Brian:

We should stop having jobs; serious drag on not going outside

Brian:

Alright, so how much have you forgotten since the last session?

Jaden:

Most of it, I just know that I'm living with some coopers, I am a Cooper, I'm supposed to be investigating possible gatherings of Nerullians in the area, there's a Nerullian and Kordite sister pair in the village, and I made a bad first impression with Father Maryn

Brian:

yeah, that pretty much sums it up. You and Mr. Cooper have just finished hauling out two half-finished churns to try and make enough room for you to lay down on some straw. Apparently the Cooper's home is already stuffed to bursting.

Mr. Cooper:

Not exactly luxury, but I promise you that's some quality straw!

Mr. Cooper:

We don't have much in the way of food at this point...

Artyom Cooper:

There's probably small game and berries and such still out in the forest, I might see what I can find out there later on

Artyom Cooper:

I'm pretty sure I can run scared faster than the dead can run angry

Mr. Cooper:

Well tell em I want spark back. I loved that puppy as a kid.

Brian:

The sun is just starting to set at this point. What are you up to?

Jaden:

He's going to take a seat in the straw and think for a bit, then go to sleep

Jaden:

Mostly planning what he has to do for tomorrow and getting things straight in his mind

Brian:

You as a player may take time to think before proceeding if you desire. You have many choices ahead...

Jaden:

I think I know what I'm going to do tomorrow at least, so Artyom will go to sleep now

Brian:

Morning does not come easily in a windowless warehouse. When you wake, only the slighest glow through cracks in the doorframe suggest you overslept.

Jaden:

Artyom's going to get up and go outside then, oversleeping only means he has less time to do things in, so he should get to work earlier

Brian:

The town is quite quiet given how many folks are crammed in here...

Jaden:

Artyom's going to go out into the forest to see what he can gather and maybe set a few traps

Brian:

let me see if I can find an instance where someone already rolled a check for this. This has been a campaign defined by people looking for food in the woods...

Brian:

You find a series of fruit trees in close sucession, uneaten by creatures of the forrest.

Brian:

So that's 6 init for each, then the one that made it to you goes for an attack

Jaden:

Pretty sure wolves don't understand me, but on the off chance they do...

Brian:

One of the wolves opens its mouth, and speaks in a fully human voice...

Jaden:

Just trying to keep in mind it takes 40 for them to hit me, and 13 for them to remove an ab

Jaden1:

So he's gonna try and touch this wolf that talked to him

Brian:

they don't yell at you this round, and now it's your turn

Jaden1:

Artyom continues to gather his fruit for a bit, then goes back to town

Jaden1:

He'd stop by the Coopers and hand them some of the spare fruit he'd have, then eat the rest

Father Maryn:

Just studying the lands in case we need to move. Kind of want to get distracted from that.

Artyom Cooper:

Have you heard of any reports of the undead talking?

Artyom Cooper:

Just a thought that came up while I was in the forest gathering fruit

Father Maryn:

But you might get to have one last chat with your loved ones before you die.

Artyom Cooper:

But I'd imagine it would be even more painful since it would be your loved ones killing you

Father Maryn:

I did. They actually attacked here first, but it wasn't until Glenswood that people learned the danger was real.

Artyom Cooper:

Yes, the undead did indeed rise from the graveyard there

Artyom Cooper:

Did you hear of what happened at the same time as that?

Artyom Cooper:

Well, the church of Nerul of the town was suspected of being the cause

Artyom Cooper:

And I believe the church there to now be disbanded

Father Maryn:

I imagine that would happen when the people attack your church like that.

Father Maryn:

Believe it or not, a boy from this village was heading up that way right about the time of the attack. Not a day goes by that I don't wonder what happened to poor Garen...

Artyom Cooper:

From what I've heard, they didn't suffer any losses from the attacks other than a few who were members of the congregation there

Artyom Cooper:

Well, at least not from the attack from their own graveyard

Father Maryn:

True, but he was in the service of sir Ephnyr, who was on a mission to look into matters there. And the child had a tendancy for finding danger.

