[Game Thread] Chapter 1: The Wastelands

[Valistar]

About a week passes before summons are put out for a new mission. Several old faces are seen, but several new ones. Two new humans and another Aasimar are at the table. It turns out that this time Kizziar is not your assigned briefer, instead it is a very hairy man who looks like he is probably a druid based on the way that he is dressed and the black bear sitting on the ground behind him. "Good morning everyone, my name is Ursan and I will be briefing you today. For the three of you still with this group, I'm glad you stayed in. For the three that are new, I'm glad you could join." He then gestures to one of the humans. "Given our need of experienced crafters and your need for better gear, you have been assigned an artisan along with a crafting wagon and all the required equipment to go with it. In the mean time, here is the assignment sheet. You may notice there are fewer choices. As you gain more experience your choices will continue to become more limited."

Mission sheet -Gadhelyn, god of elves, wishes for you to deliver a package to a hidden elven village. 5,000+ gp -Malar, god of wild beasts, wishes for you to destroy a specific group of raiders invading the forest. 5,000 gp -Thoth, god of magic, wishes for you to investigate a magic node and determine why it isn't working. 5,000 gp -Maglubiyet, god of all goblinoids, wishes for you to convince a local lord to leave his goblin tribes alone. 2,500 gp. -Yeenor, kobold demigod of trolling, wishes for you to convince a group of elves and a group of goblins to go into all out war. "I'm not paying you, this is totally just for the fun of it." -Yeenor

"Feel free to get to know each other a little bit before choosing if you so desire." The man says as he sits back and pets his bear. He may seem a bit dry, but at least he isn't agitated and constantly drinking like Kizziar. On the other hand, you suspect he might have had some hand in deciding what choices were going to be available for you.

[DraconigenaArma]

Killian waves when the 'new people' are introduced. The hand that waves is rough with callouses and strong, as is the arm it's attached to. The entirety of the man in masculine and hard, though not built in the way someone who is exercising for effect is. This man's strength is more rough, more primal; the kind of physique developed from a life of labor and violence. Shirtless, much of his cream colored skin can be seen, and it is marked with small scars, not one in itself notable. Brown hair reaches his shoulders and is kept pulled back at the ears, but loose at the nape of his neck. His eyes are likewise brown, somewhat like bronze coins. His chin is broad and his nose is crooked. A brown woolen kilt like garment is belted at his waist. The same belt holds a bundle of travel gear, an empty quiver, and a hand axe. He has a cloak, but it's hanging behind the door near the entrance to the briefing room. His boots come up to the knee, and there's a trim of fur across the top of them.

"Hello. Nice to meet everyone. May I say, glad I stumbled into this place. I can't say I know my letters nearly as well as I should, but can I ask what's the 'plus' at the end really mean, how much more? Seem vague." His voice is deep, and sounds a bit like gravel.

[Explosionguy]

The tall drow clad in his dark gray half-plate sits sideways in his chair as the druid speaks. Basementicus had commissioned some new things during the week off, as should be evident to the remaining members of the group who had stuck with the organization. The strange weapon at his side appears to have had some work done on it and a nicer looking tabard with a black trim covered the front and back of the suit of armor in a checked pattern of murky brown and green colors. He still has the old shield and shortbow slung across his back.

With a wave, he says, "Hello new members! My name's Basementicus; it's nice to meet you. Things I like include fighting and getting things done. Things I don't like include traps and lousy food."

Basementicus looks at the mission sheet and immediately recognizes the missions on them. They seemed to be the same mission that they could have chosen before, although with maybe one or two removed, not including the last mission he went on.

"I like the sound of Malar's mission. I want to try my new weapon out and it sounds like there will be plenty of practice for it there."

[Aarroun]

A relatively short kitsune or fox-folk stands and introduces himself as Reynard. He's wearing new looking, yet slightly baggy tunic and trousers, both of a light brown coloration. Along with a pair of soft leather boots, he seems more dressed for comfort than travel. A dark green cloak drapes over the back of his chair and a wide shoulder bag rests on the ground against a table leg.

Reynard greets the party warmly, "I am called Reynard, wandering wizard and problem solver, at your service."

[dragune185]

Venkin, at the mention of an artisan joining the group lifts his hand in a subtle acknowledgement. Venkin was close to six feet tall, with thick blonde hair, and a beard. He was thickly built and his clothes immaculate. Every bit of metal, whether it was the buttons on his overcoat, or the bits that ended his shoes drawstrings were intricately carved with swirling patterns. Glinting on his wrist is perhaps the cornerstone of his attire. It's made of thick, polished metal with a blue gemstone embedded on top. Every subtle movement of Venkin sends a stream of barely visible, white vapor.

Sitting on his shoulder was a small, cat sized human with a wide toothy grin, large shiny eyes and tight cloth that was decorated in various swirls.

Venkin introduced himself briefly, without any frills, "I am Venkin, I have worked for the organization and I am excited to get started."

He takes a seat, taking note of the graveled voice man, drow and fox-folk's introductions with an empty face. He seemed rather dull. His cadence was exact, without much inflection and his movements stiff.

