Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

[Zombulian]

Ruk scowled and grabbed a vial of acid in a free hand. He made no move to exit the cart.
“Couldn’t leave well enough alone could they? Ah well. I had a spell I wanted to try.”

[almondsAndRain]

Three drew her crossbow but remained in the front of the wagon. She hoped that her presence may help keep the two mules calm when the wolves struck, as the boar and horses were already beginning to jitter. Tracking down all of the animals would be a right pain.
Wanting to keep the discussion as far from Derval’s situation as possible, the warforged instead offered Dergosh a piece of advice. “Try to keep an eye on the pig, Dergosh. The wolves may want pork chops, and I don't think it can defend itself.”

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Early Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

The Company's convoy drew to a halt. As Kuros dismounted, steel unfolding from him like some lethal scarab, the wolves by the tree stood and began pacing slowly back and forth. The wolf behind them slowed and then stopped, staring at the group with unblinking eyes.

There were more growls.
From the east side.

Three more wolves stalked out of the woods on the other side of the Company's convoy, different shades of black and grey, teeth baring. But neither did they move to attack, holding a good forty feet of distance from any of the group, slowly slipping from side to side, behind trees and bushes, in and out of sight, always moving to that side.

"They're on three sides of us," said Jhod, sliding carefully from his saddle. His hands went to the quarterstaff across his back, but didn't draw it. His left fist was still on his bridle. "I make eight of them. We could still go - the forward path is still open," he said, nodding forward of the wagon, where no wolven shapes had yet appeared.

[kjelfalconer]

"Ugh, why can't you just tell us where you want us to go already?" They were being herded, that much was obvious. To where, and by what, he couldn't say. Something horrible, probably. His first guess would be fey at this point, but he still wasn't writing off werewolves either. "Can we just do what they want? I don't want to be eaten. Guys, you don't want to eat me, I'll give you horrible hairballs."

[bcool999]

"We could go," Kuros says to the group, "But there is no guarantee that forward won't lead us to disadvantaged terrain. Wolves are pack hunters and good ones, fully able to lead us into a trap. That is why I would prefer to face them here and possibly scare them off before continuing. What does the group think?"

As he talks, Kuros draws his Lucerne hammer in his remaining two free hands, and sets it to receive a charge should the wolves lose patience.

[Mercurion 2]

“Wolves want to bother us after all, maybe,” Dergosh growled. He bent over and picked up the boar, walking over to the wagon and plopping it into the bed. “Stay here, pig, I think you more of a bear hunter, not wolf hunter.” He turned back to join Kuros, and glanced over to catch Korlann’s eye as well. “Maybe time we got some wolf fur capes, eh? Watch sides, I talk to this one,” he said to the two warriors, pointing at the trailing wolf. He stepped forward of Kuros, sliding his Gruumsh-spear from the sheath across his back. Work on werewolf, probably work on regular wolf, too.

“What you want, wolf?!” he shouted in challenge, waving the harpoon in the air. “We are the Wolftooth Clan! You find us too tough to eat, ‘specially with Gruumsh-spear sticking down your throat!”

Spoiler

Show

Prepare action to set the spear to receive a charge should he see any wolf leaping to the attack.

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Early Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

In answer to his call, almost as one, the wolf pack bared fanged, dirty teeth, advancing a few steps in on the group. Some gave snarling barks as they crept inward, moving cautiously but no less fearsomely. The open space filled with the noises of snarling wolves.

The reaction from Baghtru and Kuros's horses was immediate. Baghtru turned towards the open direction and was on the verge of running. Kuros's horse began to buck, wildly, a danger to man and beast alike. Jhod's horse began to turn around, and the cleric slapped his hands to the saddle, fighting to get back onto the horse before it bolted. And even Korlann's mount was starting to buck against him.

The mules didn't run, but they stopped moving forward, nudging against one another.

And on the cart itself, the boar Dergosh had tossed into the back suddenly realised it was not more than a foot away from Ruk. It panicked, wildly tossing its head about with no regard for the people closest to it, trying to find a way off the back.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Again, sorry for the delayed response.

