Introduction
The Party arrived at the Aldori Manor in Restov, Brevoy.
Fluefy was a bit nervous, but Lotus helped them develop a method of calming down through deliberate breathing
The group of warriors ahead of the Party laughed at them a bit, but did not pick a fight.
When they were admitted into the manor, they were announced as The Iron Wraiths
When it was their turn, the servant admitting them welcomed them graciously and had their son, Stefan, guide them into the hall
They are seated at a table beside several individuals who they were slowly introduced to over the evening
A barbarian warrior called Amiri
An easily distracted poet and artist named Linzi
A warrior-woman who goes by Valerie
The shy and quiet Jaethal
A welcoming and inviting gentleman named Maegar Varn
They also conversed with a few odd others in the hall
A somber dwarf named Harrim
A pompous and generally annoying gnome named Tartuccio
Initial Introductions
Amiri expressed surprise that "just about anyone was allowed in"
She seemed mildly impressed that a bear was present in the group
Linzi admonished Amiri for her somewhat rudeness
The halfling woman asked to know their names and made notes about them
Fluffy is described as an awesome, short little bear - very cure, very prim and polite
For Lotus, she notes that she has a high voice, but may be the beating heart of the party
For Mud, she added an annotation in her journal that jhe could potentially become epic, but his name will need changing in the final story
She explains that she is a poet (and knows it) but also a storyteller
Valerie greeted the group with a polite smile but does not say anything at this time
Similarly, Jaethal sits quietly in her seat, seeming uncomfortable with the situation
Lady Jamandi's First Announcement
Before much more conversation can happen, Lady Jamandi Aldori and Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius enter the hall, and they provide context for their summons:
A pair of trumpeters step into the hall from the west doors and blow a flourish. Silence falls over the hall as a herald enters. "Presenting the honorable Lord Mayor of Restov, Ioseph Sellemius, and the Lady Jamandi Aldori!"
A striking half-elf woman enters the hall, followed by an aristocratic, middle-aged human man. The man wears finely tailored clothing, fit for a noble, while the woman appears dressed for battle. She wears a fine leather coat over a sparkling mail shirt, and at her waist hangs an Aldori dueling sword with a bright silver pommel. The two make their way to the head table, where they remain standing.
The man speaks first. “Greetings, heroes! On behalf of our city, our country, and all Golarian, we thank you for answering the call for heroes. You may be few, but we need only the best for this great task.”
"Well spoke, Lord Mayor." Lady Jamandi offers the room a broad smile before she speaks. “To all gathered here, welcome. I know you must wonder why you are here. I'm not one to keep you in suspense. (pause) South and west of here, beyond Brevoy’s border, lie the Stolen Lands. This disputed territory has been claimed time and again by would-be settlers, but because the area has been a haven for bandits and monsters, it has never been held for long. Restov intends for this to change."
Murmurs and whispers ripple through the hall, as if this announcement were a stone dropped into a still pond. Lady Jamandi allows them for a few moments, then raises her hand for silence.
"I see you understand the gravity of this undertaking. While we have selected a few key members of society for this task, we are still looking for brave individuals - or groups - to form holdings in these lands. If you have enough courage to drive off the dangerous denizens and bandits of the Stolen Lands, you will have the backing of my House, and Restov, to seize that territory for yourselves and become its new barons or baronesses. We shall recognize the legitimacy of your new rule and establish an unbreakable alliance of trade and mutual aid so that no other neighbor, no matter how avaricious, will challenge your claim.”
She raises her goblet. “But the details of your individual missions and charters into the Stolen Lands can wait. I raise my glass to you, brave heroes! For now, let us eat and enjoy the evening. For tomorrow, glory awaits!"
