also punishing so many for the actions of so few is unnecessary and needlessly cruel.

>>967971 perhaps it might be some small time but the shamans are well equipped to discover such things and it would be very easy to escape at this point given the cooperation of a few sympathetic parties.

as for the usual customers it is stated that the fae is new to the area when she is first brought up by the elf in the caravan. also what kind of usual customers do you expect a trickster spirit dealing mystical knowledge to have? when one makes a deal with a fae they rarely want to make another one and that's assuming they are alive to do so.

If by Vengeance she mean direct violence in the way you comprehend you could coordinate your actions with hers. Explain the wolf situation and how she could wait to make her move during or after the beast rampage.

I'm inclined to target all, or at least most, of the aggressors. Even if some of them are good people they are still an invading force that harmed the locals and threatened a powerful being for reasons unknown. You will have much to do around the region to fix the mess, and even one of them sticking around could be a considerable risk for you, especially if they find out what you did and seek their own revenge.

>>967975
why would try to fix the mess? we're merchants not heroes and we did our part by warning the fae. lets not get caught up the recovery of the trade route unless we stand to profit from it.

also invading force is a bit much. aside from the fact that they are hunting a wandering spirit they are pretty much just bandits. they came they waylaid and captured travelers and that's pretty much it.

and again our parents are dead why would we care about the locals? as far as has been revealed the sum total of our social circle is contained within the camp you guys want raze to the ground.

as for revenge the only orcs we're even remotely familiar with think this endeavor is a fools errand and one is so socially isolated that it won't be hard to perform a Turning of the Friend in our favor.

>>967975
also your "invading force" consists of a grand total of .... 14 orcs .... that's a single unit a best.

>>967988
>the camp you guys want raze to the ground.
What are you talking about? The two suggestions for Vengeance are advocating taking out the leadership. There are 3 or 4 Orcs that qualify as part of the leadership.
>why should we care about the village
Because they're innocents?

Also you might want to cut down on the multiposting. Posting too much makes the thread harder to read.

>>967988
I mean fix the situation for us. We need to recuperate our losses.

The fairy book should be valuable but we don't know by how much. Even if Rhaina concede the ownership for the safety of the eggs we won't be able to prove such deal to elven society if we can't rescue him after this is over. Trusting our future economies entirely on this book seem unwise.

If a battle start we can steal the alchemical book. If they lose we can loot the bodies from the pile.
That's not only for us. Caoiran will have problems with her mercenary career lacking a hand.


If you want a self serving reason to help I believe the reputation from saving our guards and the elf will make others trust us more. Since we have yet to cultivate commercial contacts that would be a great help at the start of our career.


Perferlain used the therm vengeance, but I'm picking this option because I believe it will reduce threats and maximize profit. Personally I lack sufficient understanding of their point of view to hate or like them.


I accept I may be overestimating the orcs power by calling them an invading force, but they don't qualify as bandits either. If they did we would just be robbed not enslaved.

>>967964
Aye, this.

Leave.

It's a tough choice, but I think it's best if we simply leave.

The problem with vengeance is that... it's possible this was the orcs' plan all along - for her to appear and attack them. So it's possible that they're ready for this and they plan to kill her and obtain her heart when this happens.

The problem with Information is that, the shamans could end up deranged like Kelepee. Besides, we used a lot of time getting close to Miranni, so if the fairy did her in, it would've been a wasted effort. Also, considering she didn't want to come in the first place, it feels unfair for her to get punished for it.

The problem with Leaving is, well, there's two problems. One is that, the fairy told us to answer all of her questions. Considering Leaving would mean not answering her last question, there's a slight chance we could get punished for it. But the main problem is that we'd need to spend more time here until the orcs noticed the fairy was gone. This has some pros and cons, but it's generally not great because Rhaina's time is limited. So we'd need to egg the orc shamans onto this. Altho, if orcs refuse to leave, we can always go with the War Wolf plan.

Anyway, I'd ask the fairy if it was possible for her to not harm the shamans if we went with Information. If this is possible, then I'd go with Information, but otherwise with Leave.

The boon... I would only ask for one if we'd get the choice of whether we'd want to accept the price or not. Assuming the price would be revealed at all. So I'd ask her about this as well.

If we go with Vengeance, then the only name I'd reveal would be Hamellatkurei, but otherwise I wouldn't reveal any of the orc's names.

> >>967959 >we need to at least take out all of the leaders
> >>967994 >There are 3 or 4 Orcs that qualify as part of the leadership
There's only one leader, as written in >>967669:
>You do learn that if Hammelatkurei died, the most likely outcome is that the mission would be deemed a failure and the orcs would release you and return home
So that's the only one that would need to die.

>>968022
Vengeance: Hammelatkurei.

Efficient, minimizes time spent and bloodshed. Some of the orcs aren't bad, and we don't want to risk this entity getting too trigger happy.

SHE seems to put a lot of stock in names, so that's probably the best way to aim this.

>Rhaina Willowhearth
Uh. Shit. We weren't ever told Rhaina's last name. That's some omniscience right there.

Information. - Remember, from what we know of orc culture some shaman drunk on Ghost Wine likely began this quest. Maybe even this one personally. At least their own pays the piper.

And with that request made, there's two ways to head off Miranni's fate that I can see. Before.

Boon - You'd like the shaman assistant not to be told the Information.

And after.

Boon - You'd like to know of ways within your meager means to repair a damaged mind (or two).

Vengeance on Hamellatkurei, followed by leaving.

If PERFERLAIN simply leaves and Hamellatkurei is still alive, then it falls unto him as the leader to either declare the mission a failure or to continue pursuing PERFERLAIN. We do not know what he will decide to do because of how little we know about him, so we'll need his death as insurance that the mission ends in failure.

Additionally, if Hamellatkurei is killed by what is seemingly an act of divine intervention, I don't think it will take long for the shamans to put two and two together and realize that their target is now aware of their plans, so there wouldn't be any need for them to receive Information.

My only concern at this point is if Bohmadigh would be allowed to step in as leader if Hamellatkurei dies. Kelepee has little to no support among the orcs and Miranni is still an apprentice, so they would probably not be allowed to become the new leader. So, just to be safe, we might need to exact Vengeance on Bohmadigh as well. From the sound of it, killing him might just be more humane than having him receive Information.

Vengeance on the leader seems like the best bet. Though it's a fairy and unpridictable how far it would go, with the leader's name and it being stated that "some" was an option it should have somewhat minimized colladeral damage (such killing all our fluff friends).

Merchant!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2020/05/26(Tue)15:19 No. 968088 ID: 12b116
File 159053158204.jpg - (402.76KB , 689x744 , e3m8.jpg )

You give the Names of HAMELLATKUREI and BOHMADIGH.

It will be VENGEANCE, then. You tell HER about the War Wolf as well.

"I would be indebted to you in a small way if you could eliminate the War Wolf, or remove it from their control," SHE says. HER pursed lips transform into a sinster beautiful rictus smile, and HER VOICE is here everywhere.

"I WILL VISIT VENGEANCE MOST TERRIBLE UPON THOSE WHO SOUGHT TO HARM ME. THE ONES YOU HAVE NAMED WILL BE SLAIN, AND ANY WHO ASSIST THEM OR STAND AGAINST ME WILL DIE AS WELL. I WILL SPARE THOSE WHO LAY THEIR WEAPONS DOWN. I AM A LOVER OF PEACE. SOLITUDE IS MY HOME. TIME PASSES OVER ME AND DOES NOT LEAVE ITS MARK, BUT THE TIDES OF MY WROTH ARE TRULY TERRIBLE, AND THOSE WHO SEEK MY DEATH WILL FIND NOTHING BUT THEIR OWN UNDOING. SEEK PEACE. SEEK UNDERSTANDING. FIND LOVE AND SINCERETY. THE TERRIBLE FIRE OF MY VENGEANCE AND HATRED WILL FIND THE ORCS WHEN THE SUN REACHES ITS ZENITH."

"PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY ARRIVAL."

It rings like a bell.

It echoes like a gong.

Like a cataract.

Like a waterfall.

You will never forget the sound.









you wake up. You were never asleep

Tattered colors, more vibrant than anything you'd seen in the waking world, dance before your bleary eyes as you slowly drag your tired body upright from your nest of blankets at the foot of Kelepee's bed. It's still dark out, and you feel that you haven't slept at all. Your eyes are gritty, a headache pulsing behind them that fills your vision with stars. Your muscles ache and you feel bile fill your mouth before you manage to choke it back.

What do you do?

>>968088
Get the sharpest instrument you have access to and be tending to the wizard just before noon. When the fairy appears, use the chaos to cut out the Wizard's heart and slam it down the War Wolf's throat.

>>968088
First off erase the evidence of the ritual.
Then go visit the traps like you do every morning. Nothing is out of the ordinary, everything is normal.

At some point you should give the war wizard a sleeping potion so they can't make him help fight the fairy. Once the fighting starts, just stay out of the way.

Erase the ritual sigil. Go see the war wizard and ask him how we can incapacitate his wolf for a few hours without arousing suspicion. We chose to see the fairy because it held the prospect of getting away with this blame-free.

>>968090
Is this an option? Can the wizard survive after all? Would he be released once the orcs leave? Would they deem him too valuable or too dangerous to let lose?
If everything goes well I like this option. The fairy seemed confident on her ability to win by herself after all.

The heart thing would reveal to the orcs that we are working against them. They may still suspect we put the wizard to sleep when they needed the most, but we can excuse this as part of his treatment and we didn't expect he would be needed so soon.

Since we will be trusting the fairy the only thing left is to warn Caoiran that the camp will be attacked and she shouldn't fight. She should drop any weapon she hold to make sure she will not be targeted. And to pass this warning to the guards she trust will not tell the orcs.

If we still have free time we can loot some valuables from the pile.

Give the War Wizard the madness poison.

Now that I think about it, the War Wizard would be a better choice for the madness poison. I'm not sure how the War Wizard is able to control the War Wolf in the first place - I think they're able to control it even if they're out of the line of sight. Possibly even if the Wizard is sleeping, it's not certain that he wouldn't be able to control it in his sleep. Not that we have a sleeping poison - we only have the drowsiness one, so that's not good enough. But the madness poison would certainly make sure the Wolf isn't given any coherent orders. If possible, we should also try to brew a cure for the madness poison so that we can quickly placate the wizard when the ordeal is over.

What to do with the others? We need to make sure Kelepee is out scouting when it happens, but we could also try to spike Miranni so that she doesn't do anything unpredictable. We definitely shouldn't reveal to anyone that we were in contact with the fairy, even our own band. I'm pretty sure they won't be dumb enough to interfere in the battle on their own.

>>968089
I'd argue that cutting a heart out of a person's chest isn't as easy as it sounds, considering ribs are in the way. So it's likely that by the time we'd be able to get the heart out, the fight would be already over. Also, the orcs might find out we did that and postulate we worked with the fairy.

>>968090
We don't have a sleeping potion. Only a drowsiness one.

>>968094
You're assuming that we'd be able to talk to the War Wizard. As mentioned here >>967669
>In one of the brief moments you manage to have alone with him
...the chance of us getting an opportunity to talk with him alone is very low, because he's being watched by Hammelatkurei.

We decided not to poison Kelepee earlier, but now we should consider giving her the drowsy poison if we want her to survive this. It sounds like the Fairy is gonna arrive in person or send something here to fuck shit up and Kelepee could very well be the first one to charge right in.

We can't give the War Wizard the deadly poison because the orcs that survive the Vengeance would find out about it afterward, while the madness poison could result in the War Wolf attacking everyone indiscriminately. Feeding his heart to the War Wolf means that he could decide to kill all of the orcs, even the friendlier ones, and the only one who could prevent him from doing that would be the Fairy.
We could give him a drowsy poison so that he can't control the War Wolf properly and try to pass of the drowsiness as a side-effect of the "healing medicine", but we will need to time it right so that the poison is in full effect when the Vengeance starts.

By noon you need to have achieved several things:

-Ensure that the orcs' are short handed and distracted, with your favored orcs not anywhere near Hamel and Bohm.

-That the War Wizard is dead, or temporarily out of their hands when Perferlain strikes.

-That you and the other slaves are ready for the repercussions and are either nice enough to be let go at mission failure or making use of the distraction to run.

>Who do we tell?
Caoiran and Kevwran are our fellows in plight and should be informed that whatever happens today, they mustn't raise their arms in fear or anger. Just say Rhaina contacted you and had something cooked up, but it's not a sure thing, so staying on the orcs' good side might still be useful. The other captives might be brought in on that as well, except with less detail since you don't know them.

Kelepee should be out scouting in the middle of the day - and that's good. No telling if she's badass enough to take on a fairie, and she'd certainly not be afraid and hesitate or throw down her arms demoralized, like some, so that'd spell her death. Or worse, she becomes the deciding factor in making the Perferlein's heart the orcs'.

>If Kelepee stays in camp today
Go to Rhaina's body, and tear a piece of cloth from their cloak, make it look like it got caught on something and torn off. Near noon, inform her you went out to check on the traps and say you spotted something on a low-hanging branch near the corpse pit, but you're not sure what to make of it. Give her the cloth - she'll recognize it's not from any of her people and HOPEFULLY head off to look for whatever sneaky git accidentally left behind evidence of their passing.

Maybe she'll find Rhaina, but oh well, Rhaina's dying anyway.

>Who do we help spare?
Anle and Miranni are not bad orcs. Anle isn't violent, so if you stay close to her or see her during the fight, you can probably convince her to surrender and have her maybe convince others too by being convincing that fighting a fairie is a death sentence.

As for Miranni, you could ask her about the bad feeling she's had. Tell her that you've come to share it now - bad dreams and worse omens. If something ill goes down in the days to come once the war wizard gets better and their quest resumes, you suggest she do the sensible thing and look out for number one. This fool's errand shouldn't cost more than it has to.

That should hopefully plant a seed of hesitation.

As for the general orc crowd, you could do something similar as with Miranni to the more neutral and amiable ones. Essentially spread ill omens, if orcs believe in those, and coach it in 'Miranni said...' so they don't just dismiss it as the words of a a non-person.

>Killing the wizard
Poison the wolf. It is the war wolf's unnatural vitality that gives the war wizard strength to resist the toxin. ... so what happens if we give our deadly, deadly poison to the war wolf, so they are matched?

It'd be easier to poison than the wizard, as it's less closely watched.

>Removing the wizard
Give the wizard the sleeping drug. He can't be forced to use the war wolf to save the orcs if he's unconscious. If he's too closely watched for that, you can feed a lie to Miranni and crew - that you think he's managed to compound his symptoms by depriving himself of sleep, and feeding him a sleeping draught will speed his recovery up considerably.

>What to do now?

Uh. Go back to sleep? If you start sneaking about at night that's the kind of suspicious that'll make the orcs trust you less. Or gut you.

"Pillar of the world" my ass.

1) Get the eggs and your comrades. Now.
2) Warn or distract some of the orcs - you can't let them sacrifice their lives for a fight that isn't theirs. This is between the boss and his prey.
3) Offer the survivors a job as your guard, at least for now.