Handle Animal checks needed for Dergosh and Kuros.
Ride check for Korlann.
Reflex check for Ruk, Gakan, and Three.

[Mercurion 2]

Hearing the ruckus behind him, Dergosh muttered and shook his head. “Forgot pig scared of dragons,” he said to Kuros and Korlann. “Be right back,” he said apologetically to the warriors and trotted back to the wagon.

“Pig,” he addressed the boar in a patient voice, “Ruk not going to eat you, but wolves might. Calm down, have to strengthen Wolftooth first.” His free hand jutting in to the air, he shouted, “THE POWER OF THE ONE EAR BE WITH THE WOLFTOOTH TRIBE!”

Spoiler

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Move action to return to the cart, then casting bless from a spot that should cover everyone in the party. +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saving throws against fear effects for entire company. [roll0]

[BluesEclipse]

Korlann watches the wolves warily, waiting to see what they will do. At Dergosh's shout, however, as the wolves lunge, his own mount begins to buck beneath him, and he begins working to try and bring it under control.

Spoiler: Ride Check

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(1d20+3)[12]

[Zombulian]

Ruk’s eyes had been glued on the wolf pack. He hadn’t thought so much about the pig being placed next to him. He let loose a short shout as he tried to evade the squealing beast.

Spoiler

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Reflex Save: (1d20+0)[16]

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Early Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Things happened quickly at that point.

Ruk managed to pull his body back to avoid a boar's tusk drawing a line across his chest. Three got a second's glance and started to move aside, but the boar's tusk clipped an area near her hip and a small chip of wood flew free. Gakan managed to shift aside in time, and then Dergosh unceremoniously grabbed the boar and lifted it down off the cart. It seemed too surprised to do much about it at that second.

However, dealing with the boar, Baghtru was left unattended. The horse's eyes rolled, it screamed, and took off south as fast as its hooves would carry it, galloping away with the saddle, bridle, and whatever Dergosh had left on the horse, carried out of sight a few seconds later.

Kuros didn't have time to notice. He was stuck between managing weapons and shields in every hand and trying to keep his own mount from going mad. He set his will against the horse's, calling up every trick Geralt had ever taught him ...
And succeeded. The horse calmed, momentarily. Off to one side, Jhod managed to bring his own mount under control, though it was whinnying near-constantly.

Korlann wasn't quite so fortunate. His mount bucked, once, twice, and a third, apocalyptic time - and Korlann's feet left the stirrups, his centre of balance shifting. Skarn instincts and endless training at the monastery kicked in and twisted him through the air, breaking his fall and allowing him to come up unscathed as he hit the ground - but his mount immediately took flight, galloping off into the woods, following herd instinct and crashing into the foliage the same way Baghtru had gone. Whatever was on the horse had gone with it.

By the time the Company had time to recover, the wolves were already gone. Three spotted a few bushy tails disappearing into the woods like shadows, heading off in pursuit of the two stampeding horses.

Kuros understood. Given how cunning wolves could be and how they'd refrained from attacking an armed band of men who at least numbered their own - that they might have well planned on obtaining today's meal in precisely this manner.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

1 hitpoint off Three. Everyone else is unharmed, but Dergosh and Korlann's mounts have taken off in complete fright, at what would amount to the Run action for them. The wolf pack has clearly and obviously gone in pursuit, and presumably at the right moment they'll bring the two horses down and help themselves to afternoon tea.

What are you guys doing - bearing in mind extended conversation lenghtens any chase you might care to make on the wolf pack?

[Mercurion 2]

Dergosh shouted in anger and annoyance and immediately set out at a run after the departing wolves, allies and friendly swine completely out of his mind for the moment. A burning anger turned his green skin almost a shade of purple as he sprinted towards the woods.

The possibility that he might be running into a situation where he was outnumbered or ambushed was the furthest thing from his mind. He was completely focused on getting Bahgtru back from the horse thief wolves.

