1st adventure: the Fey one

The preparations will take a full hour, which means you will be ready to go at 9:10 AM.

Before you leave the city hall, Irving will give you the reward that was promised; 150 pieces of gold (15 in-lore). On top of that, Saemon will give Mihai a greatsword to replace the one he lost to the wolf, hopeful that he will find it to his taste. As for Velstar, she will give one item each to Konrad and Steve; a magical belt for Konrad, and her own quarterstaff for Steve. The old woman will explain that she doesn't need these items anymore, as her own adventuring days are long since over.

Item stats:

Saemon leaves to rally his people, and he comes back with four of them; three young men and one woman. The three male members of the militia are the ones Saemon called "Igor's men", and they were apparently expecting to be summoned by the party, as they were members of the audience that listened to Steve's poem, which hinted at this very mission. In fact, once the performance was over, they made the decision not to drink anymore to avoid any hangover which would hinder to the success of the mission. Their names are Brandon, Felix, and Cassius, and they all seem eager to do their part.

The young woman appears to be actually a little older than Saemon, but not by much. Some of you would recognize her as the one who stood on the ladder which Ovalen was supposed to hold. Her name is Amelia, and her and Saemon actually bicker between each other, but it is very friendly. Before the members of the party get any weird idea, Velstar explains that she is his sister.

The four of them do not need any convincing into helping with the mission, considering the party's previous contribution to Waterglass. They're a little more reluctant about this whole plan once they learn they're gonna have to wear the equipment of dead mercenaries, but they still agree to participate.

Saemon explains that the scout who took Ovalen's shift, a girl named Bervlin, is still looking over the fort, and he believes she shouldn't be warned about the upcoming ambush. For obvious tactical reasons.

Fedler guides everyone into the forest to where the bodies of the other Coins' mercenaries are still lying down. She quickly accepts Mihai's suggestion, and stands a few meters away from the group. Saemon actually brought some blankets to cover the bodies with.

An examination of the scene will reveal that they were indeed killed by the cursed wolf and its deadly whips. The only female mercenary among them had her head cleanly cut off, while two of the others were impaled by the whips, and the last one appears to have died from internal injuries. Many of their personal belongings are broken, which must have happened during the attack, but you do manage to recover the following;

Items recovered:

Bloodied letter:

Only two of the chainmail shirts suffered serious damage (a hole in each one of them), but it dawns on you that wearing a cloak should hide it well enough for the purpose of the mission. The blood is easy to wash off once you bring it to the nearby stream, and once this is all done, the four members of the militia finally don their new uniform. They feel quite uncomfortable wearing the equipment of dead mercenaries, but they cannot hide the fact that they also think it looks cool. Saemon suggests that they return for the bodies later.

As for the ambush, Fedler will suggest a clearing north of the fort, right into the forest.

Map of Waterglass:

Link to the grid

OOC:

The four members of the militia are awestruck by Breeze.

"Heh guys! Wow, this is so cool, I finally get to meet new people. How are you?"

It takes some time for them to get used to the idea that fairies are real, but they soon find Breeze quite endearing. Saemon actually has to refrain them from asking too many questions, which annoys the fairy a little since she appeared to enjoy the attention. Once they're brought back to order, they promise not to tell anyone about her, and they seem quite proud to be trusted with such a secret. However, once the mission is done, they ask for the opportunity to ask more questions.

"Yes Breeze, you simple must tell us more about your people." Steve's tone makes it clear that he expects her to continue to do no such thing since he's on to her about playing dumb and coming up with clever ways for her to not answer certain questions.

You need to relax. You'll get to read it, just not in front of everyone.

The three members of the party get to read the letter for soon to be obvious reasons. The others won't even ask about it, since it is a Coins matter.

Once everyone is in position, Breeze starts flexing her arms and legs, even though most of the work will be done with her wings.

"Okay, I can do this," she mutters to herself. "They're just big, dumb and meany people. Nothing I can't handle! Yup, I'm the best, I'm the best..."

She appears a little worried, but once she is given the go ahead, she appears a lot more resolute. She nods to you, then flies away faster than you've ever saw her be. You lose sight of her in a few seconds.

For a moment, everything is calm. The only thing you can hear is the chirping of the birds, and the rustle of the leaves. Waiting in this clearing, you start to notice the little things, such as the wind which is picking up, and the clouds that are slowly covering the sky.

Just as the militia is getting worried, you suddenly hear the steady cadence of people running. Breeze suddenly appears right in the middle of the clearing, shouting at who you presume are the thieves.