>>968101
I think that talking to Miranni is a good idea, yeah. But only Miranni - we don't want to make ourselves look too suspicious. If someone should warn the rest of the orcs, it should be her. Especially during the fight, she may be able to stop some of the orcs from raising their weapons.

We can tell her that we had "visions". The vision that we had was that of the dead orcs. The orcs that were dead were those that were holding weapons. And the ones that laid down the weapons were left alive. Ask her what this could mean.

Don't warn any orc of anything.
The plan is not be killed by the orcs. If they don't find out what we did they will kill us. So telling them what we did or giving clues is the opposite of what we want.

Merchant!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2020/05/27(Wed)08:22 No. 968157 ID: 12b116
File 159059296512.jpg - (153.39KB , 638x407 , e3m9.jpg )

You slowly begin to collect yourself as you plan out what you'll do. The first thing you do is rapidly erase the symbol you drew under your sleeping area. Your intention is to get away with this without notice.

No question about it, you want to disable the War Wolf. It'll definitely be more effective to poison the Wizard, and you generally have access to him. You also plan to do it close to noon. You think that giving him madness poison would make him difficult to control, but maybe if you gave him the drowsy poison too, he wouldn't be able to really do much. Especially if you gave him a lot.

You also figure you should clue Caoiran and Kevwar in. You can be vague about it and it shouldn't be a problem. This likely won't be an issue. You've spent significant time with them, so they both trust you implicitly.

The orcs will be more of an issue if you want to try to save any of them. If you don't poison Kelepee, she'll almost certainly die. Even if she's outside of camp, there's no way she won't know when the attack happens.

Miranni's visions are a product of her magic. There's no way she'll put any faith in premonitions or visions you might have. If you want to save her, you'll either have to tell her what's going to happen, or some explanation if you want her to do something. You've spent a lot of time with each other and have a generally positive relationship. This means she's more likely to trust you, but also less likely to be fooled by lies. Even still, you don't know how she'd respond.

You haven't spent much time with Anle, but you feel some affinity for her. You might be able to warn her with something fairly vague. If you leave it to chance and do nothing, there's a fairly good chance that Miranni will die, and Kelepee almost certainly will. Most of the orcs will probably try to fight the Fairy when she arrives.

Needless to say, it could be bad if the orcs suspect you're involved.

There's no real risk for you in poisoning the War Wizard with the poisons you've made already, so you don't need to worry about forgetting to do this, now that you've decided you want to.

You know there's no real risk in warning Caoiran and Kevwar either. You don't have to worry about remembering to do this. You can warn them vaguely and you feel it will be effective since you've thought to do it.

Do you Poison Kelepee? Do you do anything more than this?

Do you intend to warn Miranni? What do you say to her?

Do you attempt to warn Anle? What do you say to her?

Is there anything else you want to accomplish before noon?

I'd say that if we do poison Kelepee, it will be with the sleeping poison as well.

We shouldn't warn Miranni, but we could try to get her out of the camp by asking her if she could help you find more herbs.

Arg, I really don't want bad things to happen to Anle...

Just before noon tell Anle that you need to speak with her privately, try and have it so that you talk on the very edge of camp. Maybe warn her as the fighting ensues.

Poison Kelepee. Give her some drowsy. In her own way, she spared you from Renza, and even gave you a shocking degree of autonomy, despite her actual bloodlust. We owe her. Magic shit's about to happen in a major way, so blame literally everything on the psychotic godlike fey that's about to wreck reality here.

Try to find Anle first. Tell her you had some bad feelings about today. Bad enough that you couldn't sleep at all last night. It's hard to explain, but we need you and Miranni to go pick herbs with us today, or literally anything else that will get you out of camp. Asking anyone else won't help. You have never been more sure and serious about anything in your life.

Drowsy Kelepee a little bit, only enough to put her off her game today, and make her slow on the uptake while she's out scouting. Any more than that, and we'll be implicated, and we aren't nearly as invested in her survival as the other two.

Ask Miranni to help you pick herbs outside the camp. You're also interested in learning more about spirit stuff - even if you'd never want to taste the wine yourself, being knowledgeable in this stuff could be neat. If Miranni is unsure about leaving camp... suggest that she put Anle on-duty to fetch us if she's needed for shaman stuff. (This has the added effect of implanting an impulse in Anle to run to us instead of at the deadly fairy.) Make sure she's out of there before the war wizard takes a turn, and make sure he doesn't take a turn soon enough for Miranni to be called back before the attack.

If Miranni catches wind of the attack while we're out, we need to say something that will stop her in her tracks without casting suspicion on us. Our own deadly premonition is a bust, but what about hers?
"Miranni... after what you said, about having a bad feeling about this mission... What if this is what it meant? Coming from the mouth of a shaman, even an apprentice... If... If you go to confront whatever this is, is... is this the last time I'm going to see you? I'm scared for you, Miranni..."
... The part about being scared for her at that moment doesn't even need to be a lie.

That body pillow... SweatingTowelGuy.png

Tsk, I don't have enough information to make a well-informed decision. There's too many variables.

I think that for our own good, we'd want to save as many orcs as possible, not just the couple that we know. So the plan is to have Hamellatkurei and Bohmadigh die at most. For this plan, I think it's crucial to have Miranni on our side since she'd be better at convincing others not to fight, especially when the attack happens. Here's how I'd deal with her, in order of my preference:
Miranni Plan A:
We reveal the info about fairy to Miranni.
Condition: We can't do that without knowing how she feels about her teacher. We know that she only joined the expedition to stay with Bohmadigh, so if she's very close to him, then she would most likely try to prevent his death (by spilling the beans) if she learns that fairy was going to attack him. She would probably also kill us if she knew we were responsible for his death, so we would have to choose our words wisely.
Miranni Plan B:
We tell her about having a premonition, which she will dismiss, but then we ask her to use her own magic to validate it.
Condition: She has to agree to use her own magic.
The closer the time of reckoning, then stronger her own premonitions should be, so it's possible this would change her mind about believing us. It's also possible that she has some other magic, perhaps one that she could use on our own ghost to gain the Information.
Miranni Plan C:
We request to drink the Ghost Wine. If we drink the wine (maybe we could fake it, or mix it with some water as we do so), and survive, then if we tell her that we saw "a fairy", she'd have no choice but to believe us, because she'd be aware that there's no other way we'd be able to know of this.

We don't even know if Miranni is responsible for picking herbs. Nothing was written about this, so the chance of her and/or Anle agreeing to suddenly do this with us now is unlikely and I would dismiss it as a bad idea.

Like Miranni, Anle would likely be skeptical about any ill omens from our side. However, her being a healer, it's likey she would choose not to participate in the fight even if we don't warn her or anything.
Anle Plan A:
We get Miranni to convince her of the impending doom.
Condition: Miranni has to be on our side
Anle Plan B:
We tell her that the Fairy attacks today. Since she's not a shaman, no one would believe her if she spilled the beans, so this is less risky. Also, since she's a healer, she'd be more willing to lay down her weapon and convince others of doing the same when the time comes.

As far as Kelepee goes, we can't tell her about the fairy at all, because there's a chance she values her comrades' lives enough to kill us if she learned we were responsible for their deaths. I also think that if we are to lure someone out of the camp, it should be her, because she's most likely to fight the fairy no matter what.

Kelepee Plan A:
Drowsy poison her.
Condition: The poison (assuming it works at all) needs to still be effective by the noon, which may be unlikely if used in the morning.
Kelepee Plan B:
Lure her far out of the camp. I'm not sure how to do this. Maybe ask her if we can go scouting with her today, show us some cool far off places lol. Oh, I know. We could ask her to take us to the place where our wagon was ambushed, which should be pretty far. Tell her that some important stuff of ours was left behind. An important memento called "Bread". If she still notices the attack, we could do stuff like holding her hand, telling her that you're afraid, that she shouldn't leave you, that you don't want her to die, etc..