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Early Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

It appeared that Dergosh had acted before anyone in the Company had the opportunity to say or do much about it. The half-orc crashed through greenery, leaping over fallen logs and tearing through the brush, trying to follow the path of Baghtru and the wolf pack that now lay in its wake.

Somewhere in the thick green of the woods ahead -- far ahead -- he heard the high, echoing noise of a scream that could only come from a horse. But running through the scrub in search of them was not as easy as it seemed.

There was a rational, automatic part of him that was still attempting to get through to his brain: they run faster than you. You surely will not get there before they kill Baghtru.

The green woods were blurring around him. Plenty of space to run under these trees, the underbrush was wasting away, the space below the canopy a dim, gloomy murk. He hardly knew whether he was even heading in the right direction...

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Dergosh doesn't have Track, so trying to follow the path of the wolf pack and Baghtru is out.

Listen check to see if he can pick up a sound of where they might be headed. It'll be a pretty heavy number to beat.
Then it's a matter of a Survival check to see if you can get your bearings in the woods...

Dergosh pulled up for a moment, gritting his teeth, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He had heard the scream of the horse, but it was just impossible to know which direction it was coming from - or how far it was ahead.

---

A good way back further in the woods, Kuros reined his horse in, peering closer at the ground again. And once more. He stilled the nervous mount as it whickered, and took one more look.

No: it was clear. While Dergosh had at least initially started out following the trails of Baghtru, Korlann's mount, and the wolves; their path had held together and the Obah-blessed warrior had been able to follow their path even on horseback. But somewhere along the line - where was uncertain - Dergosh must have veered off, because there was no longer any sign of the big half-orc's passage. And the damnable thing about it was that there was no way of knowing where exactly Dergosh had gone off on his own tangent. The trail had already veered around trees and bushes; he might have turned left where the chase had turned right, and would have been no wiser that he'd immediately lost them. The problem being that it would be just as damnably hard to figure out where Dergosh now was.

Kuros glanced back the way he'd come. It would at least be straightforward to go back to the wagon and the rest of the Company. It seemed nobody else had come out after Dergosh, which perhaps wasn't unwise given the present circumstances.

[Mercurion 2]

Dergosh snarled in anger and frustration. He snatched up his mace from where it hung on a crusty leather loop and gave his shield drum a single, vicious thump, eliciting a rattling boom. "BAHGTRU!" he stormed, hurling his words into the empty air. "TO ME!"

With that, he was on his way again, clueless about his direction but carrying on forward as best as he could estimate.

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon?, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Dergosh walked on, or perhaps stamped was the better word for it.

Birds twittered in the branches above, remarking on his passage. The terrain didn't get steep or drop into canyons, fortunately, but it had a maddening sameness about it: tree, scrub, brush, shafts of light through the canopy, emerald glow everywhere else from the light of the sun through thin leaves. Now and then, breezes rolled in, dead leaves rolling, tumbling, and coming to rest in the half-light.

The half-orc wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been walking when, stepping over a long-dead elm stump, he realised the sound of twittering birds above him had changed. Where there was chirping, now there was a sound that, for some reason, sounded an awful lot like weeping.

Dergosh looked for the source. He found it, before a bush of red Tharamis blooms. The bright red flowers nodded in the breeze, seeming to be trying to console the creature sitting cross-legged, almost underneath the plant.

It looked like a less-imposing, less-scaly version of Ruk, back at the wagon. Same reptilian features, same scales, same little clawed hands, which were curled into delicate little fists in front of its elongated snout, rubbing fiercely at its leaking eyes. Dergosh noticed a stick - a broken spear, he guessed - lying by its side. It wasn't coloured like Ruk was; where Ruk had painted himself up with five colours, this one's scales were a smooth, matte black. A soot-scaled little dragon, though some part of Dergosh's mind whispered that its name was kobold. It was crying so pitifully, rocking slightly forwards and backwards, that it hadn't even noticed Dergosh tramping up to it.

---

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Kuros had been gone a while when Jhod Kavken finally turned to the Company. The boar had been grunting happily at the cleric's feet, but the man now gestured to the woods around them. "Is it really a good idea to let him go off by himself like that? Your friends could be in some trouble out there."

