The Stalwart Guard is a mercenary-esque adventuring group that is deeply involved in many different areas of Impiltur, notably adventuring.
Purpose
To seek great challenges and overcome them.
To help and arm new adventurers.
To be free.
Activities
...
Base of Operations
The Stalwart Guard used to be based in Sarshel.
Members
Current
Talia Reaver - Leader and Divine Tactician
Sal Polani - Strategist
Merin Jatlin - Public Relations and Merchant
Former/Retired
...
Deceased
Dagul - Hunter, Pathfinder and Speaker of Wisdom
Temporary
...
History
Member History
Don't Fear the Reaver
She hailed from the Dalelands and she was forged in war. Talia Reaver, the priestess of war, was a cold and calculating elf that pushed herself to her limits in order to seek greater powers than the ones she had. She was always looking for a new challenge to overcome.
She dreams of making safe haven for elves in Impiltur.
Her relationship with the three other members were all the same. She kept them at a distance and she treated them as useful tools in her plans.
The Mercenary From Moonsea
Sal Polani, the young mercenary from Moonsea, was a drunkard and a gambler, but despite his bad habits, he sought to challenge himself for whatever reason. He was cautious and considerate, and he always looked behind him and took measurements to ensure his safety.
His dreams are unknown to anyone but himself.
His relationship with the three other members varied but were similar to some degree. It was apparent, however, that he treated Talia differently; an aspect that both knew of since their first outing but rarely talk about. He and Merin had an odd relationship, and some of the time, it appeared that Merin was keeping Sal in check with his attitude. In contrast, he and Dagul shared an strange bond with each other like brothers in arms in a military.
Adventure Calls
Merin Jatlin was a young halfing bard from Waterdeep. She fancied herself an adventurer of sorts, looking for stories to tell and heroes to write about. Some days she was happy-go-luck, other days she was absent-minded, but everyday she was lucky.
She dreams of owning a bookstore and being a succesful bard with stories that people recount time and time again.
Her relationship with the other three members varied. She was close to Dagul despite knowing Talia and Sal longer. She saw Talia as a figure to follow and to write about. She didn't have much of a relationship with Sal that was distinct enough like Talia and Dagul.
Speak Wisely, Carry a Double-sided Axe
He stood tall, spoke wisely, and carried a big double-sided axe. He was Dagul, an orc with human blood in his veins. Not much was known about Dagul before his death, and where he came from was mostly a mystery. What was known was that he had no tribe of his own, and that he found solace in the woods. So much so that he thought of himself as an enlightened hunting cat, a fierce and cunning predator of nature. Skilled at remaining silent, he stalked enemies with great focus and eliminated them with great power: the gift of irony. He mostly traveled through nature instead of the roads, perhaps to avoid trouble with folk or because he felt more at home in that type of environment. He had never entered the stone city of Sarshel, but he may have went into Dilpur on one occasion. One time he did enter Filur, but he was uncomfortable for the most part. He disliked the creatures of Malar for some reason.
He did not make his dreams known to the others.
His relationship with the other original three members varied. He considered Sal a great friend and Merin a pretty girl because they were nice. Talia, on the other hand, he respected her for her power, whether he liked her or not--he took to his grave.
The Rise of The Stalwart Guard
The Early Days
One afternoon in the Sarshel square was where it all began. Sal was walking through the square, slightly drunk and reeking of alcohol, and he met Talia. She proclaimed herself as priestess of war and battle, lending her aid to those adventurers in need. Oddly enough, she said she preferred to work alone, and coincidentally, Sal did too. They both said that if they happen to be out in the same places though, the help from the other would be much appreciated. So began Talia and Sal going out into Impiltur and happening to be in the same places despite working alone. The two of them faced dangers across Impiltur as they challenged themselves to become stronger.
Sometime during their outings "together," they met up with Merin, who joined them often from that point on.
Of Bandits and Beholder
Rumours of a slave trafficking spread through the underground of Impiltur and the Temple in Sarshel receives news of a mysterious up-start trying to establish a foothold. Talia, Sal, and Merin search far and wide to find the hideout, accompanied by a notable individual and Dagul, they were unsuccessful on their first search.
Later, Talia Reaver singlehandly finds the hideout of the bandits and slavers and eliminates them. She faced a beholder, fiends, undead, constructs, monsters, beasts, and bandits. Some other notable individuals aided her too.
Founding
After Talia and Merin report and hand over evidence of the defunct bandit-slaver hideout, a thought sparked in Talia's mind. Talia Reaver, with all her wisdom, creates The Stalwart Guard. Despite the Temple hiding the information and actions of an outside actor, Talia gained some reputation because of her actions against a threat to Impiltur. Her growing reputation placed her in a position of interest and possibly of power. Talia Reaver, Sal Polani, Merin Jatlin, and Dagul become the founding members of The Stalwart Guard.
