The Smiling Lady has indeed smiled on me. I got accepted into AURORA! Or is it Aurora? I think either one works so I'll just go with "Aurora". Looks nicer.
Naturally the first day was supposed to be the boring initiation stuff. I was in this really boring, empty room with a human barbarian by the name of Tanor. I kinda "failed" my first "test" when the instructor barged in and said "I guess you're the new recruits." I went "yup" while Tanor responded with "Who are you?" The instructor seemed to prefer the not-giving-any-information-away answer over mine. Whoops. I was surprised! I gotta get better at thinking on my feet.
We were getting this really long "History of Aurora" and "What's Expected of You in Aurora" lecture from the half-orc Kr'uuk. At one point he looks right at me and says "Be on your best behavior."
"What did I do?" I'm genuinely innocent. This time.
"I know your kind," he responded.
At first I thought he was racist, me being dragonborn and all. Then I realized he was talking about my skill set. I'll admit, being an Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck one learns some of the riskier skills of stealth. Not my fault that's the temple my parents left me at. If they'd wanted me to be a fighter, they'd have left me at a deity of war or something. I'm good at investigating and finding. The priests said I had a real knack for it.
Anyways, off topic. Let's get back on topic.
So, we were in the middle of Kr'uuk's lecture, specifically the "don't get caught" and "don't be a hero" stuff and Tanor starts talking back to Kr'uuk saying things like "if they can take me." Their arguing got so bad Kr'uuk looked back at me and said "I thought you were going to be the problematic one." I just smiled, careful not to show teeth. I'm pretty good with facial expressions.
Kr'uuk keeps trying to go on with his lecture when there's a knock at the door. A military looking guy walks in and asks "are these the new recruits? We have an assignment we think they'd be perfect for."
"Isn't it a little early, sir?" Kr'uuk asks. (Sir? Lady's Grace, this guy must be important.)
"Not really. It's a perfect time to break them in and get their feet wet."
He looks at me and Tanor and says, "Follow me."
I give a quick nod to Kr'uuk and follow the new guy. Tanor follows.
"We usually try to give our new recruits more time to settle in but we need to send someone out right away. We've got you seats in a military caravan on its way to resupply a bunch of outposts. They'll drop you off at Treebrook and pick you up again in a few days. I need you to give this scroll to the Sergeant-At-Arms when you get there. And here's a couple of healing potions for you to take with you."
He hands me the scroll and a messenger bag with a couple of potions. I give one to Tanor and keep the other for myself. While we're walking, we end up out in the courtyard where the cart is waiting for us. There's room enough for us to have a seat so ask if we can jump in. We're both pretty polite which apparently takes them off guard because one said to the other, "Aurora isn't usually so respectful." As we're doing so the military looking guy says "Take them to Treebrook and complete your supply run."
Around noon the next day we get to our stop. I yell out "thank you!" It never hurts to be polite and can help put a few more odds in your favor.
We approach the gate, which has only one guard, and the guy asks us, "you with the military?"
We're not so I respond, "nah, we're with Aurora."
The guard's eyes go wide and he asks "you're heroes?!"
We're new recruits who haven't proven ourselves yet and already we're getting called heroes just because we're with Aurora? I quickly calm him down, "we're just here to give a message to the Sergeant-At-Arms."
He calms down a little and takes us to this building that, I suppose, could be a jail. (There are a couple of barred windows). We go in and, after a brief introduction, tell him we have a message for him from Aurora. I hand him the still sealed scroll and let him read it. He gets this really concerned look on his face, sits down, pours a drink. Clearly something has upset him. He tells us to have a seat so we can talk about the message.
"You were sent to investigate something I had dismissed," he tells us. "A few weeks ago a local farmer came and told us that one of his sheep had gone missing. It obviously wasn't an animal attack, there was no corpse or anything. It had just gone missing. Normally I'd have the Rangers look into this but they're off on some mission and not due back for another month or so at least. I thought nothing of it, even after a few more sheep had been reported as missing over the past few weeks. Apparently your higher ups think there's something to this, so they've sent you."
