Category Archives: Journal Entries

Journal entries for the Jade Regent campaign

October 20th, 2018

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

as told by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Starday, 25 Desnus

Today was one of the worst battles we’ve had in some time. It wasn’t the physical damage, although there was, of course, some of that.

It was the emotional damage, and how close we came as a group to fighting among ourselves.

But let me back up.

As I wrote earlier, in order to demonstrate both our intentions and our skills, we had agreed to liberate an outpost that had been taken over by bandits. The local daimyo seems indifferent to their presence. That is troubling enough, but Jiro revealed that he is familiar with that particular location, and there is is a vault there, which will yield only to one with royal heritage, that contains an ancestral weapon.

Ameiko said she intended to stay behind and learn more about these people and this area. I think, with Jiro also staying behind, I can trust that she’ll be in good hands. I remember hoping I don’t regret that decision; Suishen would be extremely vocal about it, I’m sure, should it backfire.

Defeating the bandits did not trouble us terribly. After our victories in the sleeping area, we continued slowly and carefully through the rest of the outpost. At one point we discovered a number of women that appeared to be enslaved or at the very least treated as servants; we cautiously introduced ourselves, reassured them and asked what might be ahead. We then tailored our actions to keep them safe behind us.

As we set out, Qatana again went in a different direction than myself and we again found the group split. She encountered both the magic user Kamuy-Paro, and the chief Gangasum, along with several more bandits. Meanwhile I and Zos had discovered the captive female were-tiger (TosKatun), and since she seemed a captive and non-threatening, we released her. It was Dasi who finally brought it to our attention that a major battle was developing around Qatana. Toskatun intercepted a bandit coming from her north and crushed him with her bite. Meanwhile, alerted by Dasi, I started heading to the other battle. By the time I got there, Qatana, Ivan and Radella had been whittling away at the bandits, and Kali had summoned a dire tiger. She also dropped a wall of force to keep the magic user isolated while we finished off the bandits and the chieftain. One of the bandits surrendered and saved his life by doing so, but everybody else paid the ultimate price. When the wall of force dropped, Kamuy-Paro immediately hit us with a dispel magic, which affected some of us worse than others. But he too fell, ultimately to one of Ivan’s many arrows.

Qatana questioned the disheartened bandit. He revealed there was only a small number of bandits remaining, and that the daimyo not only knew of them, not only permitted them to operate, but charged them a fee to do so. He was making money from it!

So we knew we had the guard in the remaining outlook, plus two on the wall, but otherwise we were done. The captured bandt, named Hashashi, amiably agreed to go along. Qatana, Radella, and I prepared to bring in the last few.

Before leaving we examined the corpses and retrieved

[646] MW scimitar
[647] MW dagger
[648] wand CMW [36]
[649] wand speak w/animals [30]
[650] armor [+2]
[651] wooden shield [+1]
[652] wooden holy symbol
[653] spell components
[654] ironwood key
[655] diamond dust (500gp)
[656] amulet of natural armor [+2]
[657] studded leather MW
[658] scimitar [+2]
[659] comp short bow [+2]
[660] potion, CSW
[661] leather armor [+3]
[662] white wooden shield [+2]
[663] MW dagger
[664] +2 belt of dexterity
[665] ironwood keys
[666] +2 lance

However, we were not very far into our tour when Qatana stopped suddenly with a briefly distant look, and then informed us that Ivan was injured – there must be a battle going on. I stayed to watch the bandits we’d collected so far and Qatana and Radella hastened back.

When they returned, they told me that the were-tiger had decided NOT to cooperate anymore and had attacked the group. Even with the fighters mostly gone, our group’s magic was more than the weretiger could handle. The weretiger, Qatana informed us, was now dead.

We returned with three more bandits for a total of four prisoners, although they were still laboring under the impression that this was a change of command, not a defeat.

Ivan, Radella, and Qatana wanted to give the rescued women a tour to not only show them it was now safe, but ask them more questions about the area. This was a good idea in general, but unfortunately the tale of their experiences there awakened old memories in Qatana, I fear. When one of the bandits hesitated at voluntarily entering a cage, Qatana exploded – and the man died, gibbering slightly.

He just died. Qatana had cast a spell at him and that killed him, with a horrified look on his face.

I turned to look at Qatana but it was as if nothing had happened to her. She again demanded the bandits get into the cages, and they did.

An alcove off to one side seemed like it might be the “vault” we’d been told about – it was a desecrated shrine to Shizuru, and one of the statues there had an inscription “touch me with your grace”. I touched it – nothing. Qatana touched it – nothing. Perhaps this actually will require Ameiko, as the current heir. The plan is to request (and retrieve) Jiro and Ameiko: Jiro to dispense with the bandits, and Ameiko to test this statue. If successful, that will reveal her to be a legitimate heir to Jiro … but perhaps this is exactly the way it should happen, to prove to Hiro what we’ve told him.