The Fallen West
The Expedition of Impiltur
Every adventuring group needs a place to live. Talia, Sal, Merin, and Dagul wandered across Impiltur searching for a potential location to build a place of residence. Unfortunately, the law stood in their way along with the potential neighbors. From the Uplands to the coast, they walked high and low and lower into the underground. Two locations of interest were identified: a disappearing estate and an abandonded village. Eventually, these locations were deemed unfit, and they moved on.
Later on, a location of interest was deemed to be suitable and awaited their claim.
The Disappearance of Dolovo
During one of Talia and Sal's ventures to the plains, they came across the empty village of Dolovo and not a clue was left behind to explain the lack of folk, excluding the chapel near the village. Within the chapel housed odd and mad creations with strange writings and whisperings.
Talia, Sal, and Dagul returned to Dolovo during a trip around Impiltur seeing the land for a potential claim. Thought to be empty, a "child" laughed and evaded their sight, and when confronted the child, the village came to "life" with strange, shambling constructs and one giant construct of immense power. Barely escaping with their lives, they rallied with some notable individuals the next day to clear Dolovo of the strange constructs.
Attack on Orc Tower
After successfully repelling the constructs that occupied Dolovo, a few of the members moved onto a bigger issue: the orc tower. Talia, Sal, and Dagul were accompanied by some notable individuals to investigate and attacked the orc tower by the mountain border. Throughout the entire tower, orcs were swarming every space and corner, along with demons of varying ranks. It tooks hours of effort and resting, but the group eventually overcame the orcs and the demons. When the treasure of the orc tower was theirs for the taking, a greater demon surprised them and forced them out of the tower. They were powerless against it and fled before it could rally more orcs and demons to face them.
When they divided up the treasures from the orc tower in the glade outside of Sarshel, a flock of crows gathered near them. Sal was the only one who thought the appearance of the crows was odd due to the rumours going around Impiltur. It was apparent that the crows were interested in them.
Darkness Over Vlasta
Between a Rock and a Crystal
One fateful day, Talia and Sal walked into Sarshel square and met Eldaereth Sharantar, the lorekeeper in residence at Songhall and future Chancellor of the Office of Public Affairs, and two other notable individuals. Before long, Eldaereth and one of the notable individuals joined Talia and Sal on their journey into the underground of Impiltur. Eldaereth, at the point in time, hadn't seen much of Impiltur, but this delve into the darkness introduced many new things to him. It certainly gave him a lot to think about. They saw many wondrous and terrifying creatures and explored the dark reaches of the underground where treasure was had.
It was during this delve that The Stalwart Guard met their most difficult foe: the funnel-web spider. One bite from its fangs and the spider took the group out excluding Eldaereth. The spiders became distracted with other prey and the group was able to crawl to safety to recuperate and recover from their deadly encounter.
The Crypt of Unending Undead
During a trip to Vlasta, Talia and Sal ran into Entheo Genesthe, the famous adventurer who owned The Swordhall. Coincidentally, they were all in Vlasta for the same reason: to find the crypt that had strange noises coming from it and solving its mystery. The three of them went into the crypts and faced puzzles and undead like Talia and Sal had never seen before. They certainly could not match the challenge of the crypt, and they all made it out of the crypt with nothing to show.
Entheo revealed to Sal about his eventual retirement from adventuring and looking to train a new group or generation of individuals who are ready to fight.
Talia, Sal, and Dagul along with a notable individual returned to the Vlasta crypt where they attempted once again to figure the curse of the place. Complications were had since Dagul and another notable individual had came to the crypt before the group of them went, and they were forced to leave the crypt once more with nothing to show.
The crypt remains the only obstacle The Stalwart Guard hasn't overcome.
Crows All The Way Down
At the Drunk Carp in Vlasta, Talia and Sal encountered Crow King, and he discussed killing them right where they stood. Without much of a choice due to amount of bystanders there were around them, Talia and Sal chose to cooperate with Crow King by bringing him two items: the blood of a virgin and wyvern venom. These were two items that were to be used, along with others, in a ritual of some sort. Crow King made it known to them that his crows were watching.
Whatever else was discussed with Crow King is only known by the three of them.
Elven Troubles
In a not-so-secret meeting, Talia and another notable individual spoke of their Elven connection and what it meant to be an Elf. Trouble was on the horizon, not just for Talia, but the Elves in general was more propaganda was being spread about Impiltur against the Elves. The notable individual made known to Talia about the rumours of her demon summoning and her questionable leadership, and that if she continued to lead on in her ways, expect the appropriate results.
Time would tell if Talia heeded those words, or disregarded them entirely.
