The Shield of the North [IC]

[Breitheamh]

Shad Human Grappler Fighter AC: 16 HP: 13/13 PPer: 12 PInv: 9 PIst: 12 Conditions: -- Concentrating: --

Shad swung wildly at the screaming devilkin as it passed out of her range, trying desperately to hold onto her right mind, and finally she succumbs to the panic and loses her will to act, crying out as she shakes her head wildly, her vision blurring as she presses her fingers into her ears.

She blinks through the tears and feels helpless unable to do anything as the creature pounces on Aupti, knocking him into unconsciousness as blood from his wounds begins to pool on the ground.

In desperation to prevent the tragedy she sees unfolding before her, Shad grits her teeth and screams defiance at the noise, calling out, "AUPTI, DON'T YOU ****ING DIE ON ME!!" and swings her halberd at the creature that still threatened the druid.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Attack the devilkin 1 with halberd (not sure if advantage or disadvatange, so if neither just take the first roll)
(1d20+5)[25] or [/roll]1d20+5[/roll]
Damage: (1d10+3)[11] (+10 if crit!)

Edit: I'll roll the second d20 in the OOC since I did that wrong, but hopefully I can just keep that crit lol

[TriciaOso]

Another wave of skeletons hits the wall, where the militia are still reeling from the shrieks that fill the air. One slips over the gate and drops into the wreckage piled there.

Shad cuts the last grounded devilkin in two, as in the air, the Dauphin and the other aerial cavalry finish off the flying necromancer and the last of his devilkin escorts. The horrible shrieking finally stops, and the militia are able to close ranks and throw down the ladders of bone and tendon once again.

The three skeletons who made it over the wall stagger closer, drawn by the smell of blood and the fallen body of Aupti.

[Breitheamh]

Shad Human Grappler Fighter AC: 16 HP: 13/13 PPer: 12 PInv: 9 PIst: 12 Conditions: -- Concentrating: --

"Get away from him!!" Shad screams at the skeletons as she stands in guard over Aupti's unconscious form and tries to smash through the undead creatures.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Attack skeleton 1 with halberd
(1d20+5)[22]
Damage (1d10+3)[9]

[zylodrizzt]

Hasgraek AC:13 HP: 10/10 PPer:13 PInv:14 PIst:9 Conditions: -- Concentrating: --

Hasgraek ears still ringing takes his pickaxe piercing clear through the skull of the closer skeleton and flicks a dagger at the one next to shad trying to fend them off of aupti. Even if he was marked as an enemy now he'd at least try to save that ones life. He then moves in the way of the last skeleton so it can't reach the mechanism to lift the gate. Maybe he'd be killed here and he wouldn't have to worry about being marked an enemy.

[TriciaOso]

Aupti, for a moment, your vision clears, and instead of the Domari Maid you see two skeletons looming above you. Shad smashes one with her halberd and Hasgraek finishes it off, then nearly destroys the other before dashing away to defend the gate. The remaining skeleton makes a feeble attempt to harm Shad, but it can barely hold itself up. A blast of light comes from the wall and finishes it off, as Beatrice finally has breathing room to check on you.

"Hold on, lad! I'm coming!" She vanishes from the wall and reappears in the courtyard, dropping a dozen feet to land in a runner's crouch. She beelines towards Aupti -- but not quick enough...

The last remaining skeleton turns to Hasgraek as the dwarf puts himself in the way and slashes him bitterly with his shortsword.

Spoiler: Summary

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Skeleton 1 is destroyed; Skeleton 2 takes 11 damage. Skeleton 2 attacks Shad but rolls a natural 1 and misses. Skeleton 3 moves slightly to attack Hasgraek and hits with an 18, doing 4 damage.

Beatrice uses the blessing of the Raven Queen to teleport 30 feet as a bonus action and enters the courtyard, then uses her movement to move to Aupti, but cannot reach him before his next death saving throw. She uses her action to fire two eldritch blasts at Skeleton 2; one misses, but the second one hits and destroys it.

[zylodrizzt]

Hasgraek takes the hit with a growl before bringing his pickaxe down into the skeletons collar bone and dagger into its sternum

[Breitheamh]

Shad Human Grappler Fighter AC: 16 HP: 13/13 PPer: 12 PInv: 9 PIst: 12 Conditions: -- Concentrating: --

See Beatrice come to offer aid for Aupti, Shad slams the butt of her halberd on the ground to pump herself and sprints for the last skeleton, leaping with reckless abandon and slamming the halberd down at the enemy.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Move 30 ft gets me just close enough to hit it with reach.
Attack skeleton 3 (1d20+5)[10]
Damage (1d10+3)[4]

[TriciaOso]

The skeleton stabs at Hausgraek, but is too damaged to do more than drag the blade carelessly over his armor.