[Zombulian]

Ruk gave the cleric a sidelong glance and continued to pick his claws.
“Kuros will be fine. He’s the real woodsman of the rest of us, and he’ll move faster alone. Besides, someone needs to watch the cart.”

[almondsAndRain]

Three looked into the woods around them as Jhod spoke and felt a profound sense of dread. The Company had walked into a trap and was now split, and has almost definitely lost two of its animals. The idea of wandering through the forest to help Kuros find Dergosh was tempting- especially since the half-orc would probably be mad that they didn’t chase after the animals too- but how would they even find Kuros without Kuros? He was the only tracker.
The warforged waited a moment after Ruk spoke before adding her two-cents. “No, I believe we should remain where we are. Kuros is the Forester, here. If we wander off we would just make his job harder because we wouldn’t be able to find him but he would need to find wherever we ended up. Aside from that, Kuros is the strongest member of our Company and Dergosh has the most powerful spells. If any of us can survive out there, it would be them.”

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Jhod looked into the woods one more time before sighing. "As you say, saers," he nodded. Then peered closer at Three. "Did you need any repairs, saer? I have heard of the odd warforged in my time, and that's not a small scratch our boarish companion gave you."

[almondsAndRain]

Three reached down to her hip and felt the abrasion the boar had left her with. It wasn’t a fun moment, but her wood was the least valuable thing that went missing with the wolves. She still wished that they had brought the boar to its home instead of adopting it- Dergosh would have been focused on Baghtru instead, and maybe they would only be looking for Korlann’s mount (or, more likely, the remains of said mount).
That aside, some magic would quiet the slow warning signals being sent to her mainframe. “If you believe you can spare the spell, I wouldn’t mind some healing. Thank you, Jhod.” Something else the Great Mother’s cleric said caught Three’s attention. “If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know about the warforged? You’re one of the only people I’ve met that know of my kind.”

[BluesEclipse]

Korlann watches the woods as he waits for his companions to return, frowning. "I think," he muses aloud to himself, "that once we have some time to spare, I'll see if Kuros can teach me a bit about tracking and forestry. While he's certainly the best of us in those areas, it doesn't mean he should be the only one with any skill in that regard."

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Jhod didn't immediately answer Three's question; the cleric had shuffled across to the warforged's seat and stretched his hand out to her damaged hip, closing his eyes. "Be whole," he whispered, and the healing spell took effect - not with its full efficiency, but certainly enough to cause riven wood to stretch, reorient, smooth, and cover the construct's damaged parts.

The cleric withdrew his hand, leaning back on his quarterstaff. "As for how I know warforged ... well, that's a longer story. Do you know Adaerglast?"

Spoiler: Three

Show

Three did. It was one of the Border Kingdoms, a good distance south by south west from her own old haunt of Irl. Its recent history had been fairly violent. Adaerglast had been one of the more prosperous farming communities in the Borders, until a pair of mages had shown up and taken the land by force. And their enforcers in that kingdom...oh.

"It's filled with farming communities," Jhod continued. "When the mages, Iraun and Srivven, took over, they used constructs to police their rule. They still do as far as I know. From Helmed Horrors down to clockwork creatures. And ... for the accounting, and the tax collections ... a few ensouled constructs. Warforged. They were the only ones Iraun and Srivven trusted with intelligence and responsibility." The cleric smoothed his combover. "Occasionally the tax collections met with ... objections. Those of us among Chauntea's faithful knew if the mages' constructions were rendered inactive or destroyed, there would only be suffering sent upon the village. So we intervened, repaired the warforged when such an incident occurred, and in return they reported compliance to the mages." He gave a weak smile to Three. "A deal with a darkness, perhaps, but I thought of it as saving lives either way - that of the warforged or the villagers who otherwise stood to be killed in retribution. Maybe that's what--well. I chatter too much," said Jhod, shaking his head.