After a little back and forth we get a couple of details and then the SAA sends us out with a guard to the farm of the first missing sheep. The guard asks us if we're "the heroes" sent out. I'm naturally confused. I'm guessing he's talking up the fact that we're from Aurora, but still, we're very green. Definitely not hero material. Tanor, however, seems to be just fine with being called a hero. I make sure to set the record straight.
We finally get to the farm about a half-hour later and meet the owner, Mr. Tannis. He sends the guard back to the SAA and Tanor and I ask some questions and investigate the scene of the crime. Whatever killed the sheep was very careful not to leave a lot of blood. Seriously, there was very little there and even the fence wasn't badly damaged. I found a paw print that was about as big as my hand and that gave Tanor the trail he needed to follow the creature.
About a day's worth of tracking later, Tanor comments that the tracks we're following are getting fresher and fresher. We're on its tail! If it even has a tail, I'm not sure. We follow the tracks a little longer and we find ourselves within arm's distance of a Worg.
It sees us and, I swear by the Lady's Smile, it said, "I've been found. So you're here to kill me?" The thing spoke common!
I was so flabbergasted that I ended up responding "no, we're just trying to find out what happened to all the missing sheep."
The poor Worg looks like he's starving. He also looks like he's about to jump us, so we pull out our weapons. He dives at me and, without thinking, I hit it with my short-sword. I should've just hit him over the head or something. The poor Worg is so weak with hunger that my strike easily hits him. Tanor, however, being a further distance away, barely missed striking the Worg with his greataxe. The Worg starts coughing up blood and I try a different tactic.
"We don't have to keep fighting," I plead. "We're just here to get information."
Tanor followed my lead, "Did you recently eat some sheep?"
The Worg is so weak he can barely respond. "Yeah," he coughed. "I've been eating sparingly of the sheep around here. Only three or four since I got here."
At this point the Worg looks like he's close to death. I flip my Coin and it shows the Lady's Smile so I give the Worg my healing potion from the pouch. The Lady has declared mercy for the creature and I shall follow. The healing potion worked on the creature's wounds, but couldn't do anything for its hunger. I really felt sorry for the poor thing.
"So what is a Worg doing in these parts?" Tanor asked.
"I killed my rider and escaped. I was tired of being beaten." The Worg said it so casually it almost made me forget that a Worg killing its rider is rare enough, but a Goblin beating its Worg? That's a double rarity.
Tanor and I decide to ask him where the Goblins are. If he's near death from starvation and has been out here for a month or so, how far away are they? We wonder if we should be worried. But, we also remember Aurora's rules. We gather as much information as we can so we can take it back to Aurora and they can get the right people on it. We thank him for the information he does provide us.
Unfortunately, that's when he asks us to put him out of his misery. Naturally, I argue. The Smiling Lady has smiled upon him and that kind of good fortune should not be given up on. Tanor makes the argument that the people would fare better if we "captured" him and took him into town. I ask him if he'd be willing to come with us to Aurora where he can get proper care and get proper questions for his information. Naturally he's very hesitant to put on the leash and be bound in any way but I talk to him and reassure him it's only temporary. We need him to not look like a threat to the people of the village.
Regardless, we still get a lot of looks and scared villagers as well as guards. When we get him to the SAA's place, he's pretty shocked as well. The Worg goes into one of the jail cells while the SAA sends one of the guards to the butcher shop for some food for it. Well, at least he does after we explain that it may have information on Goblin whereabouts (that really gets his attention). He starts writing a note to our superior for us to take back with us.
In the meantime the meat arrives and Tanor takes it, gets a bucket of water for the Worg, and goes to his cell. He puts the water in the cell but refuses to give the meat. When I ask him what he's doing Tanor responds, "I want to see if I can get more information out of him. Maybe you should ask him. You're better at talking with him."
"Oh no. I do not support what you're doing so you can do it yourself!" Seriously, the poor creature is STARVING!