>>968181
I think we only got one shot at this - not exactly a "Plan A, into Plan B" situation.

Thanks for bringing that up, though; if Miranni asks "why me," simply explain that she's one of the two orcs we're assigned to, and Kelepee... has been a bit too clingy for our comfort recently.

>>968157
Kelepee is to be pitied but not saved; we're not actually friends with her. Don't bother with her. It would also be super suspicious if their best fighter just happened to be disabled when the Fairie shows up, the day after you sweet talked your way into her tent.
>Miranni
I want to try to keep Miranni out of the fight though. Maybe she'll be too busy keeping the War Wolf under control to participate anyway, if we're gonna drowsy-madness the War Wizard?
How about this: when the fighting starts, be there to see the Fairy but also be near Miranni, then warn Miranni immediately that she should not attack the Fairy. If she interrogates you afterwards you can just say you heard about Fairies from the elf that was traveling with you, and how they spare enemies that surrender.
>>968172
That could also work for keeping Miranni away...

>Anle
I don't think we need to worry about Anle, it's her job to heal people after a fight so she should stay out of it on her own. Also I think she lied to us about this mission being about saving lives.

Merchant!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2020/05/27(Wed)16:15 No. 968204 ID: 12b116
File 159062134358.jpg - (368.87KB , 1006x635 , e3m10.jpg )

You decide to poison Kelepee. You give her a dose of drowsy poison before you leave, and somewhat shortly before noon, you stop by the War Wizard's tent and give him a substantial dose of poison. Whatever look Hammelatkurei gives you as you leave will be meaningless in a few hours anyway.


You find Anle and tell her that you and Miranni will be picking herbs in the woods outside of camp, and you tell her exactly where you're both going to be. You tell her you barely slept last night, and you have a really bad feeling. She could come with you if she wanted, but you stress that she should come get Miranni and you if anything happens. She seems incredibly concerned when you say this, and you can't quite read her expression.

After that, you go talk to Miranni. You ask her if she could come with you to gather herbs. You tell her that you don't want to walk around in the woods unsupervised, but you've exhausted a lot of the materials that were in the apothecary's kit, so would it be a problem if she accompanied you? You don't really want to ask Kelepee for obvious reasons.

Miranni readily agrees. She says that since the War Wizard has been improving, she's had to do less work maintaining the Wolf. Whatever look Bohmadigh gives you as you leave will be meaningless in a few hours anyway.

As you walk through the forest, you tell Miranni about her premonition. You tell her Anle told you about it. Her expression becomes troubled.

"There's a pall over this endeavor. Even though I think we're equipped for a good chance of success, there's no guarantee." She pauses, glancing away with her remaining eye. "I can almost feel a presence ... We've taken every precaution, but something just feels wrong. As if we can't truly hide from what we're seeking here."

You let the heavy, uncomfortable atmosphere persist and eventually she continues.

"I'll tell you, it's much worse today. The feeling that I'm being watched is so much stronger than it ever was before." She shudders.

"We should probably return to the camp quickly. I have to be ready to do what I can." You also notice that she's brought a flask of Ghost Wine with her. Normally, she leaves it in her tent.

Even though she says this, you drag things out, discarding a lot of the herbs as being unsuitable, exaggerating the amount you think you'll need and generally going slowly.


It's more sudden than you expected it to be.

A scream that echoes through the trees and makes you cower, icy fingers of terror sliding along your spine.

The scream is like a waterfall.

A cataract.

A gong.

A ringing bell.

A scream of rage and pain and loss, wrenching, torn from a grieving breast. An inhuman sound full of misery. Leaves rain down around you and birds take flight.


And then you hear her voice. Twisted by anger, hurt.

"Hammelatkurei and Bohmadigh, I am Seven Streams Running Over Uneroded Stone! I am your Death, and I have come to claim you! All who hear my voice! Despair! Stand against me and you will die!"

She screams again, a deafening shriek raw and full of hatred, and then you hear a sound like nothing you've heard before. A buzz like an impossibly large swarm of hornets, keening and metallic, before you hear the first tree crashing down somewhere in the forest.

Even under her fur, you can tell that Miranni has gone pale. Only seconds later, Anle arrives, her terror apparent.

"The -" she barely glances at you. "It's here. This is our only chance."

You see Miranni hesitate.

What do you say?

>>968204
Tell them they should probably not try to fight whatever that is. You don't want them to die. The other orcs can handle it, surely?

If they go, then they go. You did your best.

"If this creature is what you're after, this will not end well. You know that if you try to fight her, you will die. Every orc here would, even if you all fought together. Your premonition was right and the only thing you can do now is cut your losses - and do what this... Seven Streams demands."

"Is what here?! Miranni, what's going on?" Let her answer, and maybe chew her out slightly if she tells you the truth (but in more of a "betrayed disbelief" way than a "condescending anger" way), but tell her to wait if she tries to bolt. "Wait, is.. is this what your bad feeling's about? If... If you go to confront it... is this the last time I'll ever see you?" She's afraid, and in a way, so are we, and we should let that fear for her wash over. Drive more nails into that, for her own good - aim to paralyze with naught but your words, without a hint of malice (for there is none).

Say fucking nothing.

Since I will be outvoted on this one at least don't mention anything about fairy. As far as you are concern that is a monster, a demon or a god.
Don't mention anything about objective. They didn't told you and don't know what they are talking about.
Just show fear. A fear that haunted your dreams. Fear for your life, for the lives of your companions, for the lives of Miranni and Anle. Convince them they should be as scary as you are.

>>968206
Something along the lines of this. Adding if they look to bring you along, just run

>>968206
This seems like the best you can do, given the circumstances.

Chance to what, seek your death? If I wasn't sure you could stop me I'd run until my legs fell off.

Say that you recognize the name as belonging to the Fairy in this parts and demand to know why she is pissed off at the orcs. If they try to run back to the camp, then scream at them that their opponent is a goddamn Fairy and they don't stand a chance.

If they ask how we know about the Fairy's existence, we simply tell them the truth: our elven companion talked extensively about her before our caravan was attacked by the orcs. Nothing in that answer reveals that we knew she was the orc's target or that she was going to attack today.

It sounds like it wants only two in particular. It has the element of surprise. It sounds like... you don't stand a chance. Hammelatkurei and Bohmadigh can't be that strong on their own... and if you run at it, it'll probably kill you too. I don't know what's going on here, but you need to cut your losses and save your skin! You can't win this one. I'm not going to follow you. Whether you kill me for disobeying or not, this is a forlorn fight for me. I won't run if somehow, you win.

Miranni, I hope at least you understand where I'm coming from. I don't know how loyal you are or what you think you can do but i say there's no point in dying for nothing when you could live to fight another day.

what the culturally appropriate expletive was that? Is that the thing you were hunting and hiding from? It sounds like you're the ones being hunted now.

We've made it difficult for the orcs to win now, but it's gonna be obvious to any survivors that we betrayed them, especially Miranni and probably Kelepee, both of whom we are actively trying to not get suicide by fey'd.

Given that is our intentions, we might as well get the facts out of the way now and presented in our favor, intentions clear. Besides, making it obvious how skewed the odds are might turn them from joining the battle to bailing.

Step in front of their path and shake your head pleadingly.

"Don't. It's played you. Is playing you. It's what I've been dreaming of. There were things it shouldn't have known, but... did. It asked me what vengeance was proper. I gave it Hamal and Bohd's names, only. It asked me to take out the war wolf. I re-poisoned the wizard today, hardly daring not to. Anyone else who did not fight it said it would spare, at least. I drugged Kelepee. I didn't think she'd stand down, no matter the odds."