The Feast
First Course
Amiri spent some time chatting with the party, trying to see what they had done to be considered heroes
Mud countered by asking what she had done
Amiri then regaled them with a story about how she had wrestled a giant joro spider
She baked its legs and they tasted like chicken
Fluefy then started a conversation about camping, and when asked for specifics on where Fluefy said "the Forest"
Amiri was especially interested in how Fluefy could predict the weather
She was also excited to look at Fluefy's hammer
Linzi spent the conversation sketching Amiri wrestling a spider
She comes up with the idea for the beginning of a joke ("a leshy, a bear, and a guy named Mud walk into a bar")
She is not overly impressed by Mud's name, but got more excited when she learned he may have amnesia
She muses that he was a heroic person who got in a fight he could not win and got hit on the head, losing his memories
When asked about her past work, she explains a lot of it was restricted (possibly destroyed) in Pitax
According to Linzi, Pitax is supposed to be the cultural center for the arts, but Linzi describes it as "trash"
She wrote tales, but the censors in the nation said she couldn't write about certain topics
This led to her writing a crude limerick about the king, leading to her expulsion.
The limerick in question was "The King's Cock":
"Our King Castruccio plays games
Sure not to attract any dames.
He held aloft his cock and crowed
“Can you believe where this was stowed?”
But no lady could see the thing he claims.
— Linzi's limerick "The King's Cock"
Most of the guests seemed to look at her appreciatively for this (with the exception of the gnome, Tartuccio )
After she wrote that limerick, she was expelled for "impudence toward persons of the highest esteem."
Amiri then jumped in to talk about her participation in "The Shellen River Race"
She described this race as a race through the woods, building a raft, and then sailing down the river
While sailing, her raft got attacked by giant piranhas, and she had to struggle to keep it together
She caught the piranhas and ate them later, and they tasted like chicken
While they chatted about different meals, Amiri also suggests that she would eat a roasted slug, and that whatever she cooks always tastes like chicken
The party then made some small talk with Amiri and Linzi
Amiri and Fluefy attempted an arm-wrestling contest, but Fluefy lost pretty badly twice
With Linzi, Lotus began chatting about some of Linzi's past works or what stories she has heard that she likes
Second Course
Valerie attempts to start up a conversation with the Party about current war events
She brings up goblins migrating north in the aftermath of the Goblinblood War
When she brings up the likelihood of another Mendevian Crusade (the 5th one) to fight demons at the Worldwound (Sarkoris)
The Fourth Crusade ended just 3 years ago in 4707
After hearing that Valerie supposed that there would be a 5th Crusade soon, a man from the next table (Maegar Varn) cut in to say it was unlikely
He switched seats with Jaethal to discuss with the Party and get away from the conversation with Tartuccio
He touches on how the last Crusades have not really amounted to anything, and how everyone is weary after about 100 years of different crusades
Varn then shifts the conversation to what about creating their own holding interests them, to which they all explained they were looking for a place to call home
Lotus also mentioned wanting to "help the little guy" and make a helpful place for people in need
When Mud mentions his last real home was the New Stetvan Academy, Varn mentions that he reached out to Professor Amastan Jaatu to join the holding he plans to found in the Nomen Heights
Professor Jaatu had recently retired, and has joined Varn as his diplomatic advisor
In terms of naming the holding, Varn explains that a name is one of the most important parts
He illustrates this by pointing out people can then associate the name of the place with its leader
Maeger Varn: "Who's the person who runs Varnhold?" "Why, that would be Maeger Varn!"
Maeger Varn: "Varn, where are you from?" "Well, I live in Varnhold."
Varn explains that he does not know much about running his own hold, but that is why he is surrounding himself with more knowledgeable advisors
He is the third son of a respectable noble family in Brevoy
The gnome Tartuccio then loudly was bragging about how he could destroy most of the people in the room with a fireball with his eyes closed
While everyone appeared annoyed at the gnome in general, Mud engaged with him by demanding "How big of a fireball can you do?"
When Tartuccio went vague about the size, Mud kept badgering him about the size and how it matters
Tartuccio: "It's not about size, it's about placement and how you use it!"
Mud: "Well, all right. I guess you know more about balls than me."
Tartuccio: "You calling me out? You calling me out about how large my ball would be?"