Across the way, the boar trotted up to Korlann, snuffling around at his feet and then looking up hopefully at the Skarn.

[Mercurion 2]

"HEY! Little Black Ruk! You see Bahgtru and some wolves come through here??" the cleric shouted at the kobold in a no doubt very confusing manner. "Where they go? Wolves break your spear?"

Dergosh continued to look around distractedly, looking for some sign of his horse or the soon-to-be skinned wolves.

[almondsAndRain]

“I see. Thank you for the information as well then, Jhod.” Three tried to put together a mental map of the Border Kingdoms but with its fiefs’ ever-changing boundaries and having never actually seen a map of the region, it was no doubt a poorly done one. That aside, she couldn’t actually place Adaerglast too far from the Greenbelt. It should be on the western coast, about the same distance from Dunbridges as Irl is, maybe even a little less. Definitely not a short trip by any means, but if the Company’s realm grows to a respectable size then some form of diplomatic tie would be formed with it.
It would likely be a poor one if Iraun’s and Srivven’s behavior was any indication. After taking a few minutes to think on this, Three turned her attention back to Jhod. “Jhod, is there anything else you can tell us about those spellcasters that conquered Adaerglast? Constructs are expensive soldiers and Adaerglast is a wealthy land. I would have thought that they would have faced the realms surrounding them, if not for their behavior, then at least to seize their resources.”

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Jhod straightened. "Well, we don't know a lot," he said. "It's not as if they ever got out much to talk to countryside clerics, let alone the commoners. The story goes they're from Murghôm, far and away from here, in the Old Empires of the east. A warforged I patched up said he'd been ensorcelled to understand and speak the Mulrohandi language; apparently that's the mages' native tongue, it makes for a handy cipher at their court since there aren't a lot of people in the Border Kingdoms who speak it. As for conflict with other realms..."

The cleric seemed to hesitate a moment. Then bit his lip and turned to Three again. "From what I've heard, everyone from the Red Wizards of Thay to Calimshan and even Halruaa have tried to dislodge them in the past few years. They - the mages, that is - they don't brook any arcanist living inside Adaerglast's borders, you see. Clerics were another matter. Until last year." Jhod sighed. "Some of the local temples - including a few of Chauntea's Circles - decided the people couldn't take this sort of rule anymore. They found some wizards out of Yallasch, further south, who were willing to help them. Four, five towns went into revolt. It lasted all of about three days. The mages hit the rebels with constructs, summoned animals, gods know what else. Wasn't even close. A dozen temples razed to the ground, clerics imprisoned or hanged. They buried Chaunteans alive. Priests of Helm were blinded. Lathanderites they burned at the stake. But the wizards they crucified - on the southern border, as a warning to Yallasch." The cleric shook his head again, his gaze drifting to a random patch of earth. "Dreadful business," he murmured.


----

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon? Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

The kobold scrambled to its feet, grabbing the broken spear as it stood up, pointing it at the half-orc cleric. Its eyes were red raw. "No move!" it yipped, brandishing the blunt, ripped end of the shaft at him, stepping back until it half-fell into the Tharamis bush, red flowerheads nodding. "You no move! Back!" it yapped again, a thick accent on its words.

[Mercurion 2]

Dergosh spared a half second to glare balefully at the hapless creature. Ruk-With-a-Stick was less than a nuisance at the moment and the half-orc had far more immediate things on his mind—namely finding his horse and killing some wolves, all wolves. This pest barely registered. He briefly considered compelling the creature to aid him in his search, but this version of Ruk looked even less useful than the original. Dergosh spit.

“No time for you, black Ruk. Need to find Bahgtru.” He looked around, and seeing no sign of the horse or wolves on his current trajectory, he took off at a right angle to his original path.

Spoiler

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Yeah, “sootscale kobolds” is less than not a thought to Dergosh at the moment.

[bcool999]

Kuros sighs at his own foolishness for rushing off. His master would scold him for attempting to track mounted. Figuring that the horses could always be replaced, despite Dergosh's feelings to the contrary, Kuros decides to turn back. Dismounting, Kuros leads his horse back along the way they came and takes his time to see where the half-orc wandered off.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Sorry for the late posting. I had meant to put this up much sooner. Basically taking 20 on track to find Dergosh, will likely take a while but I will get there eventually.