The Hunt for Blue Remorharz
A Merchant's Request
Sal sought out a Sembian merchant-captain who had been offering a bounty for rare ingredients. Sal and Merin spoke briefly with the Sembian ship's captain who revealed that they were looking to obtain two glands from a remorhaz: the saliva gland and the secretion gland. Others tasked before them sought the remorhaz and all failed. If there indeed was a remorhaz, it lurked in the shadow of the Earthspur or Earthfast mountains.
During conversations with others about the remorhaz, the reasoning behind pursuing the remorhaz came into question. Where they hunting it for fame and fortune? Sal explained to some of the notable individuals he spoke with that the remorhaz wasn't about fame and fortune, it was about politics and economics related to Sembia and Impiltur. Whether they believed him was their choice.
Over the course of a few tendays, The Stalwart Guard searched in and around the mountains for the remorhaz with a few locations of interest noted: a mountain forest and a secluded cave. Before heading out to fight the remorhaz, they went across Impiltur gathering supplies and resources for the fight to come. Dagul, in particular, trained in harvesting the parts of beetles in order to gain knowledge on how to harvest the remorhaz. Although the beetles and a remorhaz aren't the same, dealing with the carapace and making clean incisions was important in retrieving the glands.
Into the White
With their information of the area gathered, they ventured out one day to dig deeper into the location of the remorhaz. They gathered outside of Sarshel, rented a horse, and they made their way to Songhall. Leaving the horse behind there since the horse wouldn't be able to brave the cold and the terrain, they ascended the mountains behind Songhall. Their ascent proved to be quite challenging. There were scattered ice troll bodies near the summit of one mountain, and they fought off a beserking troll that appeared to be driven out of its home. Whatever killed the trolls was still nearby. A blizzard began to overtake the mountains as they continued to ascend to get to the valley pasasge. Just as they were about to cross into the valley passage, the troll attacker was revealed: a white dragon. The force of nature commanded the blizzard and faded into the white, taking a body of a troll with it. They were luckly to survive their encounter with the dragon.
Resistance
Descending into the valley, they were ambushed by hobgoblins and ogres, but they continued on despite encountering more obstacles in their way to remorhaz. They traveled to the secluded cave hidden in the valley, and that was where they met a small group of mercenaries also looking for the remorhaz. Conversation was made to see if the mercenaries wanted to join forces with The Stalwart Guard to take on the remorhaz together, but the mercenaries had other plans. They didn't want to share any of the fortune and fame. Talia orders the The Stalwart Guard to kill them as the mercenaries were itching to fight and had seem prepared to kill The Stalwart Guard since they arrived. The mercenaries were quickly defeated with a lot of effort spent, and The Stalwart Guard explores the cave to find any signs of the remorhaz. The mercenaries came with supplies, and they rummaged through them. In their supplies was an acid trap, a hint to what the remorhaz could be weak to. Sal concludes that the rock in the cave was too thick for the remorhaz to burrow in and so it had no way of getting in or out if it was here.
The Hunt Begins
They left the cave after deciding that the remorhaz couldn't be there based on the geographicale evidence and what they knew of the creature. A lone hunter stood outside the cave, seemingly not a part of the mercenaries, and he joined them on the hunt for the remorhaz. One location was left to deeply explore and that was the forest valley. When they entered the valley, it was clear that something had come through. A dead wyvern laid in the middle of the forest and some large holes were visible. They had found the remorhaz, and now they had to lure it out. With blunt weapons in hand, they were ready to breach the carapace.
The Thrill of the Hunt
Merin attempted to lure out the remorhaz with her song of vibrations, causing the earth underneath them to rumble, and then a rumbling from below came in response. Merin alone stood out on the dirt while the others stood on a rock embedded into the ground that the remorhaz couldn't pierce through. The Stalwart Guard went into action as the remorhaz erupted from the ground under Merin's feet. With spells and blessings, they quickly attacked the remorhaz, running it around as they avoided attacks and positioned themselves into superior spots. The potions of fire resistance were the main reason they all endured. The remorhaz unleashed extreme heat from its body and spat out flames. Talia and Sal had the remorhaz's attention most of the time since they were the only ones who could stand face to face with the remorhaz and take its hits. Sal was the main striker while Talia was the main defender, swapping the positions whenever called for. They injured the remorhaz, and it burrowed underground to escape their might. Talia quickly threw out some thunderstones to shake the ground, and the remorhaz resurfaced once more to face them. Once more, they did battle with the remorhaz, but this time the remorhaz was fired up. It used its natural heat deep within it to put more pressure on them as they fought it. The remorhaz fought harder but so did The Stalwart Guard, they digged into their resources and supplies and pushed back against the remorhaz, driving it back underground again.