Beatrice kneels beside Aupti and carefully allows just a tiny scrap of life force to flow into him; her pool of healing energy is limited, and has to last for hours yet. Seeing color and focus return to his face, she nods briskly and strides back towards the wall.

[J-H]

Aupti pulls himself up off the ground, groaning. "Did you get the name of the horse that kicked me?"

[J-H]

The druid summons a small flame and flings it at the skeleton, retreating 15'. The fire arcs through the air and burrows into the base of the skeleton's skull, causing it to fall off.

Spoiler

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Produce flame (1d20+5)[25] for (1d8)[6]

[TriciaOso]

As the last skeleton collapses into a pyre, Beatrice exhales.

"All right. You've done well, but that's enough for one night, especially with one man down. Connor was sent ahead to the barracks to recover, and it's time the three of you joined him. It will be the Devise Sister's job to see us to morning."

"Good work, and the city thanks you."

[J-H]

Aupti
"Thank you, your..." Aupti pauses for a moment. "Grace." He adds, slightly uncertainly. "Right now I'm glad to be alive. I guess we'll be called if the others aren't enough?"

[zylodrizzt]

Hasgraek doesn't hear a word of that and readies to dash if anyone seems like they could potentially be hostile to him. He keeps his weapons drawn defensively as if warding everyone away WHAT!? he yells still unsure if they are treating him as friend or foe

[Breitheamh]

Shad looks around wildly as the last skeleton is finished off, the adrenaline still surging through her veins. She barely registers that Beatrice is talking, and stares wide-eyed at the pale elven woman. But the thinking part of her brain begins to force itself back to the forefront, and she understands... it's over...

Tonight is over... she could rest now. She had defended this post, this city, with all of her might, and even though she knew she could keep going if she was needed, it was time to rest. A dull thud sounds as her halberd hits the ground, slipping through slackening fingers. She smiles weakly as she goes to pick it up. Maybe they'll need help at the relief station, she thinks to herself, then suddenly feels a lurch in her stomach, and nearly doubles over. She doesn't throw up, though it feels like she might, and she doesn't cry, though there is a significant portion of her that wants nothing more. Just a wave of every imaginable emotion overcoming her at once. The homesickness and betrayal of her family, the fear and panic of being a soldier on the frontlines of war, the relief of being alive, the joy of knowing she had kept everyone she cared about safe, the rage that people had died, the worry for Connor and Aupti, the pain of her own injuries... everything hits her at once, and forces her to a knee.

She puts a fist on the ground, gripping her halberd in the other, and takes a deep breath, and commands her legs to push her up and hold her there. She nods to Beatrice and salutes, blinking back a tear. "Glad I could help, ma'am," she says, somewhat surprised to realize that she actually meant it.

Then Hasgraek's "WHAT!?" sends a jolt through her, and she shakes her head in surprise, and starts to laugh. "It's over, Hasgraek!" she yells to him, not realizing yet that he can't hear her. "We're through for the night! Haha! It's done! And we're alive!" Her laugh rings out clear in the winter air, a pure sound of positivity shining through the gloom if for a brief moment.

[TriciaOso]

Beatrice nods, and crouches so Hasgraek can see her lips move. "Well done. You can rest now." She pats him reassuringly on the shoulder.

The bells of the Iron Carillions begin to chime midnight. Verglas from the relief station finishes her shift and joins you for the the walk up the Rue Desmontaignes to the Avenue of the Keep.

Coming down the Avenue from the barracks, you pass the Devise Sisters, who salute you. The cots in the barracks are impersonal, warm with other people's body heat, and spartan; through the stones of the keep you can hear the bells ring, the crash of siege weapons and the shouts of aerial combat. Somehow, however, you manage to sleep.

You wake to a new year. The sun shines down on a city shaken but not shattered by the long siege, and people are already in the street repairing damage from the night.

[Breitheamh]

Exhausted from the battles behind her, Shad all but collapses on a cot, largely oblivious to most of the sounds of danger around her and the general uncomfortability of the barracks itself. Just so grateful to be horizontal and not in immediate danger.