Tanor goes to the cell and starts asking questions of the Worg. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for the Worg, the thing is asleep. Tanor gives in, tosses in the meat and leaves.
Because the supply cart to pick us (and the Worg) up won't be at the village until tomorrow we need a place to stay for the night. The SAA recommends the local tavern. The second we walk in, everyone stops, stares, and starts whispering to each other. I've put up with this sort of reaction for years so I go to my default smile, wave and "hello!"
Apparently this is a friendly enough gesture because someone in the crowd yells "They captured the beast. Ales for them!" And there were cheers all around.
Turns out this guy was Gregor, the Mayor. He asks us to sit and have a meal with him and his two friends, William and Wallace. We get into a discussion about the "fight" and the reasons for the Worg being in its weakened state. Well, mostly a discussion. Wallace has to use hand gestures and the like since he's unable to speak. I'm a little worried we shared too much information with them. I've got to get better about that.
The local ale ends up being a little strong for my constitution and I have to hit the bed earlier than I would've liked. I politely head to my room, all the while keeping what sense I can to get information from the crowded room. By The Lady's Smile I am able to hear a whispered piece of conversation, "Yeah, I'm not gonna take that bet." I think I'll forever wonder what it meant.
The next day, we and the Worg get in the supply wagon, much to the surprise and chagrin of the military drivers. When we get to Aurora's courtyard, Tanor and I are headed to the debriefing room while the Worg is taken by the Beast Master for assessment and rehabilitation. She spoke the Worg's native language so I'm going to assume she knows what she's doing.
We explain to the Major all that transpired and he provides us with some information. There is a Goblin clan know for being cruel to their rides. If what the Worg says is true, they're about 500 miles from where they're supposed to be. They've already got an expert looking into it. We get a bunch of general praise for a job well done, and then we get paid.
After all of this, we're shown to our rooms where we will be staying as long as we're part of Aurora. I don't know why Lady Tymora sent me to join Aurora, but I have to say, I'm glad she did. I think this is a good place to develop the skills so I can not only be her Acolyte, but her Investigator as well.
Lady's Blessing,
Basme
Naturally the first day was supposed to be the boring initiation stuff. I was in this really boring, empty room with a human barbarian by the name of Tanor. I kinda "failed" my first "test" when the instructor barged in and said "I guess you're the new recruits." I went "yup" while Tanor responded with "Who are you?" The instructor seemed to prefer the not-giving-any-information-away answer over mine. Whoops. I was surprised! I gotta get better at thinking on my feet.
We were getting this really long "History of Aurora" and "What's Expected of You in Aurora" lecture from the half-orc Kr'uuk. At one point he looks right at me and says "Be on your best behavior."
"What did I do?" I'm genuinely innocent. This time.
"I know your kind," he responded.
At first I thought he was racist, me being dragonborn and all. Then I realized he was talking about my skill set. I'll admit, being an Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck one learns some of the riskier skills of stealth. Not my fault that's the temple my parents left me at. If they'd wanted me to be a fighter, they'd have left me at a deity of war or something. I'm good at investigating and finding. The priests said I had a real knack for it.
Anyways, off topic. Let's get back on topic.
So, we were in the middle of Kr'uuk's lecture, specifically the "don't get caught" and "don't be a hero" stuff and Tanor starts talking back to Kr'uuk saying things like "if they can take me." Their arguing got so bad Kr'uuk looked back at me and said "I thought you were going to be the problematic one." I just smiled, careful not to show teeth. I'm pretty good with facial expressions.
Kr'uuk keeps trying to go on with his lecture when there's a knock at the door. A military looking guy walks in and asks "are these the new recruits? We have an assignment we think they'd be perfect for."
"Isn't it a little early, sir?" Kr'uuk asks. (Sir? Lady's Grace, this guy must be important.)
"Not really. It's a perfect time to break them in and get their feet wet."
He looks at me and Tanor and says, "Follow me."
I give a quick nod to Kr'uuk and follow the new guy. Tanor follows.