The Hunt Falls Apart
With the remorhaz heavily injured, the battle against it was nearing its end. Or so they thought. Talia and Merin both lured the remorhaz out from underground, but this time the remorhaz was different. It wasn't going to die without a proper fight. With immense heat being released from its body, the remorhaz was enraged and the flames and heat from its body were devastating. The Stalwart Guard dipped into the last of their resources and supplies and fought the enraged remorhaz. Their spells and blessings waned with the battle lasting longer than expected, and The Stalwart Guard were pushed to their limits. The remorhaz had figured out more about them in the previous fights, and it made smarter moves against them. They were all stressed and strained with how much effort they expended. They were fighting for more than fortune and fame now. They were fighting for their lives. The remorhaz showed no signs of backing down and neither did they. The remorhaz and The Stalwart Guard knew that only one could survive this ordeal.
With the pressure on, the formation changed rapidly with the remorhaz fighting chaotically. clinging on to its endangered life. When the remorhaz focused on Dagul as it was driven into the trees, it slayed him. Dagul's fall broke the formation and destroyed the plan. Dagul was essential to recovering the glands. Merin became an easier target for the remorhaz without Dagul being able to cover her. Sal had to make up for Dagul's position since Talia couldn't maneuver like he could out of the way of attacks. The declining pressure against the remorhaz was significant. The remorhaz grew bolder and performed more chaotic and devastating moves against them. The increased pressure on Talia and Sal to salvage the situation was a heavy burden. They were low on supplies and resources, and they ran out of philtres of healing. They couldn't heal from wounds fast enough to sustain themselves agains the remorhaz. Talia received a near fatal wound and the hunt fell apart. Sal and Merin were the only ones who stood against the remorhaz. Sal had told everyone before they fought the remorhaz that once they started they shouldn't stop unless under dire conditions. This was one of them.
Sal could defend or attack well. He couldn't do both well without proper support and back up. He knew there was no way to defeat the remorhaz if he split his efforts. Attacking the remorhaz in their current state meant death was high without someone defending; defending against the remorhaz was futile since they were already at their physical and mental limits. The carapace was too hard and heated for simple weapons alone to breach without focused attacks. In a split second decision, Sal and Merin split up. The remorhaz chased after Sal, whose leg was wounded sometime before Talia fell. Sal evaded the remorhaz as best as he could, and he eventually succumbed to his bleeding. He lost too much blood to stay conscious, to stay focused. Half buried in the snow and half exposed to the remorhaz's heat, Sal lost part of his face while lying unconscious.
The Last Stand
While Sal distracted the remorhaz, Merin went to Dagul and Talia. It was evident: Dagul was dead. She lost him. But there was no time to cry. She had to remain focus on the fleeting situation. She rushed over to Talia and she was able to stabilze her. Merin still had supplies and resource left to use. Talia and Merin recovered a bit and quickly devised a last resort tactic against the remorhaz. Talia prepared herself for her last stand against the remorhaz while Merin went out to find it. Merin found the dying remorhaz and dying Sal, both laying in the snow. With wishful thinking, she attempted to shock the remorhaz to death with her most powerful scroll. Lightning shot from her fingers to the remorhaz, but the remorhaz withstood the attack. Rising from its weakened position, it pursued Merin.
Talia had recovered a little bit more, but not much. There was only one thing left she could do, and it was to pull out a suicide attack. She set the acid trap improperly due to her lack of trapping skills and awaited Merin to return in either success or with the remorhaz behind her. Merin dashed across the snow in a mad panic with the remorhaz still bursting with extreme heat. She lept high and long, avoiding the trap and running far from Talia. Talia had her hand ready to trigger the trap and she pulled out all her flasks of acid. When the remorhaz came close enough to Talia, she triggered the trap and threw all her uncapped acid flasks wildly at it; Merin made her shots.
In the blur of a few seconds, the battle had ended. The remorhaz was dead.
Desperation
Merin quickly returned to Talia's side. Talia had pushed herself beyond her limits, but she could still walk. Merin helped clean the acid off her and got her back up on her feet. The battle with the remorhaz was over, but the battle against nature wasn't and their objective wasn't complete. Night was soon to be upon them and the temperature was going to drop below freezing in the forest valley. Talia and Merin went to recover Sal and Dagul. Talia aided Sal first, giving the best aid she could with the supplies and resources she had on hand with the lack of magic. Sal's condition stabilzied. That was enough for Talia to move on to Dagul, who Merin waited beside. When Talia tried to rendered aid to Dagul, she came to the same conclusion as Merin. Dagul was dead and no amount of aid provided could bring him back. She carried the heavy half-orc on her back, and they all went to the dead remorhaz.