Artyom Cooper:

Anyway, the reason I have told you this is to apologize for how I acted yesterday

Artyom Cooper:

I truly hold no hatred towards Nerullians, in fact, my own mother is one, however with things happening as they are, I am in fear for the lives of those who align themselves that way and have decided to make it an effort to distance myself from them, at least until the true cause of the undead is discovered

Artyom Cooper:

I'm afraid of what others may do to me if I stand with them

Artyom Cooper:

It's bad enough that we have the undead roaming the land

Artyom Cooper:

What I want the least is to fight with my fellow humans

Artyom Cooper:

Because maybe by staying alive long enough I can find what truly causes the dead to rise and attack others

Artyom Cooper:

To be honest again, I had gained information that Nerullians were gathering here as well, in order to perform some sort of secret 'ritual' to raise more dead

Artyom Cooper:

I thought I might at least be able to dispel those falsehoods

Father Maryn:

What do you think would convince people who condem them?

Artyom Cooper:

To find something that could convince them, either among the Nerullians to prove they aren't doing it

Artyom Cooper:

Or amont the dead and whatever is causing them to prove it is that instead

Artyom Cooper:

I have heard of some rumors saying it may be caused by those in Gorewood

Artyom Cooper:

Since the dead did seem to come for this town first

Artyom Cooper:

Whether they were first raised here or not, I cannot say

Father Maryn:

But nobody found the dead earlier than us, save for rumors from years earlier, and some desprate Nerulians during the Goblin Wars.

Father Maryn:

I sometimes wonder if I did something to piss Nerul off.

Father Maryn:

I also know of a wandering bard who just came back from Eastmark, near the border. He might know something, but I don't know if you should trust anything the guy says.

Father Maryn:

He's got...a patched reputation. A theft here, caught with a lie there. He's the kind of guy that likes to meet up with people who think he's cool and do mischief with them.

Artyom Cooper:

I might try to get a straight answer out of him sometime later

Father Maryn:

The name of Artyom is well-known. I know what you've done.

Father Maryn:

I had a feeling you were different, but I didn't put it all together until you told me who you were.

Artyom Cooper:

I suppose I should travel under a false name from now on

Father Maryn:

I don't know, should you? The church wants everyone to know that you're the chosen one.

Artyom Cooper:

Look, I'm a cooper, I've been one for years, now suddenly I'm supposed to be a chosen one

Artyom Cooper:

Once the undead are gone, I want to go back to making barrels

Father Maryn:

And now it's me who's not beliveing you. Nobody lets go of a place in the universe like that.

Artyom Cooper:

Well, I'd certainly not just go back to making barrels

Artyom Cooper:

Maybe I'd use my pull to make barrels for the king

Artyom Cooper:

I'm sure he's got plenty of wine to put in barrels, and a contract with him would be very profitable

Father Maryn:

You can slay armies with your mind. You want a monopoly on barrels?

Artyom Cooper:

And even if I can slay armies with my mind and do great things

Artyom Cooper:

Finding someone who'd look past that and see me for me, as Artyom Cooper

Father Maryn:

Maybe impossible. King Veric tried to run from his fate as a young prince, and even he couldn't do it. And he was the heir to the throne; you're just a god incarnate...

Father Maryn:

These are dark times. People don't want reality in times like this. They want something to wish on.

Father Maryn:

Some people belive that if they hurt enough Nerulians all the bad things will go away, some think if they tell stories about how great you are enough it will accomplish the same thing.

Artyom Cooper:

I have to say I don't like either, but the second does sound a fair bit better than the first

Father Maryn:

Suppose none of this happened, and you were just a cooper. What would you have wanted?

Artyom Cooper:

Barrel making is a tricky business to keep sustained

Father Maryn:

And I hope you didn't want some great advice out of that by the way. I really was just asking.