She's able to pull herself together enough to properly strip her armor and clean her equipment. She asks Verglas if there's somewhere to bathe, but then fumbles her way out of the obvious awkwardness of such a question. "Uh, um, that is, I mean, y'know, like a water trough so I can get a drink and wash my sweaty bits... alone."

Nope, that's worse... SO much worse... she thinks as the color drains from her face.

She just kind of walks away without saying anything after that and finds a wash basin that she uses to splash water on her face, then returns to her cot and lays down for the night.

Spoiler: OoC

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Not sure how Verglas would respond to that, or anyone for that matter.

In the morning, she makes sure to find the others she'd fought beside. She gives them an honest salute, and says, "I'm really glad to have been with all of you last night," then cringes, "I mean, y'know, fighting. Aah! Why am I so bad with words?! Just, thank you that none of us died, I guess....

You guys wanna get some more pie??"

[J-H]

Aupti
Aupti is tired, but doesn't sleep well. It's noisy, the bells are ringing, and he almost died! He staggers awake the next morning, luckily used to sleeping without a bath or shower - after a while, your nose gets extra-sensitive, and people don't really smell that bad most of the time.

Still, the sun is up. The city has survived.

"Pie? Maybe later. Too much of it imbalances the humors of the body. Or, as I was told before all this fancy learning stuff, it's bad for your energy levels later when the sweetness wears off."

[zylodrizzt]

He still wasn't used to how he slept since that day. No snoring. Still mostly aware almost like being paralyzed. Never felt as tho he slept but somehow felt rested. Guess the blood and the magic did that to him. He hoped he could find someone soon to teach him about his transformation. He of course washed up before bed. His wounds would be barely showing in the morning....

Me pleasure lass me pleasure. Uh... speaking of the fighting... did you happen to notice anythin strange during the fight with them wee demons? he really hopes they hadn't and begins thinking up a lie he could tell. He's still a bit on edge about that thinking at any moment he may have to flee.

As fer the pie tho... checks his pockets still fresh out of cash... sorry tho id really love to.

[TriciaOso]

As you make your way out of the Keep, a weary Beatrice Prochaine approaches you.

"Good morning, all of you. Well done last night."

"We've made it through another year, and the city owes you a debt."

She gives each of you a coin or a medallion, minted with the name of the year and the crest of the city; bell, book and candle. The coin is steel. "This will find you goodwill in this city, and anywhere people honor our sacrifice. If you return next year, you can present it at the armory to be outfitted."

"Folks who go through this kind of trial come out the other side stronger. You'll be capable of more than you were. If you return to test your strength again... we'll be glad to have you. If you never come this way again, you'll still carry our gratitude. Gods be with you."

Around the courtyard, you can see similar half-solemn, half-exhausted presentations happening with other groups.

Beatrice takes Hasgraek aside for a moment.

Spoiler: Hasgraek

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"I know what you are, friend. Takes one to know one, eh?" For a moment there is a flash of something, a face behind her face, dreadful to behold. Not a vampire, but... something. "Strength is strength. Walk the straight and narrow, bend your curse to the fight against evil, and you'll always be welcome here. Slip from the path..." She lays her hand on her rapier.

"Are we clear?"

[Breitheamh]

Aupti"Pie? Maybe later. Too much of it imbalances the humors of the body. Or, as I was told before all this fancy learning stuff, it's bad for your energy levels later when the sweetness wears off."

"Well, yeah! I mean, that's kinda the point of an indulgent celebration after victory, isn't it?!" Shad gives Aupti a genuine smile and a clap on the back. "At least come get some kinda breakfast with us, yeah?"

Me pleasure lass me pleasure. Uh... speaking of the fighting... did you happen to notice anythin strange during the fight with them wee demons? he really hopes they hadn't and begins thinking up a lie he could tell. He's still a bit on edge about that thinking at any moment he may have to flee.

"Strange?? Oh! You mean BESIDES the screaming monsters of nightmare and Aupti nearly dying? No, can't say anything particular strange about any of that!" Shad gives sort of a sideways look at Hasgraek, the kind that says, "what are you talkin' about?"

As fer the pie tho... checks his pockets still fresh out of cash... sorry tho id really love to.

"I'll buy it for you then! I've got..." she gets sort of distant for a moment as her face falls and she frowns slightly, "Well, at least I can buy a couple slices of pie."

As you make your way out of the Keep, a weary Beatrice Prochaine approaches you.

"Good morning, all of you. Well done last night."