They had no clue on what to do. There was no more plan. No more strategy. The recovery of the glands hinged on Dagul being there, but he wasn't. Sal handed over the last of his supplies that he bought for everyone, and with the magic contained in those vials, Merin went to work on recovering the glands. It was a messy dissection. The saliva gland was the first to be recovered. Finding the secretion gland was the issue. Talia remembered that the remorhaz exposed its spine during the fight when it release some of its extreme heat on them. Merin went along the spine to locate the secretion gland, and its blood was lava. It flowed out like water, but destroyed everything in its path. Melting snow, ruining tools, and disintegrated Dagul's body. They all stared at what had happened. All hope was lost. Dagul's spirit had no body to return to. After yelling and screaming, they all were silent. The secretion gland was right in their sights, the second condition to fulfilling their objective. But the cost was too great. Transporting the secretion gland was another issue. It was too hot to handle without magic or cold. Talia prepared a makeshift containter for it with magic crystals, and they were all set to leave. If only they had the will to leave.
It was clear that the battle against the remorhaz wasn't a victory, but a defeat. Talia was on edge, Merin was too caught up with Dagul's death, and Sal suffered heavy injuries. With the cold air encroaching faster on them, Sal wasn't in the proper condition to travel unlike the others. They had recovered barely, but Sal had an injured leg for a moment. Sal cut off the lower part of his left leg without much thought. The magic potions against the cold weren't going to work properly with his leg mostly broken and coming off. With the last bit of hope and feelings they all had, they slowly left behind the forest valley. Sal made a makeshift peg leg before the descent down the mountain, and it was a long way down.
The Deal with Sembia
The Stalwart Guard arrived in Dilpur where the Sembian ship was docked at, and they were ferried to it to hand over the glands. Whatever happened on the ship is a mystery to everyone but those that were on it. The remaining members of The Stalwart Guard were paid, and they departed for Sarshel.
For He's A Jolly Good Orcblood
They had fought a hard battle in the chilling cold forest beneath the shadow of a mountain, survived the cold of the night, and endured heavy hearts and injuries. The payment from Sembia could never fill the hole left in the hearts of Talia, Sal, and Merin. It was insignificant to Dagul's life.
Merin took Dagul's death the hardest out of all three of them. It was obvious that she and Dagul had something special, and nothing could replace it. She put up her best face and attitude thereafter, but she was never the same. Hope was all that Merin had left, a hope for a better tomorrow. Overtime, Merin ventured out less and less with Talia and Sal, and she either stayed in Sarshel tending to her stall or going on trips outside of Impiltur.
A whole tenday didn't go by when Talia returned out into the land, fighting anything that moved. Fight after fight, win after win, she could defeat powerful enemies that pushed her physically and mentally, but she couldn't defeat the emotional pain in her heart. She always presented herself as the bold tactician and fearless leader, but her cracks were begining to show. A pain that had been there for over a century that continued to grow with each passing year.
Unlike the others, Sal didn't seem to show much emotion about Dagul's death, but he remained quiet whenever Dagul's name was brought up. Like how he was trained to do, he soldiered on with the pain, however, he was broken like the rest of them no matter what front he put on. Half of his face gone and a half of one leg missing, he was escaped death by the skin of his teeth. In a way, Sal died with Dagul against the remorhaz, and the man that returned was a completely different. It was awhile before he started venturing out with Talia once again, but Sal conceived of a long-term plan and strategy that he set in motion for the future.
Dagul's death all changed them, for better or for worse; they intend to properly mourn and memoralize Dagul in the near future.
A Crow For A King
The Wyvern and The Lamb
A simple task and one complicated task: to gather the blood of a virigin and the venom of a wyvern, freshly sealed.
Talia and Sal were well experienced against wyverns, and since Merin and now the late Dagul were not involved with the affair, they had to handle it themselves. One quick hunt for a wyvern was all it took, and Sal was able to retrieve the venom of a wyvern. He learned a thing or two about collecting from slain creatures from Dagul. It felt anti-climatic. What was once a hard foe was slain in a matter of seconds with ease. It was the first outing with Talia and Sal since Dagul's death, and it felt empty despite what they were doing could impact many lives.
The blood of the virgin was quite the conundrum. What was Crow King even after? What counted as a virigin? Could it be from anyone's blood? They asked themselves these questions as they went around Impiltur sharpening their skills. Eventually, they stopped in Filur where a farmer had sheep and lamb in the field. Talia took the risk and sacrificed one little lamb for Crow King's plot. It was the blood a of virgin, but would it be good enough? Perhaps, the Crow King foresaw this slight because he never accepted any of the items he asked for.
Or was did these two items mean something more than just a ritual?
Allying With Ashraum
Sometime after slaying the remorhaz, Sal pledged to Lord Envir Ashraum and had made a reques to seek an audience with him, along with potentially offering the aid of The Stalwart Guard.