Artyom Cooper:

I'm supposed to be the one giving it now I suppose

Artyom Cooper:

Since you know who I am, this should be fine to tell you

Father Maryn:

I don't think I've ever heard of that before. All I could imagine is that it was the creater of the dead talking though them.

Artyom Cooper:

So what does the creator of the undead have against me?

Father Maryn:

Yeah, I'm not a zombie-making psycho. I wouldn't know.

Artyom Cooper:

You were thinking of what to do if you had to move the village?

Father Maryn:

I was. Trying to find a good path out. And get familiar with landmarks if I don't find the map again when we have to run.

Father Maryn:

There's a river to the west, with a few villages on it. Easy to follow, fresh water, not a bad start.

Father Maryn:

But I just started this, and I hope I don't have a deadline.

Father Maryn:

Did you have any ideas? You've been traveling around, and you probably know where the royal army is right now.

Artyom Cooper:

But there's a fort that's been made down in the South

Artyom Cooper:

I'm sure if you asked to be let in, and maybe used my name if need be, they'd let you in

Artyom Cooper:

Especially if you'd help in the construction, there's still plenty of work to be done, but they seem to be rather stable

Brian:

It was pretty good. And Eldati was making efforts to gather supplies from abandoned farms

Artyom Cooper:

I'm not sure how much, as they were still setting it up when I left to come here

Artyom Cooper:

But they were gathering what they could from the farms that were left in the area, and their storages were good enough when I set out

Father Maryn:

And I have one more question. One that I swore in this temple I would never ask in my life.

Brian:

yes. I'm a little sad that you forgot Eldati's religion...

Artyom Cooper:

However, I don't know how it would effect the morale

Father Maryn:

But time has shown that sticking together is our best bet.

Father Maryn:

This isn't a decision I will make by myself. I'll bring this up to as many ears as I can.

Artyom Cooper:

I may not be able to hold off an army by myself for long

Father Maryn:

You've already taken out the army of the dead. As for the king's army, the crown clearly wants you alive. If you're between them and a few Nerulians, I think the choice will be clear.

Artyom Cooper:

I haven't written out the possibility of a cult within the Nerullians being the cause

Father Maryn:

The sisters I can get. The bard you can find in the inn.

Artyom Cooper:

You could say no, but I'd probably just go find them on my own then

Artyom Cooper:

You are, after all, trying to protect and organize the people here

Brian:

Mayrn returns, with two girls of about 13 in age. Both sort of remind you of Emita a few short years back.

Father Maryn:

Come on in. This was the gentleman who wanted to speak with you.

Artyom Cooper:

I told Father Maryn to bring you here because I'd like to ask about something

Hyntsa:

They come from everywhere. And they want to kill everyone.

Artyom Cooper:

Have you noticed anything odd going on with other Nerullians?

Artyom Cooper:

And has anyone ever done extra events you might not have gone to or something? Organized another meetings of only specific Nerullians?

Hyntsa:

I mean sometimes, but that was just because I was a little girl...

Hyntsa:

I don't know. Sometimes people would just meet up at the church without me.

Artyom Cooper:

And do you have any idea what they might have been doing?

Father Maryn:

A few meetings without kids. Maybe the priest had an affair.

Artyom Cooper:

Have you ever heard of things such as shadowy beasts?

Father Maryn:

They are the rarest of all the undead. They aren't really any dead thing to be "uned", really.

Father Maryn:

I've never seen one personally, and there are no sightings in this town.

Artyom Cooper:

A shadowy beast also attacked the knights that moved to take the priest there

Artyom Cooper:

They had barricaded themselves in their church to stay away from the mob and the knights

Artyom Cooper:

And, I wouldn't put it completely out of the question that the priest summoned it

Artyom Cooper:

There were reports in the town of shadows going over the walls

Artyom Cooper:

Or, perhaps it was only doing the bidding of the priest that summoned it

Father Maryn:

Someone summoned a shadow beast in the middle of the woods and sent it into town ahead of the riot?

