>>25070964
Well shit went south quite fast. Do we have enough provisions to head back to Norfin and resupply? I think the safest route would be Norfin, Vin, Shorefall.

>>25071117
Might also be lootables left in Westercoast. Not like the dorriki didn't run screaming out the gates or anything.

>>25071401
Pretty sure by the time we get back Westercoast will be stripped clean. One of the Clarbel guys did mention wanting to do a looting run of the city when we were there weeks ago.

>>25071117

You head back to your camp on the deserted beach a few hours' hike from Arn City. Mari is skinning rabbits, one of which has already been spitted over a campfire when you arrive, while Lark plays a few notes on wood pipes. Girdin is, of course, still doing his Oscar-worthy statue imitation.

What explanation, if any, do you plan to give these people for why you need to get moving? Lark will be happy to be getting out of here, of course, but Girdin may not be as much so.

>>25071429
Has it been that long? Still, it's a big city for the few remaining to loot. And they'd have to steer clear of the zombies that they wouldnt know probably are dead now.
Plus its basically on the way isn't it?

>>25071454
Just explain that Koril and friends might be headed to Arn shortly and you need to get the hell out of there before he does. Things went south with the Grist plan, and getting a long distance ship to sail out of here will be difficult with how things are.

>>25071479

Since the Battle of Westercoast City, you've crossed Dorrik, waited for Jens to fetch Olberek, crossed Dorrik again, sailed to Arn City, and then skulked around for over two weeks dealing with various economic shenanigans once you got there. It's been like two months.

>>25071563

Lark is more than happy to get moving, though Mari's a bit less enthusiastic. You slip into one of the smaller towns easily enough, though, and from there it's easy to buy up some supplies for Mari using her still significant looted wealth, steal a fishing boat, and sail back to Westercoast City.

The docks still show signs of damage from the fire that claimed the fleet, but the city is still. The odd deer or rabbit walks through the ruins, the courtyards of the manors have become overgrown and choked with weeds. Those same manors have been picked clean, but the residential area is home to lots of knick-knacks which are both valuable and portable. Tools of this or that trade, pots of occasionally excellent quality, the odd bit of ivory or semi-precious jewelery that was probably an heirloom.

It's also still got a ton of preserved food, sealed against scavengers and designed to feed the city (or the parts of it the rulers considered important, at least) for months in the event of a siege, there's enough dried fruit and wheat to feed Mari for a decade, and the rest of you barely eat at all (except for Girdin, who doesn't need any food ever and is walking directly to Shorefall anyway).

It's in Westercoast that your shade finally arrives in Vin on the trade ship (it would've got there faster, but the trader wasn't headed to Vin directly). It immediately begins its mission assigned a week ago to scout the Caelum, a mysterious creation of Golgothan Fleshshaping shrouded in rumor and hearsay.

>cont

>>25071969

There are those who say the Caelum are angels. Once your shade manages to track them down, it's not hard to see why. They're seven feet tall and the greatest physical specimens that you've ever seen, more beautiful even than the rich of distant worlds who have nothing better to do than find new ways to look pretty. Not only that, they are clearly incredibly strong and agile, and unlike the empty-headed heiresses of other worlds, these carry an air of focus and discipline. These ones are unarmored, dressed in the light clothes favored by the inhabitants of the islands (in summertime, at least).

Your shade follows them as they go about their business, hiding in their sizable shadows. It looks like they've come as envoys. They say that if Vin (and presumably Arn) declare independence from the mainland, Golgoth will support their independence and take them on as vassal states, fully independent in terms of domestic issues, but answerable to Golgothan taxes and levies. The guild lords of Vin have been fairly receptive to the idea in theory, but fear retribution from the Margellian king of Kestis, to whom they currently answer. Kestis is currently allied with Golgoth and, even if the alliance is broken, Golgoth's forces and Kestis have the forest between them on one front, and the mountains controlled by a potentially hostile kingdom on the other. The Caelum have been trying to reassure Vin of the strength of Golgothan fleets.