Shrug helplessly.

"Don't fight. This fairie is... beyond words, even in dreams. I'm not sure you could've won at full strength, let alone when out-schemed by it. Get your friends to bail, if anything."

>>968266
Don't confess. You overestimate how evident it is that we're behind the fairy knowing what it does; even if the orcs do eventually realize we somehow had something to do with it, it's way too early to put all our cards on the table.

>>968273
I was implying we imply the fairie already knew 'bout this sordid mission from other sources, not that we told it, since it'd gel with Miranni's bad feel of having been watched of late (might even be true...). And maybe I am overestimating their ability to suss out our deeds. It's a lot to hope for, though.

Anyway, this is also about what we want to actually happen here. "You guys gon' die and this is why." with "The fairie had your number and pawn'd me." as an ass-covering measure is by no means a bad plan if we want to give Miranni and Anle the best odds of survival. They've both had the heebie jeebies about this mission and I think they'll give it up as a bad job if they realize their chances are shot and transition from attack mode to damage control.

Even if my original pitch is too thick on details, if you're invested in their survival the strongest argument Merchant can make is that two of their big aces ain't anymore, and the only way Merchant would know that is if he admits he had a hand in it.

>>968279
I understand your point, but I as I've argued before, Miranni could blame us for Bohmadigh's death and avenge it. Or Anle for Hammelatkurei's. Or they could tell other orcs what we did and let them decide whether they want to punish us for helping the fairy.
Sure, telling them would increase their chance of survival, but it would decrease our own. I'd still put Merchant's life first, so in this aspect, I'm against outright revealing our connection to the fairy, no matter how refined of an explanation we use.
Maybe they'll find out we sabotaged their efforts, maybe they won't. Personally, I believe that, as things stand, the evidence is too circumstantial. Even the War Wizard's madness can be blamed on the fae powers.

>>968284

The thing is, we may have already cast suspicions on ourselves with the way we warned Anle that we had a bad feeling about something and that she should come get us if anything happened at the camp.

What we can do is convince them that somebody else was responsible for this and we happen to have a solid fall guy in Rhaina:
1- We could truthfully say that he told us about the Fairy before we were caught by the orcs and has extensive, almost fanatical, knowledge about her. There is probably some other ritual that elves can use to contact Fairies that he had no need to teach us (not that we'd reveal that we know of any sort of ritual). Simply revealing that we're not the only ones who know about the Fairy could deflect some of the suspicion.
2- When we met up with him in secret, he told us that he could no longer move because of his wounds, so right now he's still right were we talked with him. We don't have to tell the orcs that we know where he is- if we imply his existence, then the surviving orc scouts will eventually find him if they're focused and thorough.
3- If the orcs find him alive and he's still able to talk, then he will most likely take sole responsibility for the Fairy's attack. Remember that he entrusted us with the survival of the eggs above his own survival. If he reveals that we helped him with the attack, then we will be killed along with any chance that the eggs will be saved. Thus, he would try to ensure our own survival for the sake of the eggs.
4- This one is a bit of a reach, but we could have a witness that could confirm Rhaina's existence: Kelepee. The first night we slept in her tent, she told us that she was tired from hunting down our friends. If, by chance, she wasn't being sarcastic when she said this, then there is a possibility that she's the one who wounded Rhaina and left him for dead.

So there might be some benefit to revealing that we know about the Fairy, so long as we reveal that there is an outsider that also knows about the Fairy. Obviously, we wouldn't mention anything about the the secret meeting or the ritual.

"I don't know what that thing is, but it sounds like nothing from this world. I've had a war wolf run me down, and I've never been this scared in my life. It doesn't seem like it'd come after us, but just in case? We should be running and hiding, not picking a fight and hoping whatever makes noises like that is still afraid of axes. Whatever you do, I don't want to die, or see you die."

Tell them the elf insisted, with his life, that the death of the fairy would cause the entire forest to implode or something, because he put her life before his own unborn children.

If they want revenge, they could just crack a few omelettes in front of his face. You need to hear their story; are they here for profit or do they need faerie organs for some important save-the-world deal?

Merchant!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2020/05/29(Fri)14:22 No. 968378 ID: 12b116
File 159078732771.jpg - (439.70KB , 1049x642 , e3m11.jpg )

You try your best to make it seem like you're just as surprised as they are.

"Wait!" you shout, stopping them both.

You tell Miranni to listen to her gut feeling, that you care about her and Anle and don't want to see them die.

You tell them that you won't follow them toward whatever that is, no matter what they do, and there's no reason for them to throw their lives away against some monster they have no hope of defeating. You do not mention your part in the events currently transpiring, either truthfully or otherwise.

Worry, confusion and despair are plain on both their faces. You all stand there, considering how to proceed, as the screams, keening wails and crashing of downed trees fill the air around you.

"We have to, Anle," Miranni says, glancing between you and her. "It's why we're here."

As they hesitate in the dark forest, the sounds slowly cease.

You look at one another. The quiet persists.

Slowly, all three of you carefully make your way back to the camp.


As you get closer, the copper stink of blood overpowers everything else before you breach the treeline and enter the clearning that used to be the orc's camp.

Massive trees have been chopped in half, the tents are crushed, and blood and chunks of meat litter the clearing, bright sunlight shining down from the now-visible clear sky.

Perferlain is there, floating in the air, a halo of golden light following along the ground beneath her. Golden swords of light move in fits and starts through the air, quietly humming. You recognize the sound as the deafening mechanical buzzing from before.

A few orcs lay in pools of their own blood, groaning, although most of them are still, their bodies in peices.

You see Kelepee, clutching weakly onto the blade of one of the swords of light, her blood dripping into the muddy puddle in which she kneels.

She groans.

Anle and Miranni don't move. Clearly the fight is over. Perhaps eight orcs are dead. You suspect the rest have fled.

More blood drips from Kelepee and she moans again, weakly.

Her sword lays in the dirt near the pool of her blood.

Perferlain slowly turns to face you, her snow-white flesh almost translucent under the bright sun.

Her heart, outside her chest and suspended on a shaft of light, beats rapidly.

Anle and Miranni do nothing. Miranni drops the jar of Ghost Wine onto the groud from her now-limp fingers.

"We have clearly lost," Anle says, raising her arms in surrender.

Perferlain speaks. Her voice is like a bell.

"In my whimsey, I will deign to grant you a boon, human." She says.

"I can smell your scent on this creature. Shall I spare her? Or is there something else you desire?"

Kelepee's eyes flutter closed.

>>968378
I want my fucking BREAD.

My goods, my wagon, and if possible my safe passage out of here.

She technically spared us as well. Letting us choose our fate as a slave rather than letting others decide. I say we spare her and any of the slaves still here

>>968381
None of the slaves should be up for slaughter anyways, only the top two orcs and anyone who joined in the defense are marked for death.

Respect is earned, loyalty returned. Spare Kelepee.

Explain to the orcs if they question you that, yes, it was all fair game since they were so bluntly pragmatic and hostile in order to capture you by slaughtering your caravan. You simply returned the favor. The faerie as you understand it is also a very important creature tied to the health of this land... and you're doing business in it. Not good to be known for killing off people's homelands if you're a travelling merchant. As far as Kelepee, Miranni, and Anle are concerned, you think they treated you pretty well in the two latters' case and while the former was mercurial, she did fight for you to have your pick of things to make sure you weren't a malcontent who tried to run or slit someone's throat.

If any of them for some reason get their hackles raised or get vengeful, preempt things by pointing out that they chose to follow their commander's lead and you defeated their commander. Clearly, killing you accomplishes nothing now, and in fact you are showing yourself to be someone who looks after his followers and seeks victory even when the chips are down.