"We've made it through another year, and the city owes you a debt."

She gives each of you a coin or a medallion, minted with the name of the year and the crest of the city; bell, book and candle. The coin is steel. "This will find you goodwill in this city, and anywhere people honor our sacrifice. If you return next year, you can present it at the armory to be outfitted."

"Folks who go through this kind of trial come out the other side stronger. You'll be capable of more than you were. If you return to test your strength again... we'll be glad to have you. If you never come this way again, you'll still carry our gratitude. Gods be with you."

Around the courtyard, you can see similar half-solemn, half-exhausted presentations happening with other groups.

Shad tries to catch the Devises and Verglas before they leave and invite them out for pie and breakfast as well, continuing to awkwardly fumble her way through polite conversation and constantly feel like she is shoving her foot in her mouth.

As Beatrice presents them with their medallions, she examines the marker closely. Steel felt right for something like this. Gold or silver was what the nobility give each other to inflate their egos. Steel was a soldier's honor; earned, unbroken, modest, and direct. She rubs her thumb over the engraved year's name, and realizes, this coin now marks everything for her...

She cannot stop herself this time, and begins to weep, desperately holding back the sounds clumping in the back of her throat as tears stream down her face. She tries to excuse herself, but the sound is choked in her mouth, and as she turns to leave she stumbles slightly and ends up sitting hard on the cold ground, curling up with her arms around her knees, and just rocks for several minutes. She tries and tries to stop herself, taking deep breaths, like her wetnurses and governess' had taught her. Noble women don't cry, but she wasn't even a noble woman anymore. Soldiers don't cry though, right? Wasn't she a soldier now? No! She was just... what the hell was she now?

[zylodrizzt]

Spoiler: beatrice

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Aye captian we are clear... least as clear as 'dont be something i gotta kill' thing is... I know nothing bout any of this since you do... maybe we can speak on it in private sometime or perhaps you can direct me to someone who can help me learn. Guess me secret is out... do i need to worry bout others that maybe not so understandin? The long dark kinda sorta helped me with this before... perhaps i should speak to the priest of the maiden... thats what you know er by right? By the way thank you for the coin in me homeland if you didnt have this on hand someone that found out either made you buy them a drink or make you drink a shot. Lots of variations ta the game. Same here?

To aupti ah come on lad are ya trying to watch yer figure bwahaha. The lass offered so it be rude to turn er down right? Shad id be glad to eat with you once more.

When he notices shad fall to the ground he doesn't really get it but does his best to console her. If she let's him he picks her up and puts her in some seat somewhere private to calm down. Aye lass let it out all steel bends and breaks sometime. Or are ye sick? I dont know what ta say but i be here if you need me he continues to hang around with her as long as he needs to.

[J-H]

Aupti

Aupti awkwardly pats Shad's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Maybe someone else will help?

...
Later, over the next year

Aupti returns to his tiny nameless hamlet. He tells his parents that the fighting over the winter solstice was exciting, safe, and relatively uneventful. "We stayed behind the walls and dealt with enemies that slipped through the rest. I felt pretty safe the entire time." They are relieved to hear this, and aren't opposed to him going back the next year.

He continues learning more nature magic and book learning from Yupik. She seems bothered by his more accurate recounting of the fighting, but refuses to say why. Aupti's not able to figure out what is bugging her. He spends about two weeks a month traveling in the woods, hunting, gathering, and generally supporting himself and finding valuable herbs and mushrooms to sell. It's not what most people from the city would go for, but he's always known it and doesn't mind sleeping rough.

He has another reason to be out in the woods, though. Out of his little hamlet and the ones around, he's the only one to have participated in the defense against the undead, and just about the only one to have been to Coldwater. He is now a young man who is battle-tested, relatively well-traveled, and who seems to have a future in front of him. At the very least, he'll probably be a regionally respected druid. This makes him stand out from all the other young men, and more than a few parents are subtly or unsubtly steering their daughters his way. At feasts and holiday gatherings, he has a full half-dozen of them or more each wanting him to try the food or dessert they've made... twirling fingers in their hair... happening to be around him. Dropping things in front of him by accident. It's exciting and interesting but also a lot more attention than he's used to.

