The members of the party are inducted into the Society, having been plucked from the rank and file of the Northlands army by those who saw talent in their unique abilities. They’re introduced to each other and their NCO, Sergeant Major Gareth Stein, and after a brief appearance by Kironius Mengst, the supreme commander of the entire Northlands effort, are ordered into the foothills of the Masaan mountains to find an upwelling of wild goblins before they become a menace.
The party gears up and heads out on their first “milk run”.
[Note: This will be spoken aloud to whomever debriefs the group upon their return assuming Alton lives, because he can’t actually write any of this down.]
After reporting to SM Stein our group immediately began falling to shit. The trollslayer stomped off toward the woods without rations for the mission. Others, especially the northman decided we’d need more stuff and I had to agree, they scattered and we left the trollslayer since he’s short and slow and I visited Itchy.
After they finished shopping, and I got everything I needed we caught up with the dwarf, he didn’t get as far as I thought he would and he left a dwarf shaped hole in the forest, it was like he was just walking in a straight line toward where he thought the cave was.
Since we had an elf with us, the rest of the day went without a hassle and camped for the night.
Sir, I dunno why this group was picked for such an important team, as the all look pretty green to me, even as young as I am I’d bet I was in the army longer than any of them, if I can speak frankly.
That doesn’t mean I ain’t willing to stick it out though, you tell me where to go and I’ll be there.
Banagher’s diary
Day 1
While waiting for our orders this morning, I decided that I should be writing something down. I suppose the best use of my talents might be to record our experiences because I doubt any of my fellows can write.
You never realize just how heavy a book is until you have to lug it all over creation, and, of all the books I could have taken with me, this one? I suppose it makes sense, what with what I saw that day. Who am I kidding? I’m keep my notes and try not to get killed.
As I said earlier, I don’t think any of the others can even read. That really shouldn’t surprise me, but it only goes to show how much of an outsider I am in this group. All of the others appear like they belong in the army. As for myself, I’m pretty sure they all think I’m just a ‘scribe’. That’s alright, as it goes, but, as much as I’d just like to go on home and make sure the books are safe, I think Aluviel might have something to say about that.
Indeed, the longer I am here and the more I am made to feel out of sorts in this situation, the more the visions make sense. For example, we are, at least as I fall asleep here, leaderless–which is annoying and dangerous as can be. Yet, I know that Aluviel guides us, this rag-tag group. In the morning, I am sure that it will be worked out. Either way, I am content in the knowledge that, though unclear, my path is set before me.
Poppy’s soliloquy of laments…witnessed by an evergreen.
I have…
A blanket… a drab, brown blanket.
Weapons…my resources.
The clothing on my back…terribly boring.
Dinner stuff…even more boring than terribly boring.
A few gold pieces…quite exciting, but not exciting enough to do anything outstandingly exciting with.
*sighs*
Oh…I have a Moriel to keep safe.
The game of pluck and plunk must be exact.
So, everything else is gone. All of it left behind. The world is such an empty place, now. I made a promise to leave what I have and so that promise will stay a promise. I have ways to keep my promise by working around my promise. No one will suspect.
To Arms and Bounty!
The evergreen appears unimpressed as the Halfling strides away with purpose.
25th of Nachgeheim, 29 NC,
journal entry 1137
Today my hard work trying to get noticed has finally paid off, one step closer to accomplishing my goals. As they promised, today was my first day of work for the elite members of the army, the Black Rose Society. Finally the real work can begin, I’ve grown tired of night patrols and cleaning lavatories. It wasn’t much of an eventful day yet, as it consisted mostly of travelling and securing supplies for the journey – an effort that was disrupted by the dwarven member who was suddenly spotted taking off into the distance by himself. But alas, I get ahead of myself.
At first we met in a tavern in Hillcrest. There were seven of us. The dwarf was most notable; old, scarred and missing one eye and looking unsavory to say the least. He wasn’t the last of the oddballs. There were also an elven woman and even a halfling girl. The others were a soldier, Alton and what appears to be a northlander. The last was a feeble looking fellow, some kind of smarmy bookworm. None of the others appeared very civilized to me, so perhaps I can atleast have some decent conversations with that one. With the last being myself we were gathered by Sergeant Major Gareth Stein – although Kironius Mengst himself did make a brief appearance to say something to the dwarf – to form a unit. Our first mission is some kind of test. We are dispatched to intercept a goblin threat to the southeast in the Masaan mountains. It should not be too difficult, I am confident my abilities and am in great shape, but it will be interesting to see what my companions are worth in a scuffle. I have my worries about the safety of the little girl. One can only wonder what the reasons for her being here are, her appearance is very young, even for a halfling. But she seems to be under the care of the elf. They appointed her as our ‘leader’ actually. I worry about the wisdom in that. I was unfortunately unable to procure leadership myself.
As I wrote earlier, the dwarf (I did not catch his name – he spoke it like a grunt) took off almost instantly and disappeared. This confused and scattered our group, although we recovered and were wise enough to stock up with supplies. Even if they are food rations – distasteful and dry. How I yearn for a decent meal, perhaps some fresh Quezco with raspberry sauce? My mouth waters only by the thought of it. Alas, not in these cold and weary lands. The best I can hope for is that somebody catches a hare which we may cook.
We caught up with the dwarf soon enough. Determined as he may be, his legs inhibit his movement and speed. Dwarves have quite the reputation as warriors, but one can only wonder how it is possible to be defeated by someone you can easily outrun.
We made it about three parts of the way there and have set up camp for the night. Tomorrow we’ll walk the last part and hopefully encounter our destination towards noon.
End journal entry. Signed,
Diego Vasquez
A sketch found in the dirt near a freshly abandoned campfire..
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc188/Mayvik/DirtSketch1.jpg
‘This is not exactly what I signed up for.’ Moriel studied the humans in the room. They were all staring, at her and at the dwarf. She felt she should say something wise, something in line with what it seemed they expected of her people. The problem was just that she had absolutely no idea what to say.
In fact, she was having second thoughts about the whole thing. Except there was Poppy, of course. Poppy, who seemed to take to this with the same enthusiasm as she took on everything else. Poppy, who _should_ have been safely at home with Tamariel. But by the time she had found out that Poppy had followed her, it was too late. Either, they would both have to go back, and Moriel would have to break her oath. Since the last was not an option, they both stayed. At least she hoped she could keep Poppy safe by staying close to her.
Moriel still had not quite gotten used to the way humans behaved. All the yelling, for instance. The human, Gareth Stein, har barely gotten into the room before he started yelling, or so it seemed. Was this some weird human thing, that they had to yell at eachother to be effective? But at least she had stopped wanting to slip out the door when someone started shouting. And as long as he was yelling at someone else, she could pretend to ignore it.
She was not going to admit it to anyone, not even Poppy, but she was relieved that their mission was nothing more serious than goblins. To do anything more serious than that, with this new, unknown group, was not exactly a comforting thought. In fact, everything about this new job was less than comforting. The humans were loud, as if they always were angry about something.
It was a wonder they had gotten as far as they had, without losing anyone. Not for lack of trying, but the dwarf had left a very obvious dwarf-sized hole in the underbrush, and had not been hard to track. Still, they moved slowly, and made way too much noise.