He read the entire sheet almost with a glance and then looked at the others. "If I am a part of the group - Gadelyn or Malar are suitable options. In terms of money and potential connections,"

[Dizzy]

The new Aasimar, a heavily armored paladin, sits at the end of the table. He sits isolated and comfortably protected from within his full suit of cumbersome looking plate armor. When he confronts the food on the table before him, he seems hesitant, even unwilling to remove even his helmet at first. He eventually overcomes this hesitation and removes his well polished helmet, setting it on the table beside him. What lies beneath is a soft-faced Aasimar with long blonde hair and blue eyes as cold as steel; a paradigm of beauty, as is the norm for Aasimars. What is possibly most impressive about this armored devotee is that he stands at a full six and a half feet tall, and yet his hulking tower shield is just tall. He seemed to have absolutely no trouble with it's weight as he came in, and one would assume that he is definitely not the type to have an arm wrestle with.

After a long pause, he introduces himself.

"My name is Aurol. May my shield keep us safe. Though it goes without saying that you all seem like a well-versed party. Keeping you safe should be easy. You all look like fine men... and... Well. Foxes."

He finishes his introduction by taking a particularly loud crunching bite out of an apple.

"Mag... Let me see that. Maglubiyet? Yes. It seems like his people need of help. They're goblins, yes, but not all goblins are bad... That's something I'd feel more comfortable about if we did some more research. Aside from that, I refuse to take Yeenor's job, absolutely not. Starting wars does not sound like it would bode well with my conscious."

[Angarato]

As Aurol removes his helmet, Angarato looks pleasantly surprised, as he had only met a few other Aasimar in his travels. Adorned in scholarly attire, Angarato stands six feet tall with golden red hair and emerald green eyes. As he speaks he makes eye contact with each of the new members of the team. "Greetings gentlemen, it is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Angarato, I am an Oracle from the city of Ormath located in the Vilhon Reach region. I look forward to getting to know each of you better. "

Angarato reviews the mission sheet and recognizes two of the jobs as options from the previous one. "I am sure we could agree that Yeenor is not an option, any diety who expects us to work for free is clearly not a suitable client. Maglubiyet's mission may seem noble on the surface, but he is a diety with a reputation of deceit and trickery and a habit of sending people, including his sons, on suicide missions. I for one would like to avoid working for him period."

Angarato takes a moment to consider the other names on the list and asks the group in general, "Do any of you know anything about these other deities? I believe it is prudent to consider who our employer is as we consider our choice."

[Aarroun]

I'm not too keen on the idea of working for a goblin, myself. Nor am I really interested in Yeenor's quest at this time. Any of the other three sound fine." Reynard keeps glancing at Venkin during the briefing, sure that he's seen the man before, but reminds himself there will be time to talk later. Business first.

[DraconigenaArma]

"Well, no, I don't know much about the gods. But I do know about elves. They don't sleep, if you know what I mean." Killian winks, knowing full well what he means. "And again, that plus sign. Seems like a big deal. I mean, we're mercs right, isn't it about the money?"

[Explosionguy]

"I guess money's alright. I would much prefer a job with excitement than some boring delivery, though. As far as gods go I've never paid much attention to religious studies, but the god of wild beasts sounds like an interesting person to work for."

After all, Basementicus thought, what motives could a god of beasts have?

[Valistar]

The hairy man leading the briefing sighs, "If I might interject for a moment. I'm not really supposed to discuss what the mission entails, but even the gods aren't willing to pay that much for a simple delivery mission. I expect that there is plenty of danger associated. Knowing where the delivery is to tells me that there is absolutely danger involved even once you arrive. All of the missions have a fair amount of danger associated with them... with the exception of maybe Yeenor's." He goes back to petting his bear.

[DraconigenaArma]

"Gods have budgets?" Killian asks, genuinely curious.

[Valistar]

Ursan laughs heartily, "Not really, but they have limits on the amount of effort they are willing to expend on any given task. Though to be fair, the money for smaller tasks comes from the local temples or churches. Those do have a budget despite following the actions of their gods."

[DraconigenaArma]

Killian nods, accepting the explanation without further comment.

"I'd still rather see elf women and extra money over animals."

[Angarato]

Sitting there listening to the banter, Angarato remembers some things about the other gods. "I would imagine any mission we take has a high level of danger and risk associated with it. If the tasks were simple, there would be no point in paying a group like ours to do them. I was thinking about the nature of the missions and it reminded me of the other dieties. Malar is an evil diety who encourages his followers to spread lycanthropy and death in his name. He desires more than just killing, he wants it gory and bloody. I understand that we may be forced to kill in the performance of our duties, but I am not too keen on that being the sole purpose of our missions. I would advocate crossing that mission off the list. "

Angarato pauses for a moment and says, "The elf, although a bit of a chaotic personality is generally considered good natured. I am the least familiar with Thoth, but can not think of any reason to avoid working for him. I recommend we choose one of those two missions, and since one suggests the potential for greater pay, I consider the Gadhelyn mission my first choice, but am certainly open to the Thoth mission."