Not everything with his new status goes quite so well, though. A day or two to the north, Fridrik, the local knight, has his herd of horses escape. Aupti is able to help find them and calm, leading them back to the stables. He is paid for this, but when Fridrik invites him to dinner and quizzes him about the fight in Coldwater, Aupti forgets some of the manners he's been taught, and also makes some unfiltered comments about Fridrik's horsemanship and how horses are a luxury item, not a necessity for growing food like oxen, and how they're mostly good for riding down bandits, not defending the walls. Although objectively true, this bluntness also means that Fridrik is cold to him by the end of the meal, and he is not invited back.

Aupti continues to learn more and deepen his connection to the natural world. In late fall, a young adult owlbear moves into the region, killing livestock and mauling a fellow hunter who barely manages to climb to the tip-top of a tree to get away from it. Owlbears can climb, but they're heavy, and smart enough to not climb so high that they cause a tree to break. He goes after it - with his brother and sister each carrying a bow as well - and they are able to down it. Owlbear fur is a bit tough for use in regular clothing or blankets, but he has another purpose in mind. Aupti skins it, and over the next two weeks, he gets some help sewing the pieces of hide together, ultimately resulting in a striking set of fur-covered grey hide armor that is slightly magical, somewhat warmer, and also more difficult to clean. The worst part of the process is that there are three young women who all offer to help, and they bicker almost incessantly, trying to one-up each other around him. He has no idea how to stop it.

The winter arrives, and although he can create magical fire to stay warm at will, that's not the source of the chill, or the dreams that come. It's almost time to return to Coldwater again...

[TriciaOso]

Aye captian we are clear... least as clear as 'dont be something i gotta kill' thing is... I know nothing bout any of this since you do... maybe we can speak on it in private sometime or perhaps you can direct me to someone who can help me learn. Guess me secret is out... do i need to worry bout others that maybe not so understandin? The long dark kinda sorta helped me with this before... perhaps i should speak to the priest of the maiden... thats what you know er by right?

Not everyone will be as forgiving, in a city where everyone has lost someone to the dead. It's good to be discreet.

Beatrice provides you with the name of a priest of the Maiden, Father John Tete, who can perhaps help you in both ways. Father Tete was turned by a vampire while fighting in the militia and joined the clergy to learn self-control and self-denial. Now he ministers especially to those who have been grave-touched or otherwise marked by the undead, helping them control themselves and their abilities and stay... discreet.

[zylodrizzt]

Hasgraek first stop is John tete. John is already aware of what has happened. He offers advice but little more then that about managing the hunger like hunting since he doesnt neasarily need the meat as much. He mentions that he will keep an eye on him and teach him more should he prove capable of managing his hunger otherwise he will be forced to sick beatrice on him. He'd rather hasgraek not associate to much with him at this time in fear of blowing his secret.

With that out of the way hasgraek remembers his wifes (Mendina) sister (Dilva) lives in cold water. He explains that he is blamed for the murder of Mendina but it was a vampire and he is looking for her to maybe restore her or anything. He questions if Dilva has seen her and of course the answer is no. She offers to house him as long as he can pull his weight and so he does with suggestions from father John.

Most days he sets out earlier then most or perhaps later than most and enters the bay to search the ships that sank and sell their plunder since it's easy for him to search not needing to breathe. One such excursion he came across an unusual jug that caught his attention. He gets it on land and attempts to poor it only to find it pours out a creature made of oil. He hangs on to the item thinking on all the useful applications of such an item like selling what he can pour out. He might even figure out how to pour blood from it.

He tries his hand at hunting which he finds he not great at sneaking up on them tho he does grasp the concept later in the year but he finds his supernatural speed and endurance is an asset for this often times dropping from trees before wrestling the creature to death. He drains his hunts of blood before selling the meat to butchers.

During the year he tries to keep tabs on shad help her where he can but generally he's preoccupied with just surviving and keeping a low profile. He catches her at the pit now and again which he visits often as much to train as to get money and sometimes some stray blood manages its way into his mouth. He finds he can react quickly to threats again with his superior and surprising speed in which he takes advantage of by keeping a good distance when he wants to strike with a thrown dagger.

[Breitheamh]

Though Aupti and Hasgraek seemed uncomfortable with Shad’s outburst of emotion, and frankly she did as well, their simple fellowship helped to soothe the intensity of what she was feeling, and after a little while she was able to compose herself as a woman of her station should. And with that thought, she almost broke again, but closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and pushed herself through the pain in her chest. She maintained her intentional breathing as she walked to breakfast with the others, and by the time they found somewhere to eat and she had paid for all their meals, she was jocular and smiling, and just as awkward as ever.