Lotus uses the opportunity to call Jaethal over
They struck up a hesitant conversation, and Lotus offered some ways to be less anxious
Jaethal seemed more comfortable talking to one person at a time
When Lotus took Jaethal's hand, she noticed that it was ice cold
Lotus attempted to help calm her, suggesting thinking about things that she would rather be doing
Jaethal mentions she would rather be cutting off heads
Lotus suggest not to do that here, and Jaethal suggests just cutting off one head (Tartuccio's)
Valerie mentions when Jaethal returns to her seat that Lotus had gotten more words than she had gotten out of the shy girl
She confirms that none of the people who have been chatting with the Party knew each other before
Valerie also notices Lotus' bracelet that has symbolic relationship to Shizuru
They started up a conversation about Shizuru
Mud tries to see if there is any religious symbol on Valerie's person, but only sees a section on her armor that might have had something once before
When Mud asks about Valerie's faith, she says that she has put that behind her
Valerie explains that her past experience has been more focused on war than politics
She adds that she is not keen necessarily to start her own kingdom, but had thought "fortune and glory" would be about an adventure or quest
The Party suggests that maybe she could be a general instead of a settlement leader
During the small talk phase, they had an opportunity to chat with Jaethal and
Lotus chatted with Valerie about perhaps joining their settlement eventually
Valerie replied that she would definitely like to hear if the Party get established
Mud suggests to Varn creating a trade agreement between their place and the soon to be established Varnhold
Varn agrees that it would be beneficial for sure to do that
When Fluefy attempted to converse with Jaethal about natural healing, but Jaethal did not seem interested in that conversation overall
Lotus also attempted to re-engage Jaethal about her reasons for being there, but did not get much more progress
Drinks Interlude
At the start of the interlude, a dwarf named Harrim approached the Party and asked, "Have you given any thought to how you will die?"
Harrim goes on to mention that death and destruction come to
He has a list of how he would prefer to die:
"A thousand bloody cuts. If you've a small body like me, eventually you won't feel it."
"Getting shitfaced and drowning in my porridge. Or stew. I do like stew. That'd be a good way to go."
Mud talks to him in Dwarven about why he has put so much thought into why he has thought about it so much
Harrim: "The end of the world is always coming. You have a choice: let it destroy you, or die in your own way."
He explains he is there not to seek the end, but to prepare for it
Tartuccio then intercepts Mud and, in a semi-drunk state, calls him "wanker"
He brags that he is an impressive "spell-man" and that Mud is a "no nothin' shit."
Mud challenges him to show something of his magic skill, but Tartuccio refuses, claiming that he has a plan and is going to build the best kingdom that there ever has been
"Better than your kingdom, faster too!"
He ends the conversation by casting message on Mud and saying, "Faster kingdom than you, wanker. Faster kingdom than you. You can reply to this message."
Mud: "Nope."
Third and Fourth Course
The Party continued to make small talk with their neighbors
Amiri and Fluefy discussed more in depth about Fluefy's weather prediction skills
Amiri did not quite understand the significance
Mud chatted with Linzi about what she was doing there, and she explained that she wanted to see the legend unfold rather than be the primary focus
Lotus chatted with Valerie a bit more about her experience with injuries and war
Fluefy tried to connect with Jaethal to see if she was interested in trying to learn how to be more stealthy, but Jaethal didn't gravitate toward the conversation
Lotus approached Amiri about ways to repair armor, which Amiri took in and shared some of her own knowledge
Mud spoke with Valerie then about places that she has traveled to, but she wasn't much of a traveler
Post-Dinner Drinks
The Party did a final conversation with Linzi about potential group names (or what she would call them in her book)
The overall impression was to use the first letters of their names, trying to work in something related to "Misfits" or "Mismatched"
Before Lady Jamandi made her final announcement, the group was approached by Linzi and Valerie to give them a few gifts
Linzi donated two cat carvings
Jade Cat talisman
Onyx Panther talisman
Valerie offered to Mud an alchemical solution
Moderate Juggernaut Mutagen
Concluding the Feast
Lady Jamandi thanked the attendees and promised that there would be much to go over tomorrow morning
She instructs the servants to guide the guests to chambers that they may spend the night, and everyone retired for the evening.
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