Also, make damn sure that "spare Kelepee" does not include simply leaving her to bleed out with poison in her system. Make sure she survives and attend to her.

hrrrrrrrmmmmmm

Kelepee is best orc, and her living would be ideal . . . but we gotta have our bread back.

say you desire bread

Definitely dont say the fairy's name, better to act taken aback like you have no idea why shes offering you a boon. "Whimsy" gives you wiggle room to avoid orc revenge.

Just take the offer of sparing kelepee, since it was mentioned. Be afraid of the monster and try to get away from it. The bread is probably fine, and the book is already worth way more thanbthe bread anyway. At this point its best to just focus on getting out instead of getting greedy.

"W-what? Spare her! Um...?" Don't be an idiot and pick bread over Kelepee's life right in front of Miranni and Anle. Maybe cast a confused glance at them to really sell it.

Welp, she straight up outed us as being responsible for this and we have no idea how the surviving orcs are gonna react to that. She's offering us a boon and we should use it for damage control.

Ask her to please spare Kelepee and to remove this conversation from the memories of everyone still alive except yourself. Also, ask her if she would be so kind as to protect Rhaina's eggs until we can retrieve them, as his dying wish was for them to be returned to his wife.

However, those are technically 3 different requests. If she's gonna grant us one and only one boon, then we should use it either to erase everyone's memories or to kill all the remaining orcs, including Anle and Miranni. The latter option sucks because of all the time and effort spent trying to spare them, but we can't afford to gamble on being forgiven for killing their comrades.

Shit! Now we are next to two health orcs that know we have something to do with this fairy. I don't know how we are going to survive that...

If we had a real choice in the matter I would ask to gain a boon that we need but we don't yet know that we need.
In reality we have to prepare for the aftermath diplomacy. Saving Kelepee would be a show of good faith.

"Give me your heart.".
I mean, if she gave us her heart, it means she would die and Kelepee would be spared. Altho this probably wouldn't count as a small boon haha

Alternatively, look at Miranni and Anle and ask them if they're okay with you saving Kelepee's life. (vote to spare her)

After the fairy leaves, go down on your knees and curse out loud while crying. With tears in your eyes, tell Miranni and Anle that Kelepee was the only one you could save. Say that you're sorry and that the fairy promised you that everyone would be spared if you helped her, but that she lied and this happened.

Okay but seriously just spare Kelepee. We don't know exactly how much the Fairy would give us if we asked for something else, nor do we know what she CAN give us. Asking for too much, or for something she can't do, could have negative consequences. We don't know enough about Fairies.
The bread can be recovered through just walking over to where it was and picking it up. Probably. Also we have other valuables to make up for the loss.

ALSO saving Kelepee makes us look good in front of Anle and Miranni, who could still kill us once the Fairy leaves. Let's not forget that.
...ask if the boon can include fixing what's wrong with Kelepee's mind/spirit. If there is a Price to be paid for that... maybe Kelepee would be willing to pay it.

>>968400

Telling the orcs that you had anything at all to do with the fairy is a good way to end up dead no matter how much you wail and gnash your teeth about it

Well, got vengeance and then some. Body count’s in our favor now, I’d say.

>Spare
Phrase it so the fairie might fix her mental woes as well. Like “Uh... then I beg your boon be that she be fully restored to us.” It’s clear only supernatural aid would help her at this point, anyway, so might as well ask for the full package.

We could possibly ask for a more generic boon, restoring more orcs, but... we really don’t know how far a boon can be pushed. Uh. Though if we DO push it, you could ask that you’d like anyone within the area who remain grievously damaged be restored to at least a decent state of survivability. This could reasonably be interpreted to cover Rhaina as well! Or any of our friends if they got caught up in this mess.

Tell Miranni that you will start preparing medicine for the wounded, and get her on first aiding wounded orcs. Tell Anle (and Kelepee?) to aid or look for other survivors, like the rest of the captives, if they didn’t run away already, for more helping hands. Keep them focused on that while you get an overview of the situation.

>>968419
The fairy spoke to us, so the orcs know we're her acquaintance. We cannot deny that in any way because the chance of us randomly knowing this fairy is astronomical. Because of this link, it's quite clear to them that we're in league with her and the previously circumstantial evidence of our tampering is no longer circumstantial.

In other words, I believe that the chance of us dying is higher if we don't say anything to them. For the best chance of our survival, we need to admit what we did and provide a good explanation for it. The one I proposed blames it on the fairy lies, which should be plausible if the orcs are aware of any rumors regarding the fairy boons and their costs.

>>968426
>the orcs know we're her acquaintance
Do you know what whimsy means? We can just shrug and go "Fairy must've just felt like giving out a boon to the first non-orc she saw"

Spare Kelepee, ask for nothing else.

"For my boon, I request you surrender a fragment of your heart's power.

As a polite request, please leave. You have taken your fill of blood."

>>968425
Yeah, I like this. Try and push the boon, see how much we can get, but if the Fairy won’t hear it just spare Kelepee.

Then begins the Triage, and the bloody work.

>>968425
Much as I don't particularly care about Kelepee, this does seem like an appropriate thing to do as long as it doesn't result in us owing a debt to Perferlain. Being the callous merchant and asking for material goods when saving lives has already been put on the table is a good way to make everyone hate you, and you don't have the power to get away with that right now. Not that I would go for that regardless but yknow

>>968442
ye.

>>968378
Request that Kelepee's mind, body and soul be restored.

>>968425
>That she be fully restored to us

Probably the best way to phrase it.

>>968466
Ooh, changing my vote to this. It erases how she was poisoned, and she might be too grateful for the restoration of her soul to remember/care about that - heck, she might basically be a different person. Plus, maybe this result is what the shaman apparently felt when he decided this was a good idea?

We can sell the book for more than the bread was worth, that much we know.
I'd love to save the tsundere gnollfu, but maybe it's best that we let things slide with her and just get something from ourselves. Of course, knowing that we decided to selfishly sacrifice one of their comrades for our gain is going to be an unpopular opinion at the very least, but they might also not care too much to pursue or condemn us for choosing that since she's not particularly popular either.

I'd say let her kill Kelepee and ask for some kind of magical item to protect you from harm or ambushes. Even if we saved her and get her as a companion that's gonna be much more useful investment in the long run, as a traveling merchant. Besides, we really don't care that much about her, do we?

Merchant!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2020/05/30(Sat)08:48 No. 968476 ID: 12b116
File 159085368085.jpg - (342.78KB , 1078x690 , e3m12.jpg )

You're pretty sure, looking at Anle and Miranni, they have no idea you were involved with the fairy before this very second. Apparently, whimsically deciding to grant a boon to a random person really isn't out of character for a fairy.

You very briefly consider asking the fairy for her heart or some part of it, but realize this is probably a terrible idea, so you try to think of something better.

You think you'll probably make a better impression on the surviving orcs if you rescue Kelepee, and probably make up for any suspicion they may have that you're involved.

"I want to spare Kelepee, that orc, and fully heal and restore her."

Perferlain grins.

"I can heal her body, but if you mean her mind or spirit are damaged, I have no way to know what form it took before, and besides, It would be cruel of me to return to her a cost she freely paid.

There is a bright flash of light, and Kelepee lays on the ground, unconscious, with no visible wounds.

"I shall take my leave," Perferlain says, and you all watch in stunned silence as she leaves the clearing.

You and Anle get ready to triage the wounded orcs who are still alive.

"Why would you save Kelepee?" Anle asks, seemingly extremely disappointed in your decision. "You know she's dangerous, mad, and violent right? No one actually likes her."