For some reason, Verglas actually seemed to take a bit of a liking to her, and Shad asked her if she might know anywhere to get permanent lodging, since she was new in the city and had been just paying nightly wherever an inn had a room. Verglas showed her around to a few places, all the while asking questions about where she was coming from, how long she was planning to live here, the normal sorts of questions you might ask while trying to get to know someone a bit better. And of course Shad effortlessly dodged answering the questions with her masterful strategy of fumbling helplessly and awkwardly through conversation, abruptly changing the subject often and making terrible jokes at inopportune moments. Verglas seemed not to mind too much, and eventually allowed the space. So of course like any master of charm and subterfuge would, Shad asked an incredibly personal question about Verglas’ family, which brought the conversation to a grinding halt.

Her hopes for any kind of relationship fairly well dashed, but the possibility of finding a nice apartment alive, Shad was able to make a handshake agreement for a month of lodging in a decent location, and turned to the endeavor of training for the pits. She’d already fought a few bouts under the Maiden’s Head, so she felt confident about the lay of the land, and figured she’d have opportunity to run the table and start challenging the big names soon enough. She went there every night, looking for her next bout, and began to notice that there was one person who was given utmost respect at all times, whose presence even the most dangerous and cutthroat of fighters and patrons acknowledged with gentle behavior. A Goliath woman, massive by dint of being a Goliath, but no larger than the average of their race. All of her visible skin was tattooed with symbols that Shad had never seen before…. No… that wasn’t true, where had she seen that marking before? With some thought she realized that the marks on the Goliath woman’s knuckles were the same that she had seen on just a couple of the more burly patron’s of the Maiden’s Head, which seemed to grant them free drinks. So she was a fighter then? Certainly carried herself like a fighter, but not a pit-fighter… more like how Beatrice carried herself; with the kind of confidence and focus that only experience in real battle can build.

It soon became Shad’s custom to look for the Goliath woman after her bouts, hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of her reaction. She somehow knew that she could become a better fighter just by watching the Goliath woman’s every move. Finally after two months, and another handshake agreement for her apartment lease, her chance came for a bout with the first of the ranked opponents, a low-level professional in the fighting rings. Finally a chance to make some real headway toward glory and maybe get some real cash to commit to that contracted lease her landlord had offered if she could get together enough money. She confidently entered the ring, and found herself face-to-face with a massive man she recognized as Baresh Duhamel, who probably outweighed her by 75 pounds, and Shad was no slouch herself. She took her breaths and rubbed some dirt into the wraps around her arms and hands, clapping dust clouds into the air in front of her face… and considered…

She knew there was no way to beat him purely on strength, so she had to be smart about this. Of course, he was a trained fighter, with more experience than her; he wouldn’t be fooled by the usual tricks, and if she let her guard down for even a second he would know how to take advantage of it. No, this would mean patience. She had watched Baresh in a few fights after she’d had her own bouts, and she felt she had a pretty good idea of how he liked to move his feet and what his patterns were, but she knew that if he had a sense for her as well, this would be over quickly. So as she took her stance across the ring, she put forward her right leg, adopting a southpaw stance that she had trained but rarely used in the ring, and shifted her weight ever so slightly, to allow for an opening on one side, which she hoped Baresh would try to exploit. Sure enough, as they circled, Baresh took the bait, and went for the opening. Shad was able to quickly move to defense and keep him at a distance, but used some quick footwork to make herself feel a little off-balance. She remembered watching a drunken master duel once back home, and she adopted just a slight sway into her movements to bait Baresh into pressing the attack. Once again, it worked exactly as she’d hoped, and as he pressed forward, she managed to deftly and suddenly twist out of his attempted grab and unleash a quick combination of strikes to his ribs and back. She saw him wince from the hits, and decided to see if she could end this quickly, ducking behind him and slipping her leg between his into position to buckle his knees while her arms reached up for his shoulder. It was a basic throw that she’d practiced a thousand times, and with Baresh off-balance it should have been an easy takedown.