Lord Ashraum sent one of his personal secretaries to administer a "tower" challenge, where the three of them building a tower out of an odd assortment of items.
Sal's Tower
“I expected as much.” Looks at the items he laid out for himself at the table.
He gives himself a moment to examine the items and think of a watchtower design. He picks up the dagger and starts to carve into the wooden blocks. With the dagger in hand, he scratches—in a back and forth motion—a decent size groove for a coin to be slightly pressed into, and then he carved out a square just above it to represent the entrance into the watchtower.
He picks up three blocks and finely cuts small squares on all sides to represent openings, and he leaves the other blocks unaltered with exception to one more. This one he superficially stabs into and then twists and turns the dagger into the block in order to make a small hole on one side.
He takes the rose and he separates the head of the flower at the pedicel—preserving the “rose” in its current state. He carefully bends the stem in multiple places without pricking himself and makes the two ends meet each other in order to make a thorny circle—a barricade. With the rose remaining, he slowly starts to unravel its petals out and makes the tiniest incision possible with the dagger at the center. He picks up the golden whistle and he cautiously inserts it into the slit that he made—embedding the whistle into the rose itself.
With all the pieces modified and assembled, he stacks the blocks on top of each other starting with the block with the coin-shaped groove followed by a block with small squares and then alternating between an unmarked block and a block with small squares—all contained within the “barricade”. He stacks the three silver coins, slides it up to the groove, and then pulls the middle and the bottom coins out in a cascading pattern to represent stairs. He gently fits the flower’s pedicel into the block with a small hole and then places it at the top. He gets up from his chair—with dagger in hand—and goes to the window for natural light. There he meticulously uses the dagger to reflect light onto the golden whistle for it to shine out.
Talia's Tower
A crude attempt would be made to melt the coins which are laid about in a perimeter, though they seem rather unphased by the brief heat and acid allotted in the time. Refusing to signal defeat however they are still lined about in a wall-like formation if rather crudely and without artistry. The barely dented dagger would be attempted to be stabbed into the wood, though this clearly did not go as planned as she lacked the strength or skill to manage such a feat, so it made a makeshift gate to two walls of coins. The petals on the other hand would crisscross the tower in a feat of artistic and beauty in some bird-like design… though it is through sheer luck that any of it manages to stick as they weren’t allowed to use any adhesives. The attempted to be tarnished golden whistle lies atop of the tower as a sign of the maker’s defeat, clearly having been attempted to be worn down, it remains in one piece. The maker who lacked the wood carving technique was unable to do anything to the wood beyond crudely cut a piece out in what some may have the insight of being some alcove of battlements to jut away from the main of the tower. Some battlement at about the upper mid length of the wooden tower that would perceivably allow combatants to strike from above on those below. There would be a nobility in how unbroken the piece of artistically crafted tower seems to be despite the owner's attempts, it stands tall before the gaze of those who would wish it transformed, unflinching, and unmovable.
Merin's Tower
Merin looks at the attempts of her companions and quickly gets to work on her amazing idea... She quickly explains that the realm's more wild area's are just crawling with huge trolls and ogres, so why not design a defence structure against them? Merin first sets up a wide, but shorter (than the other two structures) block base. She then uses the dagger to seperate flower's stem from the rest of it. The stem is quickly tied, to both ends of the dagger's crossguard and lays is on top of the block base. The structure seems to start resembling some kind of a... balista tower as Merin inserts the whistle at the stem's part at the pommel of the dagger (so that it rests touching the cross guard). As a last move, she inserts the coins at the cross-guard and pulls back the stem, as if ready to fire! An Auto-reloading, rapid firing Balista Tower model stands proudly in front of the group!
Tower Judgement
"The Rose; a key symbol in the Ashraum's family crest. Delicate, precious, deadly - the heart of the family, the people of Impiltur. Roused to a common cause, they will make our enemies bleed with the thorns of our wrath. Yet, should there not be care, our people - these petals - scatter to the wind.
The Dagger; a versatile weapon often overlooked for its size. Not all conflict demands direct confrontation where subtlety can achieve so much more. Yet, when used correctly, it can deliver the swiftest and most fatal blow.
These Wooden Blocks; they represent the foundation of our fatherland. The toil and sweat of our people. Planning with foresight and carefully managed, Impiltur prospers when its borders are secure and Coin flows freely between our walls. The poor and desperate are defenseless as birds who sit in the rain, bereft of shelter."
She pauses to remove a golden whistle from her breast pocket, identical to the other three. This she holds up, the firelight from the Star's hearth glinting off the whistle's polished edge.
"But what is security without trust? What use is wealth without loyalty? How many among us would dare to be a Whistleblower in the face of opposition? Let us put it simply - which one of you would die to protect this kingdom?"