>wat do?

>>25072062
Well I suppose it doesn't much matter what our shade does while we make sail for Vin anyway. Tell it to keep watch on the Caelum and see if there's any ulterior motives they might be up to other than what we've already established. Also keep its shadowy eyes open for any suitable vessels we might be able to barter or hijack passage on once we get there.

>>25072516

The shade is able to find a number of trade ships going in and out of the area and headed for Shorefall. You'll have no problems booking passage on one of them, and Mari still has plenty of money (especially since she's just picked up a fresh batch of loot, albeit not the most valuable sort).

After another few days cramped up on a fishing ship, you arrive in Vin amidst the waning heat of mid-August, not that you couldn't still cook an egg on the cobblestones. This city is even bigger than Arn, nearly five thousand strong, making it pretty standard for the region but Mari nevertheless remains amazed at how the Margellians put ever more effort into packing so many damn people into one place, especially when there are apparently miles of totally uninhabited land on the island.

Regardless, by the time you arrive the Caelum have come to an agreement with the guild lords of Vin to defect to Golgoth once their fleet arrives. The Caelum assure the guild lords that they won't be disappointed by the strength of the Golgothan fleet. With the aid of the ships of Arn and Vin, Kestis' navy will stand no chance, according to them, at least.

The Caelum are now making arrangements for departure to Arn, and there are several ships to Shorefall you could hop onto now.

>wat do?

>>25073128
If Lark could set fire to some of their ships that would both shame Golgoth in the eyes of Vin and make it easier if Kestis needs to intervene.

>>25073128
I think informing the king of what has just happened in Vin may be beneficial to us, and we should make that a priority. Leaving Vin alone for the moment would allow us to quietly pass through without incident, and let us reach Shorefall faster.

>>25074054
Potentially yes, but do you have any plans to get us out of dodge if they were to lock down the ports in response to such sudden events?

>>25074079
Split our forces. Lark stays here as part of team Red, we, team Blue, move to Shorefall to spoil this conspiracy that doesn't even involve us.

>>25074192
Perhaps, but I dont think leaving Lark alone in potential enemy territory is a preferable idea for him. He may think we are ditching him. And when will we find the time to come and pick him back up?

>>25074468
If you're soft, you could always ask him what he thinks of that plan.

>>25074652
Alright, lets do that then. Ask Lark what he thinks of our little plan to have him be Rambo the Burninator and wage guerrilla war on any Golgoth ships that come to port while we head to Shorefall and conduct business in the interior. We can leave our shade behind with him if he wants.

>>25074725
We could remind him that our shade doesn't tell jokes to sell the idea too.

>>25074918
>>25074725

Lark doesn't especially care about being left behind. It's enemy territory, yes, but being in enemy territory with two little girls with the incredible power to run away and hide isn't all that safer. He's perfectly happy to light things on fire and then melt away into the woods on his own.

Your shade sticks around with him while you shove off for the mainland. It takes another two days to get to Shorefall, and almost immediately after your departure, Lark sets the Caelum's ship on fire. The damage is extensive, but the fire spreads too slow to kill all on board. The Caelum are wise enough to abandon ship early on and, shore being reasonably close, don't even bother with a dinghy. They jump overboard and swim to shore. Since there's a half-dozen of them and Lark doubts his ability to hit trained and capable warriors accurately past the first surprise shot, he decides to wait until later to get rid of them. Your shade follows the Caelum in the meantime. They begin chartering another ship, yes, but the others spend most of their time probing the woods in wolf packs. A serpent on four leathery wings is seen undulating through the sky. Lark decides to avoid drawing its attention.

Lark tries to ambush one of the Caelum's search-and-destroy patrols, but they're strong, fast, and agile. The first is struck by his firebolt and screams in pain, but is smart enough to stop, drop, and roll, while the other two fire bows with menacing accuracy and faster than Lark can dodge. Both find their way into his chest. Lark bolts, pursued by the Caelum a short distance before they double back to tend to their wounded comrade. Good thing, too. As a daemon, Lark's stamina is typically pretty impressive, but he doesn't have Fortitude or anything and the Caelum don't look like slackers either. Plus, Lark's been shot, and while he isn't actually using the majority of his organs, it still saps his energy.