Of course Baresh was not off-balance. He was exactly where he wanted to be, as he ducked away from Shad’s grip and pulled her moving leg further along its path, bringing the rest of Shad down with it, and settled in for a leg-lock. Shad knew she was in trouble, but had no time to berate herself for being careless, and instead opted to roll with Baresh’s takedown instead of fight against it. She managed to reach the ground before Baresh could pin her leg, and hard rolled out from underneath the big man and got to her feet, facing him again. He smirked and gave her the “come at me” gesture, and Shad chose to do something both incredibly reckless and incredibly clever. She did exactly that, moving straight at Baresh as he baited her, shooting low for one-leg takedown. It was not her usual pattern, and that was precisely what she was trying to be tonight. Oddly, the aggression did seem to put her opponent off for a second, but he recovered and splayed out from her attack, locking up her shoulder and neck and bulldogging her down to his right, trying to tighten the grip on her neck and force her to submit. Except that Shad had already planned for this, and as soon as Baresh went for his usual technique of locking shoulder and neck, she pushed with every ounce of strength in her right leg and threw herself to the side she knew Baresh would try to bring her. It was enough to loosen his grip and yank him into free fall with her, and as he fell she brought her left knee up as high as she could, smashing it into Baresh’s unsuspecting jaw as he stumbled on top of her. The *crack* sounded around the arena, and not waiting to see if it had knocked him out, Shad quickly wrapped her leg around Baresh’s loosened right arm and pulled him into a submission hold. When Baresh didn’t seem to struggle against it, Shad heard the roar of the crowd and the announcement: “WINNER! SHATTERHEART!!” Shad immediately looked for the Goliath woman, and saw a satisfied smile touching her lips.

After the fight, she shared a drink in celebration with Hasgraek, with whom she’d keep in touch and would continue to do so over the year. They were fast becoming true friends, and helped each other out of a few financial scrapes.

After the rest of the evening’s entertainment, while Shad was icing her bruises, the Goliath woman approached her, and gave her a bag of coins. “Winner’s purse for earning your place on the rankings. That was cleverly done,” she tells Shad with an earnest look of pride, and holds out her hand. “I am Thuma Giantwright Arkasheloffica, but most just call me Thuma.”

Shad’s face turns bright red, but she smiles back and says, “Charity Humboldt,” and then immediately flushes, cursing the ingraining of her upbringing to give her full name upon meeting someone of higher station. “Uh, um, I mean, just please call me Shad, or Shatterheart…. I’m sorry, it’s a long story.”

“How about writing a new one then?” Thuma responds, locking her eyes on Shad’s, with a look of seriousness, but also something like affection.

It somehow put Shad at ease, but did nothing to cure her awkwardness, and all she could say in response was “Um, okay…”

——

Despite their rather awkward end to their first day, Shad had kept up with Verglas, and Verglas had kept up with Shad, and maybe they were a little more than friends? Shad was always terrible with these things, and after about five months of uncertainty, Shad decided she really needed to be honest… with Jenny. Not that Verglas didn’t deserve the truth, but Shad just wasn’t quite ready for her to know who she really was just yet. Maybe we’ll see how Jenny responds first and go from there. She set out to write a letter, filled with all the passion she had felt when they were together, but gods was she bad at writing. What was supposed to be a bittersweet letter of openness and a promise that they were both better off this way, became:

“Dear Jenny,

I think I love you, but I have been lying to you. I am not really Shatterheart. Well I am, but I am also Charity Humboldt. And I am not dead, but my family disowned me and I live in Coldwater now. I really do care aboutlovecare forwant to be with think I probably loved you. But we are better off apart. You should forget about me, if you have not already

Shad
Chari
Shatter
Sh
Charity Humboldt
Shatterheart”

In frustration, after multiple rewrites, she decided this was the best she was going to be able to do, and sent the letter with instructions to wait for a reply if one would come. The messenger looked at her funny and asked how much extra he was getting paid to wait for a response, and in confusion, Shad gave him an extra ten gold. She’d never had to pay a messenger herself before.

A couple weeks later, she did in fact receive a response:

“Shad

I am glad to know you are alright. Thank you for finally being honest with me. I agree that we are better off apart. But I will never forget you.

Jenny”

The correspondence comes in a time of more romantic inclinations for Verglas and Shad, and feeling alright about how things ended with Jenny, Shad tries to let Verglas know that she feels a connection, and wants to be something more than friends. But Verglas’ response was the dread of all who open their hearts in hope of love:

“I think we should stay friends…”

Friend zoned… rejected… Shad knew she deserved it, but still, it hurts every time

“I know you’re hiding something from me, and I can’t have a girlfriend who hides her life from me. So when you’re ready to be honest, completely, then I’ll be honest with you, and we can talk about it then.”

Wait… NOT rejected? Maybe worse?