"You can kiss my fairy butt!"

She then proceeds to make an appropriate insulting gesture, which doesn't seem to faze the four people who just entered the clearing; two men and two women. They are all carrying a short sword on their belt, and it seems the youngest woman is also wearing a leather armor on top of her tunic. Konrad and Steve easily recognize this one, as she is the one who flirted with Steve yesterday evening. The other woman, a lot more dishevelled than her colleague, steps forward and says in an affable tone;

"Come on, you know you don't have anywhere else to go but with us. We'll be more accommodating, you just have-"

She then notices the eight people surrounding her group. There is a short pause.

"Fuck me."

Without losing a second, she grabs a strange looking device from her pocket, then press on some sort of button built into it.

Nothing happens, which worries her. She presses a few more times, but nothing. The other three people appear to be in shock, and soon an expression of fear creeps up on their face.

Konrad:

OOC:

Konrad's idea:

Mihai steps out, affable expression on his face that belies menace nonetheless - "Right, ladies and gentlemen. I think that's far enough." - he starts - "Judging by your faces just now, you must be imagining what comes next. I'd rather avoid the bloody part if i could, though."

The woman holding the detonator actually stops pressing on it, but Konrad only has to throw the coin at her and send out the correct magical signal, and it will activate.

If he activates it:

If he doesn't:

Well, crap baskets.

With disdain for the diplomatic approach toward their enemy, Konrad is forced to abstain from use of the coin. Perhaps it will prove useful later.

Zeiss:

"Give it up, riffraff. We've got you dead to rights."

skills:

Steve silently waves a greeting to "Cala." The disappointment with seeing her there is all over his face. "Yes, surrender. An infinitely more just fate than what you had planned for us."

OOC:

Mihai frowns a bit at Konrad's directness, but it's not like he's wrong. - "Not as blunt as i'd have put it, but that seems to be the situation. That coin trick was nice idea, but i guess you can tell that'll do you more harm than good now (literally). Regardless, you'll be treated fairly if you don't take this to the next level."

ooc:

The woman who seems to be leading this bunch casts a stony glare upon you. She grits her teeth when she looks at Konrad, obviously angered by the situation she's found herself in, but she doesn't try to attack your group, or even escape. She listens to the "terms" of this surrender, then slowly puts two of her fingers on her sword, and let it fall on the ground. The other three, who've been a lot more agitated, follow suit.

The moment Calla cast her eyes on Steve, she immediately looks away, and actively avoids his gaze.

"How does that feel to be imprisoned, huh!?" says a triumphant Breeze.

"Breeze, no boasting allowed," interjects the hunter, who has an arrow ready and pointed at the thieves.

"Huh, fine."

"Let's just get on with this," retorts the female thief.

"Gladly," replies Saemon.

He proceeds to tie their hands behind their back, and forces them to kneel on the ground in front of you. They stay silent through all of this. Once this is done, Saemon steps back, and approaches you.

"Well, they're yours." He looks at Brandon, and adds, "Go get Velstar."

The young militiaman nods and leaves the clearing.

Mihai approaches the one who seems to be the leader.

"We're all professionals here. Actually, i had half a mind to solve this by the sword, but i figured we should try and do this the nice way, even if it put us at greater risk. For my part, there are no hard feelings."

He pauses for a second.

"I'm sure you know what comes next. There are four more of you at the Fort, plus the journal. Don't worry, i won't ask you anything that'll put their lives in greater danger - i don't think i could trust it anyway. What i would like to know is how i can convince them to stand down, so we can all get out of this without seeing red."

Uncertainty appears on the woman's face, and she takes a moment to think. She glares at Konrad for a second, but tries not to let it affect her train of thoughts, and focuses again. Calla and the other two thieves haven't peeped a word, and are simply awaiting their de facto leader's decision. Finally, she reluctantly speak up.

"...I can convince Fredrick to stand down, and give you the journal, but we need something in return. I know none of us will leave Waterglass free, so we'll take the next best thing you can offer us; a job with the Coins."

She stares right at you.

"We need your promise."

OOC:

Mihai looks her in the eye - "I'll do all i can. You have my word."

She hangs her head in resignation. The others look at each other, not sure how to react to this decision that may have just decided their fate.

Velstar and Brandon walk in the clearing. They seem to have understood what was just said.

Steve cracks his neck and looks to Mihai. "Now for the next part. What's the plan boss?"

"(Boss?)" - Mihai is caught off-guard by that one, but recovers - "The Fort. Once we secure these three, we'll take..." - he pauses a second - "What are your names?"