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Late afternoon? Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Dergosh plunged further into the woods, leaving the little black Ruk far behind. Time passed on, and even with periodic roars to the sky calling for Baghtru, nothing revealed itself, and the horse remained unseen.

The half-orc crested a rise in the woods, and found his path blocked. In a depression in the woods, the land turned into a bog, an earthy stink rising from a stagnant patch of swamp where valiant reeds fought for life in murky, wet sands, and bugs of various sizes buzzed around feeding on each other or on particles of dirt. Either side of the bog, the land had turned into steep hillsides. So the half-orc had a choice: if he still wanted to press on in this direction, he could either wade his way across the swamp - which didn't look that deep or overly forbidding - or he could navigate the steep hillsides, which were thick with loose rock, brush, and stubbornly-growing trees. Going around via that route would take significantly more time, but it would spare him having to cross through the marsh.

---

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Late afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Kuros was relieved when his search finally came to an end. It had taken him a couple of hours. Maybe other trackers would have given up; he couldn't imagine Geralt having spent this amount of time looking for a creature's trail. But persisted he had, and finally he found the telltale sign he'd been hoping for: a smear, a patch of moss on the shady side of a fallen log which had been scraped off in a way that didn't match the incidental contact of a horse or a wolf. Moving in a slow circle out from that scuff mark, he found the side of a footprint, and then another -- a humanoid's footprint, moving fast. Dergosh's trail stretched off in this direction. Remounting his horse, Kuros started off in pursuit once more, the half-orc's trail easier to follow than it had been to find. Dergosh had been running, and stamping his feet at points where he'd had to take a breather; the half-orc's clear irritation was working for Kuros.

However, the Obah-blessed warrior pulled up his horse in sudden surprise as the trail came into a clearing, and he was confronted with an astonishingly strange sight. A black-skinned kobold was sitting, snouted face in its hands, not more than three feet from a red Tharamis bush, with a broken stick of some kind leaning against its shoulder. It didn't seem to register Kuros's arrival, even though he was mounted and therefore likely making enough noise to wake the dead. The kobold was just sitting there, and now that he was closer, Kuros could see it was slowly rocking back and forth where it was.

[bcool999]

Kuros looks warily towards the kobold, it was armed, but Kuros highly doubted the broken stick could make it through his scaled hide. Noticing that Dergosh's trail led here, Kuros decides to ask the kobold if he has seen his companion and how old the trail is. "Excuse me," Kuros calls out while still mounted, "I am searching for my companion after we got separated. How long ago did he pass through here and which way did he go? He is an orc, and you would surely have heard him as he passed through."

[Saintheart]

The Greenbelt, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
Late afternoon, Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

The kobold got to its feet, brandishing its broken spear. Its eyes were red, bloodshot; had it been crying recently? For a second it looked as though it was going to run -- but when no immediate attack was apparent, it hesitated, and then, suspiciously, lowered its weapon. "Orc went there," it yipped, pointing at a gap in the trees where broken branches lay, consistent with the trail Dergosh had made thus far. It was difficult to understand the words; the kobold's Common was very heavily accented; Ruk's command of the tongue was much, much better.

"Not-know how long 'go," it continued, shifting from foot to foot. Its reptilian eyes widened, suddenly. The kobold took a step toward Kuros, its broken stick pointed to the ground. "You rin-ger?"
It pronounced the 'g' more like a 'j' than the hard occlusive. Are you a ranger?