Sal and Merin were invited to speak with Lord Ashraum at Jezebel's, but the meeting never happened due to what happened next.
Kharmina's Folly
Sal Polani, along with other notable individuals, joined a contingent of Warswords led by Lady Kharmina of Torm to assault a stronghold of the Crow King in the mountains of Earthspur. Once they arrive there, they are met with resistance of bandits and demons awaiting them. The Warswords staged a frontal assault on the stronghold against the bandits while the "irregulars" and Sal targeted the demons. The Warswords secured the perimeter and the "irregulars" and Sal cleared the stronghold. They encountered a mad woman, more demons, and a strange beast-looking entity. Sal hanged back and checked behind them due to his lack of magic that everyone else seemed to have.
It was clear to Sal, however, that the stronghold was a trap. The resistance wasn't as strong as he believed it could be and everything seemed to convenient for them. They practically walked into it. Talia arrived late to the stronghold, but not without a shadow. She came to the stronghold which was supposed to be under the Warsword's security, but they were all dead. Seeing the bodies, she entered the stronghold to find anyone, and she met the irregulars and Lady Kharmina in the basement. Confusion and anger took over as Kharmina was informed that all the Warswords are dead and Talia's appearance was questionable.
Crow King came out of the darkness behind Talia, and he commaned Talia to fight against the survivors. Talia refused and suffered the electrifying wrath of the Crow King. Crow King escaped leaving the irregulars alive but divided. Knowing that they all walked into a trap, they readied themselves to face what lied outside. They all rushed out to face the danger and Lady Kharmina was the first to fall. The Crow King's reinforcements were heavily equipped marauders, battle mages, and one last demon. Without Talia and Sal's presence, the "irregulars" would have fallen to the Crow King's ambushers that had the power to overwhelm them. However, the surviving notable individuals were responsible for aftermath of what had occurred. A notable individual representing the temple took action in place of the deceased Kharmina and expressed that charges were to be brought against Talia and Sal.
The Trial of Sal Polani and Talia Reaver
At the conclusion of Kharmina's Folly, Talia and Sal returned to Sarshel with a notable individual representing the Temple, who brought charges against them: Demon Conjuration and Conspiring with an Enemy of the Crown. Talia and Sal turned themselves in without any fuss, and they were imprisoned until their day of trial. Nelra Silverstar, Royal Constable of Sarshel, was the main investigator on the case to gather information, evidence, and witnesses.
Pre-Trial
For a month, Talia and Sal were locked away in cells. Talia remained her resolute self and quiet; Sal was beaten by the guards almost daily and he had ate and drank little. Nelra questioned the two of them to gather their side of the story. Talia and Sal gave their statements about the charges, and then they were informed of what was to come next. It was there that it was made known that Talia, a non-Impilturan by tax or birth, was to be sentenced more harshly, regardless of evidence. Sal's status as a Impilturan by tax would confer a higher standard of proof and benefit Talia somewhat, but it was his status that made a trial possible. After speaking with both of them for a general summary of things, she spoke one on one with both of them to put on the pressure. Nelra had some concerns about Merin's involvement, or lack thereof. Regardless of her efforts, she had gathered what she needed from them and continue to investigate.
From Sal's impression of her, she seemed to be the kind but fair type of person as she made it known that Kharmina was a dear friend of hers, and she did her best to approach them in a non-bias manner. She offered aid for Sal's condition if he so requested.
She also informed the two of the creation of a new office in Impiltur to oversee public affairs in order to help prevent further incidences. She neglected to mention that Eldaereth Sharantar was holding the position of Chancellor in the office, the highest authority.
Investigation
Nelra investigated more on Sal and Talia, from going across Impiltur and seeking public information on the two, and her investigation proved fruitful due to a tip: a witness of Talia's demon summoning. A notable individual that had encounter Talia in her travels witnessed a demon in her company, and he confessed this information to Nelra upon request.
Some time during her investigation, Nelra confiscated items from Sal's property and items from Merin's stall. Nothing of interest was found in Sal's property, but she had found an unregistered artifact hidden in Merin's stall, along with an assortment of skulls. Initially told that Merin wasn't involved in the cooperation with Crow King, this new evidence pointed to her involvement with Talia's demon conjuration.
Judgement Day
After months of waiting around, the time had finally come for Talia and Sal to stand trial. They were marched out of their cells and into the square of Sarshel where a crowd of people awaited their arrival. Some notable individuals were in the crowds and/or lingering in the perimeter.
Nelra began the trial in the square, listing off the charges, and then she would give their sentencing. However, she did not. She belayed the sentencing by going off the normal guidelines and she allowed Talia and Sal to make their final statements regarding the matter.