"We usually try to give our new recruits more time to settle in but we need to send someone out right away. We've got you seats in a military caravan on its way to resupply a bunch of outposts. They'll drop you off at Treebrook and pick you up again in a few days. I need you to give this scroll to the Sergeant-At-Arms when you get there. And here's a couple of healing potions for you to take with you."
He hands me the scroll and a messenger bag with a couple of potions. I give one to Tanor and keep the other for myself. While we're walking, we end up out in the courtyard where the cart is waiting for us. There's room enough for us to have a seat so ask if we can jump in. We're both pretty polite which apparently takes them off guard because one said to the other, "Aurora isn't usually so respectful." As we're doing so the military looking guy says "Take them to Treebrook and complete your supply run."
Around noon the next day we get to our stop. I yell out "thank you!" It never hurts to be polite and can help put a few more odds in your favor.
We approach the gate, which has only one guard, and the guy asks us, "you with the military?"
We're not so I respond, "nah, we're with Aurora."
The guard's eyes go wide and he asks "you're heroes?!"
We're new recruits who haven't proven ourselves yet and already we're getting called heroes just because we're with Aurora? I quickly calm him down, "we're just here to give a message to the Sergeant-At-Arms."
He calms down a little and takes us to this building that, I suppose, could be a jail. (There are a couple of barred windows). We go in and, after a brief introduction, tell him we have a message for him from Aurora. I hand him the still sealed scroll and let him read it. He gets this really concerned look on his face, sits down, pours a drink. Clearly something has upset him. He tells us to have a seat so we can talk about the message.
"You were sent to investigate something I had dismissed," he tells us. "A few weeks ago a local farmer came and told us that one of his sheep had gone missing. It obviously wasn't an animal attack, there was no corpse or anything. It had just gone missing. Normally I'd have the Rangers look into this but they're off on some mission and not due back for another month or so at least. I thought nothing of it, even after a few more sheep had been reported as missing over the past few weeks. Apparently your higher ups think there's something to this, so they've sent you."
After a little back and forth we get a couple of details and then the SAA sends us out with a guard to the farm of the first missing sheep. The guard asks us if we're "the heroes" sent out. I'm naturally confused. I'm guessing he's talking up the fact that we're from Aurora, but still, we're very green. Definitely not hero material. Tanor, however, seems to be just fine with being called a hero. I make sure to set the record straight.
We finally get to the farm about a half-hour later and meet the owner, Mr. Tannis. He sends the guard back to the SAA and Tanor and I ask some questions and investigate the scene of the crime. Whatever killed the sheep was very careful not to leave a lot of blood. Seriously, there was very little there and even the fence wasn't badly damaged. I found a paw print that was about as big as my hand and that gave Tanor the trail he needed to follow the creature.
About a day's worth of tracking later, Tanor comments that the tracks we're following are getting fresher and fresher. We're on its tail! If it even has a tail, I'm not sure. We follow the tracks a little longer and we find ourselves within arm's distance of a Worg.
It sees us and, I swear by the Lady's Smile, it said, "I've been found. So you're here to kill me?" The thing spoke common!
I was so flabbergasted that I ended up responding "no, we're just trying to find out what happened to all the missing sheep."
The poor Worg looks like he's starving. He also looks like he's about to jump us, so we pull out our weapons. He dives at me and, without thinking, I hit it with my short-sword. I should've just hit him over the head or something. The poor Worg is so weak with hunger that my strike easily hits him. Tanor, however, being a further distance away, barely missed striking the Worg with his greataxe. The Worg starts coughing up blood and I try a different tactic.
"We don't have to keep fighting," I plead. "We're just here to get information."
Tanor followed my lead, "Did you recently eat some sheep?"
The Worg is so weak he can barely respond. "Yeah," he coughed. "I've been eating sparingly of the sheep around here. Only three or four since I got here."
At this point the Worg looks like he's close to death. I flip my Coin and it shows the Lady's Smile so I give the Worg my healing potion from the pouch. The Lady has declared mercy for the creature and I shall follow. The healing potion worked on the creature's wounds, but couldn't do anything for its hunger. I really felt sorry for the poor thing.
