'll take you to the Supreme Elect's office, and we can get this officially enacted by lunch. I believe Codwin wishes to discuss the finer matters of getting this implemented, as well."

[Nefarion Xid]

Stray remains silent a moment, glaring at the place where Kreed stood a minute before.

"Yes, I believe I will speak with the Supreme Elect. Kreed can't get himself into too much trouble in just an hour or two. Given that villainous cliche he just pulled, I'm sure he's returned to Falcon's Hollow and is plotting something imminently stupid."

"Pun-Pun, go back to headquarters and fetch one of the wizards and Lestrade. Wait for me on the mall. I'll need a teleport to Falcon's Hollow straight away. If they're not available, get a scroll from storage or buy one. Pay double if you have to."

"Oh, honored to make your acquaintance, Madam Speaker," he finally puts on a facsimile of manners for Jarlisa. He gestures to the door, hoping to hurry on and conclude business with Codwin as soon as possible. "While I have your ear, do you think it's possible to pencil me in to discuss kobold rights?"

Once they're on their way, Stray gives Christoph a sly fist-bump.

Spoiler: Stray's talking/treaty points

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1.a. The Darkmoon Vale does not and has never recognized the authority of the Andoran government within its borders.
1.b. The Darkmoon Vale denounces previous logging activity and settlement within its borders. The Darkmoon Vale asserts that these actions were illegal, but seeks no contrition.
1.c.a. The Darkmoon Vale denounces the existence of the settlement Falcon's Hollow and asserts that it's continued presence is a violation of sovereignty.
1.c.b. Falcon's Hollow must be abandoned before the dawn of the new year 4713.
1.c.c. The Darkmoon Vale offers aid (food) to facilitate the relocation of residents.
1.c.d. Prince Stray offers to aid in the construction of a new settlement on the southern bank of the River Foam.

2.a. Andoran officially recognizes the Queen Syntira as absolute sovereign of the Darkmoon Vale.
2.b. Andoran recognizes the Darkmoon Vale as an independent and sovereign state.

3.a. The Darkmoon Vale recognizes the sovereignty of the Andoran government in its recognized borders.
3.b. Queen Syntira officially endorses the merits of a democratic republic and agrees to support fairly elected leaders.
3.c. Queen Syntira renounces any claims to realms outside the borders of the Darkmoon Vale, including the Arthfell and Verduran.

4. The Darkmoon Vale offers an alliance (unilateral military aid against foreign powers)

5. The Darkmoon Vale officially condemns the Chelish Empire, House Thrune and the practice of compacting with fiends.

6. Provision for the establishment of a Fey embassy (see river island). Prince Stray awarded sovereignty of said island. Andoran settlement within 5 miles of the island is prohibited.

http://i.imgur.com/XGkG8Om.png

[Lord Of Mantas]

"Well, Codwin's booked solid through next Wealday, but I think we still have some time next Oathday where we can fit you in."

Snapping off a jaunty salute, Pun-Pun gave a noise of assent at Stray's command. "Madamousille Lessstrade is already with us, Lord Ssstray, but Pun-Pun will go and fetch Dopethrone. Asss inebriated asss he wasss, he cannot have gotten far."

With Pun-Pun gone, Jarlisa led Stray, Christoph and Brigitte through a maze of twisty passages, all alike, until they finally reached a grand office. Knocking on the door, Jarlisa let herself half-in before she turned back to the two Trailblazers.

"Give us a few minutes. The Supreme Elect will want to get a quick summary of what happened in the chamber."

As they waited, Christoph returned Stray's fist-bump with matching enthusiasm.

"Congratulations, Stray."

***

After a few minutes, Jarlisa opened the door."Supreme Elect, may I present Christoph Carloman, Brigitte Lestrade, and Prince Stray of the Trailblazer's League."

Entering the office, Stray and Brigitte's eyes were immediately drawn to the heavy oaken desk flanked by a pair of Eagle Knights, upon which sat a copy of the treaty Stray had drawn up - or more accurately, their eyes were drawn to the man sitting behind it. Dressed in an elegant blue and white nobleman's coat, with a muscled and highly athletic body that spoke of combat experience and a bald head with handsome, chiseled features the color of dark chocolate, Codwin I stood up and shook each person's hand with a strong grip.