In the meantime, you arrive in Shorefall.

>cont

>>25075508

Shorefall is a massive city with a population of over ten thousand. Buildings tower six or seven stories into the air throughout the densely packed residential area, and the docks are home to dozens of trade ships, both those trading with the islands and those heading up the shore for trade in the bay.

The streets are crowded with the poor, however. The tight-packed quarters are a breeding ground for all kinds of different diseases, and the diets of the inhabitants are not what you would call balanced, leading to the stunted and disease-marked lower classes common to primitive urban areas. Even covered in dirt and dust from her travels, hair dissheveled, and dressed for practicality rather than beauty, Mari still finds herself being noticed by boys in record numbers just for being what is, for Dorrik, reasonably healthy.

A cursory investigation reveals no Golgothan presence here, though people do talk about envoys occasionally coming and going to discuss the alliance with the duke who rules here in the king's absence, as he is on the front lines fighting the war.

>wat do?

>>25075654
Tell Mari to keep an eye out for Girdin and we'll find her again in a little bit. Then we go off to find out where this Duke lives and catch the general flow of rumors in the city.

>>25075961

I actually need to go right now. It will be several hours before I get back. I'll poke the thread to see if we can keep going then.

>>25075508
Going to post this now so I don't forget it later.

We should have our shade indicate to Lark that it is available to assist with Blinding Darkness. Since it can't speak to him, I'm thinking it could attempt to communicate this to him by blinding and quickly unblinding him, and, if he doesn't get the message, pointing to a nearby animal and then doing the same to it. If he still doesn't get it, at least they should be able to establish some communication by Lark asking questions and the shade making some sign for either 'yes' or 'no'.

>>25077159
Part bumping for OP, part stating my intentions and thoughts.

Basically, we know that the king of Kestis is out on the frontlines and that this duke is currently ruling. Its assumed the king at least doesn't want this alliance with Golgoth to last, but we don't know the true stance of the duke. We should figure out if the duke is in fact being persuaded much like Vin is to abandon the king and simply turncoat. Once we've determined his allegiance more or less, we will bring this matter of Vin to the duke's attention directly.

By bringing it to him quickly, it will help maintain the illusion of us doing this for the kingdom's best interests and possibly give us an opportunity to win his favor by helping quell the potential threat in Vin. He should have every reason to believe us, if the political atmosphere is as tense as it sounds.

>>25078701
We should also be wary that dominion-loyal daemons could very well be hanging out in the city, or even the court. Daemons that could possibly be a severe threat to our health. We should check out what kind of religion they've got going in the city, and perhaps snooping around temples could even reveal one. It would be a somewhat logical place for a daemon to be hanging out if they aren't infiltrated into the king's court.

>>25078835
There are also probably several hedge daemons around one way or another, being that there are so many mortals in one area. With all the rampant disease there could also be a Decay daemon afoot or at least conceptualized off of it.

>>25078990
Last bump for OP.

I guess "several hours" may have been an understatement. We'll see if we can keep this thread alive for tomorrow.

Bumping to add that >>25077159 should only be done while Lark is safe before TM tries to be funny.

>>25078990
Were you thinking such a daemon might be persuaded to join the fight on our side?

>>25087835
Perhaps, its risky at best considering we (as players) don't really know how Daemons of Decay operate nor their temperament outside of being allied with Night. That and they might not get along with Nature, but hey at least Lark isn't here to complain about it for the time being.

It's something worth investigating at least, I suppose.

>>25089415
hey now, Nature and Decay may hate each other, but we don't need them to accept each other as allies, just to call a temporary truce because right here and right now there's a third enemy that's gained a severe advantage on their turf. It might be doable.

Rolled 62

Why would you run this quest on Memorial Day?

>>25090432
I don't understand. Are Americans not allowed to quest on this day?