Their relationship definitely felt a little weird for a while after that, but Verglas and Shad did manage to remain fairly close friends as the spring turned to summer and summer to autumn

——

As the year rolled on, Shad was able to have some real success in the fighting ring, and signed a year-long lease for her apartment. But after only a few months, despite her success, she realized that she could not afford rent, and had no idea what she was supposed to do. She started looking around for day work, wondering how people lived in this city if they were always constantly threatened with losing their homes. She found work on the docks, and while she appreciated the physical labor that kept her strong, she would come home completely wiped most nights, after full days of work moving cargo and then late nights fighting bouts or studying future opponents in the ring.

And still it was not enough. She was always somehow short on money despite all of her success and hours of work. Some of her coworkers on the docks suggested a few merchants who hired private security for their booths, stores, and shipments, and Shad took on as much of this extra work as she could, adding yet more to her already hectic and exhausting schedule.

On a happier note, it became a bit of a ritual that once every week, Shad would come to the Maiden’s Head early for the evening and train, and Thuma would often spar a little with her. It was a source of comfort, though also of consternation. Shad knew she was becoming stronger and far more formidable testing herself against Thuma and getting some feedback and tips, but she knew there was something about Thuma’s style that she could not figure out. She could not for the life of her figure out how Thuma was so good, supernaturally so. It didn’t seem like any magic she’d ever seen; none of the flashy blasts and explosions, but something was giving Thuma strength that Shad could not figure out.

She would ask Thuma about it often, but never received a straight answer, the Goliath always only offering cryptic advice that made less sense the more Shad thought about it. But in the course of these conversations, Shad did confide about her financial woes, and Thuma for once gave her some real advice. She offered some suggestions on where to buy food that was more nutrition for your money than what Shad was used to, what kinds of places can sell necessities at lower prices, and just some various basics on how to budget. They were the kinds of suggestions that should have been obvious to someone who needed to worry about money, but for Shad, who had never been in charge of any monetary concerns until now, it was life-saving advice. She took it to heart, and as she began the process of stabilizing herself financially, she realized that maybe if the fighting pits could become a more respected, more legitimized endeavor, then those who chose it as their profession could actually survive on their earnings. Thuma smirked at the suggestion, but did nothing to discourage Shad, who began the process of trying to build connections.

It was the first time she had ever cared about putting into practice the diplomatic skills her upbringing had taught her for something that actually mattered to her. And it went about as well as everything else she had learned from her family: she was not good at it. And as the year rolled on and winter approached once again, she realized she would need to set this aside for now; something more important was coming up.

[TriciaOso]

Here comes a candle
To light you to bed
And here comes a chopper
To chop off your head

As the year rolls on towards Wintertide, the migrations begin. The people who fly away south, to Three Sisters and beyond, they call Geese or Snowbirds or simply cowards. As the Geese depart, the Peregrines roll in, the pilgrims on the southern road from Domari. Not all of them will fight; some will simply offer their prayers to the consecration of the bells, and light a candle to the Maiden.

And from the east along the Pont Glace road the farmers and peasants for the North Fields roll in. Some of the wealthiest land owners have their own fortresses and gather in their vassals, but independent farmers, both rich and poor, and those who put their trust in the bells over their landlords, file into the city through the Porte Champs. These are the Sparrows.

(The folk of Coldwater who never left and didn't need to come home... well, they're the ones who come up with the nicknames. They don't call themselves anything special, they just crowd up and make room and finish repairs while the days draw shorter. Sometimes they call the wealthiest of their neighbors, who don't need to fight or dirty their hands building barricade, les poulets, fat little chickens huddled in their roosts. But not to their faces.)

And from every gate and every road come the Hawks, the warriors drawn by duty or obligation or the love of battle. Grim goliaths and jumpy bird-folk from the Touchsky Peaks; broad-shouldered dwarves out of the hills; merry wood elves from the Kingswold; and humans and halflings from every corner of Solus. They gather once again or for the first time in the courtyard of the Keep of the Ci Gîts.

It's the second time you've all been a part of this crowd, and already you feel a sense of distance from the gawking, anxious clusters of first-level heroes. You recognize the family of the duke, and you know some of the Captains of the militia by name now. Jana Brokenback, the orc grave cleric in her flying chair; Chase Thorndike, the blonde paladin, who has the face of a wealthy playboy but carries himself with a grief and grimness that doesn't fit; Soren, a student wizard out of Least Weyr, who looks mostly human but can't hide the sssibilance of his forked tongue. And one-eyed Beatrice Prochain, fey and deadly as ever.

The time has come again.