Conspiring with an Enemey of the Crown was the one charge that seemed to be debatable due to circumstances. Talia and Sal restated how they were forced to cooperate with Crow King or lives would've been lost, and how they tried to sabotage Crow King, along with delaying him and preventing the rest of the "irregulars" from being slaughtered. However, Nelra did not budge from her position. It didn't matter if others died due to them moving against Crow King, or that Crow King was already inside of the Impilturan government and the temples, who easily could've prevented himself from being reported in the first place. The lack of action to report Crow King's move sealed their fate as conspirators regardless of any and all risk. Damned if they did, damned if they didn't.
When they moved onto the charge of demon conjuration, Talia explained that her deity bestowed summoned entities to her, and she used whatever summoned entity she got from her deity. Sal did not have the talent or blood to cast magic nor was not favored by a deity to cast magic.
Talia's statement alone made her guilty in the eyes of the crowd. She had basically admitted to conjuring demons and fruits began to fly. Nelra informed Talia that she had an eye witness account that supported Talia's ability to summon demons, and that she found a blood of demonic origin at Merin's stall. Nelra gave no ground to Talia's defense and she strongly reaffirmed Impiltur's stance on the presence and conjuration of demons. Perhaps a misstep or a part of her breaking from her duty for a moment, she made note of the fact that Talia used the demonic summons against evils.
Nelra had heard enough. The crowd was growing impatient. The charges were stated. The information was laid bare. The fruits and vegetables were thrown. She was ready to sentence the two.
Convicted
Guilty on all charges.
"May your hands be ready for that which fate has prepared for you in the darkness, may you be prepared to make the sacrifices needed to survive."
- Talia Reaver
"I hope you all are prepared for what is to come. Stand with each other and not against each other. For division will be the down fall of Impiltur. Show them what it means to be an Impilturan."
- Sal Polani
Talia and Sal were exiled from Impiltur, never to return, effective immediately. They accepted their verdict without much fuss, and they were given their things back with exception to contraband and Impilturan artifacts. Sal's status as an Impilturan was revoked. They had two options: be escorted to the northen mountain border or be allowed to sail off to Sembia. They chose to sail to Sembia.
The crowd had mixed feelings about the sentencing. Exile. No death sentence for the two of them. Was this justice? Was it fair? Was this mercy? Whatever it was, Nelra had to live with the decision, and the consequences, she made that day.
Sal continued to remain amicable despite the proceedings being over, and he requested that certain items would be given to certain individuals. Much like the rest of the trial, Nelra continued to be unorthodox in her ways, and she permitted the gifting of three items as long as they passed inspection. Sal went through his confiscated trunk, and he pulled out: an unusual scalemail, a set of gothic full plate, and a large stack of parchments. The unusual scalemail was to be delivered to Eldaereth for an unknown reason; the set of gothic full plate and the large stack of parchments were to be delivered to whoever was in charge of the Office of Public Affairs.
Talia also gifted a wicked looking wand to a notable individual, perhaps a symbol of their relationship or what was to come.
Once Talia and Sal stepped foot on that ship bound for Sembia, they didn't look back.
They only look forward into a blissful night in the Sea of Fallen Stars.
The Misadventures of Merin Jatlin
After returning to Impiltur from one of her many business trips, all was not as it seemed.
The Sunset in Sembia
Talia Reaver and Sal Polani arrived in Sembia where destiny was made....
Welcome to Impiltur
(Early Merin)
How They Got Together
When a man meets a lady... (Sal and Talia)
How We Got Together
Friendship is Magic. (Talia, Merin, and Sal)
Talia, Heroine
(Hideout for slavers)
How Come I Have To Sing About Our Deeds; Oh, Wait, I Am Bard
(Post-hideout)
A Haunted House Is Not A Home
(Founding)
Mr. Eld
Demon Staff
(Post-Attack on Orc Tower)
Remorhaz
Hot, hot
My Boyfriend, Dagul
Who was also hot
Business Per Usual
(Post-Remorhaz)
Talia, You Don't Have To Put On Your Armor
I got Talia a red dress. Sal seemed to like how it looked on Talia. Hahaha.
This Golden Armor Makes Me Look Fat But That's Okay I Make Things Go Zap
What Do You Mean They're Exiled?
(Trial-Post)Affiliations and Relationships
Elves
Temple
Mercenary Companies
Impiltur
Sembia
Crow King
Entheo Genesthe
Notes
To be added.
| Culture | |||
| Impiltur Lore | Locations | ||
| Society | Folklore, Superstition, & Legend • Impilturan Food & Drink • Impilturan Norms & Customs • Love, Life & Death in Impiltur | ||
| Religion | Holidays | ||
| Government | Nobility of The Easting Reach • Military of Impiltur • Impilturan Taxes & Licenses | ||
| Guilds | Guilds | None | |
| Groups | The Stalwart Guard • Red Vipers | ||