"So what is a Worg doing in these parts?" Tanor asked.
"I killed my rider and escaped. I was tired of being beaten." The Worg said it so casually it almost made me forget that a Worg killing its rider is rare enough, but a Goblin beating its Worg? That's a double rarity.
Tanor and I decide to ask him where the Goblins are. If he's near death from starvation and has been out here for a month or so, how far away are they? We wonder if we should be worried. But, we also remember Aurora's rules. We gather as much information as we can so we can take it back to Aurora and they can get the right people on it. We thank him for the information he does provide us.
Unfortunately, that's when he asks us to put him out of his misery. Naturally, I argue. The Smiling Lady has smiled upon him and that kind of good fortune should not be given up on. Tanor makes the argument that the people would fare better if we "captured" him and took him into town. I ask him if he'd be willing to come with us to Aurora where he can get proper care and get proper questions for his information. Naturally he's very hesitant to put on the leash and be bound in any way but I talk to him and reassure him it's only temporary. We need him to not look like a threat to the people of the village.
Regardless, we still get a lot of looks and scared villagers as well as guards. When we get him to the SAA's place, he's pretty shocked as well. The Worg goes into one of the jail cells while the SAA sends one of the guards to the butcher shop for some food for it. Well, at least he does after we explain that it may have information on Goblin whereabouts (that really gets his attention). He starts writing a note to our superior for us to take back with us.
In the meantime the meat arrives and Tanor takes it, gets a bucket of water for the Worg, and goes to his cell. He puts the water in the cell but refuses to give the meat. When I ask him what he's doing Tanor responds, "I want to see if I can get more information out of him. Maybe you should ask him. You're better at talking with him."
"Oh no. I do not support what you're doing so you can do it yourself!" Seriously, the poor creature is STARVING!
Tanor goes to the cell and starts asking questions of the Worg. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for the Worg, the thing is asleep. Tanor gives in, tosses in the meat and leaves.
Because the supply cart to pick us (and the Worg) up won't be at the village until tomorrow we need a place to stay for the night. The SAA recommends the local tavern. The second we walk in, everyone stops, stares, and starts whispering to each other. I've put up with this sort of reaction for years so I go to my default smile, wave and "hello!"
Apparently this is a friendly enough gesture because someone in the crowd yells "They captured the beast. Ales for them!" And there were cheers all around.
Turns out this guy was Gregor, the Mayor. He asks us to sit and have a meal with him and his two friends, William and Wallace. We get into a discussion about the "fight" and the reasons for the Worg being in its weakened state. Well, mostly a discussion. Wallace has to use hand gestures and the like since he's unable to speak. I'm a little worried we shared too much information with them. I've got to get better about that.
The local ale ends up being a little strong for my constitution and I have to hit the bed earlier than I would've liked. I politely head to my room, all the while keeping what sense I can to get information from the crowded room. By The Lady's Smile I am able to hear a whispered piece of conversation, "Yeah, I'm not gonna take that bet." I think I'll forever wonder what it meant.
The next day, we and the Worg get in the supply wagon, much to the surprise and chagrin of the military drivers. When we get to Aurora's courtyard, Tanor and I are headed to the debriefing room while the Worg is taken by the Beast Master for assessment and rehabilitation. She spoke the Worg's native language so I'm going to assume she knows what she's doing.
We explain to the Major all that transpired and he provides us with some information. There is a Goblin clan know for being cruel to their rides. If what the Worg says is true, they're about 500 miles from where they're supposed to be. They've already got an expert looking into it. We get a bunch of general praise for a job well done, and then we get paid.
After all of this, we're shown to our rooms where we will be staying as long as we're part of Aurora. I don't know why Lady Tymora sent me to join Aurora, but I have to say, I'm glad she did. I think this is a good place to develop the skills so I can not only be her Acolyte, but her Investigator as well.
Lady's Blessing,
Basme