Father Maryn:

Makes you wonder who's side such a person would be on.

Artyom Cooper:

But why would they send it to defend the church of Nerul?

Artyom Cooper:

Perhaps to make it seem the church of Nerul were the perpetrators

Father Maryn:

Then what about the moon thing? The moon is a symbol of Correlon Lorethian, not Nerul...

Father Maryn:

Well don't tell him that he's not your god. That's how the story about you goes, and it's a good story.

Artyom Cooper:

Perhaps some Nerullians really are summoning the undead, or maybe it's Gorewood, or maybe some other party we don't know of

Father Maryn:

But I'm not really seeing how to figure it out. We got a couple leads though it seems.

Artyom Cooper:

That upon killing something, apparently it comes back after a bit

Artyom Cooper:

I haven't been able to find if they are actually even from there or not

Artyom Cooper:

I believe it was the Lord Commander who learned it from a rather untrustworthy merchant

Artyom Cooper:

It all depended on how much money he got honestly

Artyom Cooper:

And I wouldn't put it past the Lord Commander to pay him off to say they were from Gorewood either

Artyom Cooper:

From what I understand he's been looking for some way to earn glory

Artyom Cooper:

And a mighty victory against Gorewood, who might also be summoning the undead?

Father Maryn:

As would a glorious destruction of the evil cult of the dead.

Father Maryn:

Well, you're the chosen one. What do you think we should do?

Artyom Cooper:

Though, that's mostly being handled by people like you and the armies

Artyom Cooper:

And right now, I'm thinking that Gorewood is looking very suspicious

Father Maryn:

I'm going to plan on how to do my job without getting anyone else killed who isn't already dead.

Brian:

Sure enough, he's right there. It's just the start of the time when it's appropriate to drink, and a few folks besides the pathetic drunks are actually here now, including a man who matches the description Maryn totally gave you.

Old Bard:

A lot. Mostly about the dead, which I saw with my own eyes when they showed up here.

Old Bard:

Well, that they come from nowhere, that they come from the Nerulians, that they come from Gorewood, and that they appear because you touch yourself at night.

Old Bard:

Also, that there is a gifted elf who will save us all from them.

Old Bard:

Save for the touching yourself part. *leans in* Or I would have killed us all a long time ago...

Artyom Cooper:

So, what about the ones where they come from Gorewood?

Artyom Cooper:

What sort of things do they usually say about that?

Old Bard:

Good. I don't want to offend anyone. I'm too drunk for a fight.

Old Bard:

Nerul was the second church founded in Damriel, started by the legondary Exaulted One, and it was the biggest for a while. But then the king showed up and made the elf god the new religion.

Old Bard:

Good. Half of the Nerulians were banished to Gorewood, the rest ran south. The ones who live here swear they have nothing to do with the Gorwood folks, but they really want revenge.

Artyom Cooper:

And so it may be some sort of connection between those that want revenge here and the Gorewood Nerullians?

Artyom Cooper:

They might be working together to raise the dead?

Old Bard:

Yup. Then people get mad and start killing Nerulians, then idiots like Maryn feel bad and hide the rest of em' in a mill so they can make more zombies. Perfect system if you ask me.

Old Bard:

Course. Ain't nobody seen a magic "made dead people kill you" recipe, so they assume things happen for no reason.

Old Bard:

The elf I don't understand, but I know that drunk people don't make up stuff like that.

Artyom Cooper:

Well, I'd love to have an elf come save us all too

Jaden1:

And with that Artyom stops asking about himself and walks off

Brian:

I think you found the first quarter of every mystery in this game...

Brian:

If you want we can call session while you sit and ponder some more. If nothing else I'm pretty convinced you won't do something so dramatic that the other party being a week in the future from you won't be a problem.