"Mr. Carloman, good to see you again. And a pleasure to meet the both of your associates - Christoph has told me a lot about you. Especially you - Prince Stray, isn't it? Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd swear he was making half of his stories up. It's not every day that you get a fey prince asking that we formally withdraw any claim to Darkmoon Vale, or asking for his own private island... But then again, we live in strange times." Codwin smiled. "As it happens, I've been hoping to reduce our dependence on that tract of land for a while now, and to strengthen our relationship with the fey. So this, really, has posed the perfect opportunity."

With a grand flourish, Codwin signed the paper on his desk before dribbling hot wax over the bottom, stamping it with the National Seal.

"It is done. Now that that's out of the way, however, there is something I would ask of you. Obviously, with the people of Falcon's Hollow being displaced and moved to the south of the River Foam, we're going to need some sort of transitioning program to help resettle them. Through this new law, you have offered to provide food and the construction of a new settlement, but they will still need help getting it up to speed - and more importantly, we still need a source of Darkwood, as much as I wish that wasn't the case."

"As it became more and more apparent that your act actually had some traction and teeth to it, I began looking into ways of accomplishing those - and I believe I found a way. There's a roving circle of druids who've recently come to Andoran, lead by one Brevoyan named Jaeger Hackett. He's offered his services to help create a sustainable, regrowing grove of Darkwood trees, outside the Vale, and to help get our people's fields set up. Unfortunately, we lost contact with him a few days ago - all attempts at getting in touch with him magically have failed."

"Since it's technically your land, I can't actually order you to do anything, but I would appreciate it if you could go to Darkwood Vale and locate him, as well as calming down the inevitable protests and backlash from the Lumber Consortium."

[Nefarion Xid]

"I've already arranged for a teleport to Falcon's Hollow and I'll be leaving within the hour. I've ... had dealings with Thuldrin Kreed in the past. He's a spectacularly stupid and brutish man. Considering how he spat some villainous cliche at me and vanished from the assembly floor in a cloud of smoke, I have to assume he's got something on his tiny little greasy brain. I don't know what, but it will be loud and ill advised. You should send a few elite Eagle Knights with us -- not for my protection, but for the civilians. The last thing we need is a mob of out-of-work lumberjacks marching off into the forest. I'll do my part, but they'll feel more comfortable with some fresh faced soldiers present."

Stray rises quite suddenly, preempting Cowdin from signalling the close of the meeting in a nearly subtle power play.

"And I promise I'll track down Jaeger. Shouldn't be too hard with that bright orange beard of his. Oh! We met a few years ago. I'm sure he'll be surprised to see me." He flashes a wan smile to the Supreme Elect as if to say, yes, yes I do know everyone.

"Before I go, I do have a gift. A small token of friendship." He retrieves an acorn from his coat pocket and hands it over. "Otherwise identical to Quaal's Feather Tokens apart from the fact that it's not a feather and it produces a darkwood tree. Find a nice place for it? They don't need a lot of light, but that shouldn't be a problem since it will grow to a height of sixty feet in seconds. I could show your state wizards how to make them. It's only moderately more expensive than having them cut down up-river. But honestly, have you tried spruce for your ships?"

[Othniel]

Waiting for the most opportune moment, Brigitte cleared her throat in an effort to gain the Supreme Elect's attention. "Monsieur Supreme Elect, for myself I beg but one moment of your time," Brigitte put in as Stray made ready to leave. She tried to look as serious as she could despite the (to her mind) atrocious state of her wardrobe, "It will come as no surprise to you that Cheliax is a danger to the people of Andoran. I wish I could be more specific with the information I have for you, but a highly reliable source has told me that, to paraphrase his words, there is a plot being concocted involving Asmodeus, Cheliax, and Andoran." Brigitte's cheeks colored slightly and a smile came to her lips as she remembered the offer that accompanied the information. Clearing her throat, she continued, "Given the occasion here to see you, I thought it prudent to say something. Doubtless, you have your own means of gathering information, and do not require my advice, but I have the feeling that some preparation would be sensible."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Codwin nodded as Stray mentioned the need for Eagle Knights.

"I completely agree. As it happens, I believe there's a small squad in this very area, reasonably experienced. I'll send a quick runner for them and they'll accompany you when you leave."