"Hey, I'm sure it was just panic," Miranni adds. "It was probably just the first thing that came to mind or something. There's no way that's a boon anybody would ask for if they had any time to think about it, right?" She sighs before continuing.

"I thought, you know, this whole mission is a complete failure now, but at least we got rid of Kelepee. What a pain in the ass she is." She pats you on the shoulder, doing a much better job of hiding her disappointment.

"It's ok. I would have panicked too."

You see Caoiran and Kevwar coming out from the edge of the woods.

"I'm not one to second-guess your decisions, boss," Caoiran says, "But I really could have used my hand back, you know?"

That being said, she begins to gather up materials while you see to the wounded orcs. A few return, and the mood is somber. An orc you don't recognize begins to skin the bodies of the dead who are mostly intact. The act carries a ritualistic, religious-seeming air as he works.

They unlock your shackles, and Caoiran's. The goblins don't return, seeming to have used the opportunity to escape. You don't see any evidence of the War Wizard, and you think the massive pile of rotting meat on one side of the camp is the remains of the War Wolf.

Several chests of items, including the three loaves of bread still in the camp and the apothecary's book and supplies, are left piled in the center of camp, Obviously too much for the six remaining orcs to carry.

Caoiran and Kevwar's armor and weapons are also returned.

The orcs confer with one another before Miranni and Anle come up to you and your companions.

"I guess we'll be parting ways here," Anle says.

"As a show of goodwill, why don't we leave Kelepee with you? You're going to have a lot of trouble hauling these things back with you, and she's pretty strong. We can shackle her if you want. I wouldn't give her a weapon if I were you."

Miranni speaks up. "I'd be willing to come with you, for a bit anyway, to help you carry things to the town."

Anle squeezes your shoulder. "I know these circumstances weren't ideal, but I think you're a good person. Hopefully these things can make up in some part for the suffering you've endured over the past few weeks. I am truly sorry about all this."

When they've walked back over to the survivors, Caoiran says "I have no idea how you pulled all that off, but I'm with you one hundred per cent. I'll do my best to keep you safe until you're back on your feet. It's gonna be hard to turn all this loot into ready coin, and I promise you I'm plenty scrappy, even with one hand."

"I'm out once we get to Willow," Kevwar says.

You take a moment to visit the edge of the village. It looks like a lot of the most visible coins have been harvested from the corpse pit. The goblins no doubt circled back and looted it while everything was happening.

You also notice that Raina has passed away.

Now, you've got some decisions to make.

Do you take Kelepee with you? If so, do you want the orcs to shackle her?

Do you take Miranni up on her offer to accompany you to Willow?

Do you just take the most valuable items, or do you want to try to haul everything you can carry out? The more you take, the slower you'll travel, and the worse shape you'll be in when you get to Willow

Just the book is worth more than your entire wagon of bread, and the apothecary's kit and herbs are probably quite valuable as well, although none of these things are coin. The chests contain weapons, armor, carvings, leather goods and a few miscellaneous items. The weapons and armor are worth the most, but are also by far the bulkiest and heaviest things in the loot.

Is there anything you want to talk to the orcs about before you part ways?

Goddamnit I was too late to the party.

I doubt we'll want to shackle Kelepee, considering how we just spent a wish for rescuing her that sounds like an extremely silly thing to do. She literally owes her life to us now, that must mean something.
Put the elf on the wagon while you're at it and start working on his wound to see if you can manage to get some more life into him so he doesn't croak halfway through the journey to willow. Miranni can surely help.
As for loot: assess the situation with miranni with the elf's life, make an educated guess about the length of the travel and try to get him to the town to his wife while also grabbing the armor and weapons, as much as you can while still being fast enough.

>Why would you save Kelepee?
Because that was the only orc you could've saved. Better save one life instead of none.

Ask Anle if she can now tell you the reason why they were after this fairy. How exactly would that have resulted in the benefit of human and orc races. And what are they going to do now?

As far as Kelepee goes... oh, she's asleep. wake her up by getting a good feel of her fluff hehe. I wonder what Kelepee's reaction would be if she woke up in our embrace after a near-death experience.

Don't shackle Kelepee at first, but don't leave her near any weapons either. Once she wakes up, tell her that she's gonna travel with you to Willow because we need assistance in carrying stuff. If she says no, then we shackle her and force her to come along (altho, maybe we should shackle her first anyway...). If she says yes, good. In that case, we also offer her to travel with us permanently. Under certain conditions of course - good behavior, listening to what we say, etc.

We'll definitely also need Miranni's help with hauling stuff. Assuming she doesn't ask much in return for this help. We should take only the most valuable items as far as weight to value ratio goes. Bread clearly isn't one of them. And we'll need to get the eggs (in case we get hungry on the way to Willow). We can also hide the rest of the items so that we can collect them on our way back from Willow.

>>968482
>wake her up by getting a good feel of her fluff hehe. I wonder what Kelepee's reaction would be if she woke up in our embrace after a near-death experience.
Christ, please tell me you're joking. You approach a mentally unstable ball of muscles and scars whose only trait is how she actually murders people efficiently who apparently just died and doesn't know what's going on and the first thing you want to do is grope her? That's practically begging to have your jugular ripped.

Make sure to take enough loot besides the book to make up, or at least approach, the value of the lost bread. We don't want to broadcast that we have a single very valuable item.

Gather up any heavy items that won't degrade in a couple weeks - like the weapons and armor - and stash them somewhere hidden. We can come back for them on our return trip. (There's no guarantee they'll still be there, though, even hidden, so make sure you take with you anything reasonably light.)

Have keleppe be unshackled so she can carry things. Remind the orcs that it's not a gift if they didn't want her in the first place. Take up Miranni's offer to haul stuff as well.

Honestly, I don't know if we can do much with the bread anymore. But if the book is as valuable as it is, why not use it? Become a wondering apothecary. Sell both snake oil and legit remedies. Perhaps we can convince Miranni to work for us.

>>968483
>the first thing you want to do is grope her
Getting a feel of the fluff isn't the same as groping, you know.

Btw, is there a reason you want to massage a dead body?
> >>968476 >You also notice that Raina has passed away.
> >>968481 >start working on his wound to see if you can manage to get some more life into him

Wave back slightly, and disguise it with a transition into scratching your head.

"Sorry, apparently - I thought you would react extremely poorly if I had asked for something else when I could have saved your comrade's life, no matter how unpopular she was. Honestly, you guys can keep her. She may be a mere annoyance to you, but I feared for my life when I was around her. However, I'd appreciate you accompanying me, Miranni; I could certainly use the extra hand."

Grab both the medicine book and fairy book, as well as the apothecary kit, all the remaining B R E A D, maybe a single box of other stuff, and don't forget to pick up Rhaina's eggs. Hide the bulky non-perishables, make a note of where you did, and come back for them later.

Don't be too talkative with Miranni; she knows us best, and will likely catch us out if we lie too much around her.

>>968476
Hold up before we make a decision on Kelepee we gotta know: has she actually HURT anyone during her outbursts? Or does she just really like fighting, gets super excited about it when the subject comes up, and can be easily provoked into a fight? If she can avoid hurting non-hostiles then we can bring her. Heck, we can put her in shackles while we're in towns to reassure people who don't know her. Like a War Wolf. That's a comparison she'd like, for sure.

Also, it's a shame about the war wizard. I thought we'd have time to at least do the heart transfer if the orcs killed the wizard due to him being unresponsive; has it really been a half hour? ...maybe the big drowsiness poison dose killed him before the fighting even started, and the orcs in charge were going to wait until we came back to administer punishment.

Ask Anle what the mission was about. Something to do with the Fairy obviously, but why?

Take Kelepee, unshackled.

>>968476
Take Kelepee with you, do not choose to shackle her.

Take Miranni with you.

