>>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