[almondsAndRain]

Three found what the priest was telling her interesting, but she didn’t think things would turn that dark, that his memories of the country would be that strong. “I’m sorry I’ve brought up bad memories, Jhod,” Three placed her hand over her chest to emphasize her sincerity, “It’s just that, as mentioned before, our Company is planning to form a settlement in the region. On the off-chance that we manage to expand to a decent size, our borders may very well near Adaerglast, and those two wizards would make for… eh, unfavorable neighbors.”
The warforged took advantage of the lull in the conversation to add information to her databanks:

Spoiler: Iraun and Srivven

Show

Iraun and Srivven

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From Three of Three, the free warforged

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or jot down potential changes on the notes page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Three of Three's quality standards. (Kythorn 1374 DR) This article may require cleanup to meet Three of Three's quality standards. The specific problem is: every section requires more information. The majority of this article is mere speculation. Please learn more and then revise the text. (Kythorn 1374 DR)

Iraun and Srivven are the tyranical Murghômi wizards who rule over the Border Kingdom of Adaerglast.^[1]
Contents: [show]

Early Lives [ edit ]

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You can help by adding to it. (Kythorn 1374 DR)

Careers [ edit ]

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This section needs expansion.
You can help by adding to it. (Kythorn 1374 DR)
Using powerful magic and an army of constructs, the two wizards conquered the land of Adaeglast a few years ago ^[When?]. Under their employ are a number of warforged who act as accountants and tax collectors.^[1] They also have access to summoned animals and the resources of their newly conquered realm. They have managed to fight off attempts on their lands from the Red Wizards of Thay, the Calimshan, the Halruaans, their neighboring realm of Yallasch, as well as their subjects attempts at freeing themselves last year.^[1]
Following the latest event, they began to murder the clerics who attempted to help the peasants.^[1]

Personal Lives [ edit ]

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This section needs expansion.
You can help by adding to it. (Kythorn 1374 DR)

Speculation [ edit ]

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Iraun and Srivven likely have no spellcasters of note within their realm or will likely drive what few remain away in the near future. They conquered the realm only a few years ago and drove away those capable of arcane magic. Last year they drove away those capable of divine magic by channeling the powers of the gods. This should leave them with little magic when compared to other realms. The only spellcasters capable of powerful spells within the realm of Adaeglast are likely to be druids. Given Iraun's and Srivven's history, it is likely that their druids have already been accosted, or are that they are planning on doing so in the near future. The remaining magic users then will be of the lesser known branches, such as Incarunum.
That they can afford to exterminate their realm's spellcasting population is worrisome. That implies that their personal power is so absurd that they have no need of an entire nation's worth of magic. Normally that idea would be so unlikely that it would not be considering. However, the two of them fought off the Red Wizards of Thay and the Halruaans. That is no easy feat, and the implications behind it are staggering. It is more likely that they have outside help to keep their kingdom from falling. Perhaps from their native lands in the far east? Perhaps they have help from a group of mages they keep hidden from the public eye? Or perhaps they are as terrifying as Jhod spoke of and we are all boned.
Constructs, especially warforged, are extremely complex and expensive beings. Two people forging an army of them is unlikely. Perhaps the two have a trick of some kind, to avoid weakening their souls when they create constructs?

See Also [ edit ]

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Warforged of Adaerglast
Jhod Kavken
Border Kingdoms
Border Kingdom of Adaerglast
List of Wizards
List of Genocides
List of Tyrants
List of Conquerers

References [ edit ]

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1.^ Conversation with Jhod, Cleric of Chauntea; Thirteenth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR).

This magical tyrant-related article is a stub. You can help Three of Three by expanding it.

Three found herself wanting more information about Adaerglast but hoped to pull the topic away from Jhod’s murdered fellows and the failed uprising. She instead asked about the wizards’ accountants, who he had healed in the past. “From the sound of things, Iraun and Srivven are monsters. You’ve spoken with their warforged on occasion. How do you think they’re treated? We’re expensive to make, so I can’t imagine it is too bad for them.” In truth, she could imagine it being terrible for her kin on the coast. Three could remember her time with her creator near-perfectly, and while it wasn’t particularly pleasant, it also wasn’t particularly awful. Surely the injuries she’s sustained while adventuring with the Wolftooth Company were worse than any verbal lashings she sustained under Eron. Besides, he at least acknowledged her as a person, which was more than a lot of others.