At Stray's mention of knowing Jaeger, he raised an eyebrow briefly, but nodded again in assent. A surprised look, followed by one of gratitude, appeared on his face as he accepted the Darkwood Tree Tokens.

"I'm sure we can make great use of these. We have tried spruce, actually - it was what we used before logging in the Vale became the norm. I suspect until we get the groves up and running we shall be relying on it once again."

At Brigitte's warning, he once more raised an eyebrow before taking on a rather neutral facial expression.

"Such assumptions are our intelligence officer's default states of mind, Madamouiselle Lestrade. Nonetheless, I shall see what I can do about telling our spies to keep an extra eye out or two in the coming months."

***

As it turned out, the squad of Eagle Knights sent to accompany them was none other than the squad responsible for giving Lestrade a spare pair of pants. A series of awkward greetings was exchanged before the headed out of the palace, where they were greeted by Pun-Pun and a visibly grumpy Dopethrone.

"Duuude... I, like, could really use a bit of shuteye after that night..."

"Sssave your protessst's, Dopethrone. Don't you wizardsss have a ssspell for every occasion? I ssshould think you'd have prepared sssomething in the event Hisss Lordship asked you to do some actual work."

Dopethrone blearily blinked, then perked up slightly.

"Oh... Oh, yeah!"

Drawing himself up straight as he could, Dopethrone waved his two hands in a graceful, flowing kata around his head.

<POLYPURPOSE PANACEA.>

A warm, glowing light enveloped the perpetually inebriated wizard, and when it vanished he was no less bedraggle and messy than usual, but was notably perkier looking.

"Alright! Most excellent dudes! Man, that feels much better. So, what did you want me back for here again?"

[Nefarion Xid]

"Dopethrone, thank you for coming. We need a teleport to Falcon's Hollow: a village two-hundred miles north by north west on the northern bank of the River Foam. You can see Droskar's Crag over the darkwood forest. Clear enough? Because I can show you with an Image."

Stray gives a brief smile to the assembled Eagle Knights and offers his hand to the leader. "You must be good if you've been selected for an important peacekeeping mission like this one. Has the Supreme Elect filled you in on all the details? Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

[Othniel]

Brigitte remained silent for the most part, busying herself with readying her gear. After greeting the Eagle Knights, and embarrassingly realizing that it was the same group that assisted her earlier, she grew quiet and avoided eye contact with any of them, letting Stray do most of the speaking and staying close to her new companion, Jean.

[Lord Of Mantas]

As Stray and Brigitte lead the Eagle Knights outside, their captain nodded at Stray. "I've been in the service for 10 years; these ones are a bit greener (they've about 3) but they've got sword-arms enough between them to keep any rabble rousers from trying anything fresh. His Excellency told us the basic summary - mostly, that we've three objectives. A) Keep the population from hurting anyone else, B) Keep them from hurting themselves with any brilliant ideas like wandering off into the forest, and C) Keep the Lumber Consortium from stirring them up. Any further details were to be provided by you."

***

Dopethrone nodded. "Nah, that should be clear enough, dude. After years of mind expansion, you can trust me when I say that I have a gift for imagination. More so after that stunt me and Brigitte got up to last night. Duuude... A strain powerful enough to blast through the outer planes... I should-" It was at this point that Dopethrone noticed the Eagle Knights, and shot up stock straight. "Uh, I mean, we just sat around and drank tea all night, and, like, discussed liberty and crocheting and all that. Dude."

The captain facepalmed. "...just get us to Falcon's Hollow and I'll forget I heard anything."

"Right. Gather round." Touching each of them in turn, Dopethrone executed a wide, sweeping kata before channeling magic through his very being and calling out in the mystical tongue of magic.

"<GREATER TELEPORT!>"

***

In a flash of white light, Brigitte and Stray found themselves several hundred miles north of Andoran, on a verdant hilltop beneath a large oak tree. To the north, they could see a vast forest stretching out before them and into the distant mountains - and an equally large field of demolished, barren stumps. To the south, they could see a long and mighty rushing river, a small town with a lumber mill perched upon its northern bank.

Falcon's Hollow.

Narrowing their eyes, Brigitte and Stray could both make out a mass of people swarming about in the twon center, and a smaller group clustered around the northern gates.