Take everything you can, with the extra help you can haul more.

Prolly best to avoid talking to the orcs and just... part ways... With yer loot.

>>968502

>Hold up before we make a decision on Kelepee we gotta know: has she actually HURT anyone during her outbursts?

Yes, she has killed people, this is already established.

I'm against taking kelepee with us, she may as well be left behind in the field to not be your problem any more. If she must be tagging along to carry freight, still ditch her after Willow.

Keep the eggs hidden and take them to Willow, find Rhaina's wife and deliver the eggs to her.

Probably best to avoid talking to the orcs if they aren't making conversation, keep up the air that you are still horrified by what went on. Parting on quiet amicable terms is probably better than engaging in conversation and accidentally revealing that you killed everyone but kelepee.

Take Kelepee, a companion with a life-debt isn’t something to be scoffed at. Besides, something tells me she’s not wholly as monstrous as she seems. You treat someone like an animal long enough, they’ll starts acting like one. Leave her un-shackled.

Take Miranni up on the offer to escort you to town, and on the way, ask her what she’s going to do next. It’s just daydreaming but I’d love her to join the party. Either way, thank her sincerely for being a friend.

For loot, focus on the valuables. The book, the apothecary supplies, and have everyone take their pick of weapons. If we could find Caoiran a nice strap-on buckler for her left-arm that would be nice. Don’t arm Kelepee, yet. That’s a level of trust you work up to. And most importantly, split one of those loaves of bread among anyone who wants a piece, it’s too bulky to bother carrying so savor what remains of your previous wealth before you leave it behind.

wear all of the gambison as a dog training suit for handling Kelepee

also prepare to pass Kelepee off as your warwolf

>>968537
Yes Kelepee is the best warwolf

>>968525
>Yes, she has killed people
Oh? When? That one slave, who may actually have been trying to escape?

>>968539
>When?
> >>964450 >the people who had the medicine book wouldn't help us and tried to run away, so we killed them
> >>964928 >She has only had one other captive on this mission, and she killed it. She said it tried to escape

She killed people, but we don't know if she ever accidentally killed someone due to her outbursts. Might be something worth asking.

>>968476
Oh don't forget to loot Rhaina's backpack, for a second valuable book. If the orcs ask how you knew where it was, you can say Rhaina told you to look there if anything happened to him.

Merchant!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2020/05/30(Sat)16:42 No. 968553 ID: 12b116
File 159088216296.jpg - (368.87KB , 1037x640 , e3m13.jpg )

After a lot of mental debate, you decide to take Kelepee with you. You also take up Miranni's offer to come with you as well. If nothing else, it'll help you carry a lot more.

You take the three loaves of B R E A D and the lowest-weight, highest-value items, and stash everything you can't take with you. You wave bye to the orcs, and head back to the ambush site, getting Rhaina's backpack in the process. You decide not to tell anyone what's in it, and pass it off as if you just happened to find it.

With that, you complete your trip to Willow.

You've never been happier to see a fairly small, primitive house in your entire life.

Built up among the trees, most of the buildings are elevated on posts, making the village extremely defensible. Curing hides hang from many of the elevated porches, and curious onlookers peer over the railings.

Miranni leaves you at this point. With the Shaman of her tribe dead, she has to return to her people, but she tells you that as far as she's concerned, you're a friend of the Secret Water orcs, which is the tribe that she belongs to. She says that they're generally respected, so it could keep you safe if you run into orc raiders in your travels. She says that she'd like to see you again sometime. If you're traveling out west, maybe you'll run into her.

You ask her about what they were there for. She tells you that Bohmadigh had a vision of an evil race sweeping into the lands from the north, and the power of the heart would allow the orcs to call forth strong allies to defeat them and keep them from ravaging the orc lands and continuing onward into the human kingdoms. With the mission failed, they'll return and prepare. Supposedly, it would still be roughly a year before the invasion was to occur.

Kelepee is strangely subdued the whole time. Even though you choose not to shackle her, Miranni gives you a set of shackles and a key "just in case." You get the impression that if Caoiran wasn't maimed, Kelepee would be substantially more aggressive toward her.

Miranni helps Caoiran work out a way to strap a shield onto the arm with her missing hand, which is better than nothing. She's sill capable with her sword in her off-hand. You certainly wouldn't want to tangle with her.

Miranni warns you that the problem with Kelepee is that if something sets her off, you, Caoiran, Kevwar or Miranni herself aren't really capable of getting her to back down. She knows better than to actively murder people, but she's seriously injured several orcs she's gotten into fights with, and her impulse control is poor, to say the least.

You convince her to wear the shackles in town, and more or less manage to pass her off as a sort of War Wolf. It's a pretty good idea.

Once in town, you seek out Genlaud, Rhaina's wife. You tell her the sad news regarding her husband, but she is overjoyed when you return the eggs to her. They're roughly a foot long, and oblong, shaped roughly like a grain of rice, their white shells leathery instead of hard like bird eggs.

She cries tears of grief and joy, her tears shining like silver, condensing into little crystals that slowly dissolve.

She offers you hospitality and friendship. You also learn you were right to not tell the orcs about Rhaina or the eggs. Apparently, orcs vivisect any elf they find in the hope they'll have eggs in 'em, which orcs consider to be a delicacy. For this reason, Genlaud's offer of hospitality doesn't extend to your orc. She also pays you in gems for the return of the eggs and several of the keepsakes in Rhaina's backpack, although she doesn't ask for the book. An elf's death-promise is transmitted magically into the mind of their kin, after all.

In the morning, you hire some rowdies to go get the rest of the loot you stashed, and find none of it has been disturbed. You learn that most of the corpses in the corpse-pit had belonged to local bandits, and that the road to and from Willow is much safer now.

Perhaps best of all, you have an amazing story to share, and you begin working on your memoir. You'll have to figure out some way to offload the books you've found to truly get ahead of your losses, but you're in a much better position than you ever thought you'd be after that harrowing attack in the woods so long ago.


__________________________________________
You tended to make fairly safe, cautious decisions early on, although you became more willing to take significant risks toward the end of your captivity.

You became friends with a tribe of orcs, used fell magics to contact a Fairy, and ended up with two extremely valuable texts.

You have a fast companion in Caoiran, who you shared your earnings with, and have ... a ... companion in Kelepee, although you think it's going to be quite difficult to keep her out of trouble, especially since she seems intent to staying close to you.

You also miss Miranni. You remember the conversations you had with her, and miss her quick wit and intellect. There's certainly no one like that traveling with you now, although you see something of her in Rhaina's wife.

All in all, you're certainly living a life of adventure, although you think you'll spend some time in civilization before you set out again.

Thank you for playing!

well that could have been worse
does sage still work in this

>>968591
looks like it

Thanks for the quest!

>it could keep you safe if you run into orc raiders in your travels
How would that keep us safe? Do we just shout that we know the Secret Water orcs and the raiders would just give us a pass?

>If you're traveling out west, maybe you'll run into her
Would've been useful to know the exact location of their village in case we'd want to travel there to trade and whatnot. Assuming they have one and they're not purely nomadic.

>it would still be roughly a year before the invasion was to occur
So we've got one year to get rich and raise an army...

>>968596
Probably better for the /dis/ thread, but I'll answer these here.

>>How could this help?
Parleying and explaining you're an ally of the Secret Water tribe would probably make anybody who are allies with them not want to murder you and take all of your stuff.

Depending on who they are, they could also hold you and confirm or something like that. It's not like magic words that make raiders evaporate so much as something you could use to bargain with hostile orcs.

I don't think the other two things really require any kind of direct response, though.

As far as the last one, also assuming that's true.

There's gonna be a chapter 2 right!?

>>968614
Of course