However …

At the moment that Qatana killed the bandit with a few words and a gesture, I was shocked. Kali looked like she felt strongly about it too, although she said nothing and did nothing. I couldn’t tell from her face if she was aghast or if she had the same thought but Qatana beat her to it. i did not expect that from either. We are a collection with different backgrounds and different motivations, joined by a few commonalities like Shalelu and Ameiko, but never have our differences been more lethal. I don’t know what the rest of the group felt about that, but I felt very uncomfortable executing a helpless prisoner. I’m surprised nobody else did or said anything, but perhaps they were shocked just as I was. Or perhaps I just learned something important about my companions. If Qatana had started casting another spell at another prisoner, I would have interrupted her to prevent the same.

Would I have drawn blood? I am troubled by a question for which I have no answer.

I sought out Qatana later, hoping to impress upon her the magnitude of what she had done. It had to be a gentle conversation, because I already know that Qatana would not accept lecturing. I’d hoped to get her to admit that her emotions had gotten the better of her, and that she felt some delayed remorse for her action. But sadly, she continued to assert she was justified in her action. I don’t know if she understood the point I was trying to make; she seemed more puzzled than angry with me.

My mind went back to the carnage I’d witnessed when the drow attacked our village, so many years ago. I’d vowed then to not be defenseless again …. but I had not anticipated the day when my skills would improve to the point where I myself could devastate an opponent in one or two swings. In the heat of battle it all seems perfectly justified, but when does the battle haze fade from your eyes? When is the correct action to ease up and be satisfied with victory rather than exacting vengeance? When does strategy dictate that all must die? Why has this not occurred to me before?

I will not sleep easy tonight.

Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal – Desnus 25, 4713

Desnus 25, 4713 (small hours, Seinaru Heikiko)

Qatana has gone to a very dark place and I don’t know what to do about it. Or even if I should do anything about it because, let’s face it, I am hardly an impartial judge here myself. I was visibly shaking not an hour ago, and my hands are still trembling now. The farther we travel the more it’s obvious that people are the same pretty much everywhere. We color our skin, dye our hair, change our clothes, but it’s all just a veneer over a core that is no different from one place to the next. In the face of anomie, people revert to their worst qualities and those qualities are as sure as the setting sun.

I fear that maybe mom is right. What if there really are souls that aren’t worth saving?

There were seven women held in slavery here. And not just held in slavery, but imprisoned in it, jailed at night in bamboo cages “because they had to sleep somewhere”. They range in age from their early teens to their mid twenties, all of them captured and forced into servitude, some with their families killed in front of them, and their villages burned. When we rescued them, one of the first questions they asked Radella was if we were their new owners. They literally thought they had been sold like property.

It’s no wonder Qatana is in a state. Hishasi’s guided tour of the fortress led her through Kaer Maga and emerged thirteen years in the past. That he’s still alive is not a measure of any sort of restraint, either hers or mine: it’s purely a practical decision, and even then, for me, it was a struggle. In a way, all the surviving bandits are fortunate that I prepared my spells to subdue rather than kill. Any attempts at instant justice would just ring hollow, and that played a significant part in my internal debate.

One of them was not so lucky. After we saw the defaced shrine, both Qatana and I had reached a breaking point. She acted first, and ordered the remaining bandits into one of the bamboo cages. One of them hesitated. She did something with her hands while speaking the words to a spell, and he screamed in abject terror and died on the spot. You might say it had a sort of chilling affect on the others. The insurgency ended before it even began; with a newfound obedience, they stepped inside and we locked them up.

And then, by gods, it got worse. Qatana brought in the recently-freed slaves and asked them if any of our prisoners had taken advantage of them. They were in no condition to answer anything, even seeing their tormentors locked in cages, but Dasi had a spell running and it told us enough. They’d all been abused, even the youngest of them, and every one of the men had taken liberties with someone. It was impossible to know who had victimized whom, but at that point what did it matter? If I’d had prepared my spells differently, I could have incinerated them all on the spot and walked away with a clear conscience.

And I probably am fortunate, there. Maybe. If I am being honest, I am still undecided. Maybe I should have done it, anyway.

Except that the others would have objected. And then I’d also have to explain myself to Ameiko. Not that she wouldn’t understand given that business with her half-brother, but it would be more the principle of the thing. I am supposed to be better than that, even if I’m not.

Would Ameiko understand, though? I have to wonder. Everyone knows Qatana’s story by now, and Ameiko knows it better than most, but only Qatana lived through it. Only Shalelu got to see it first-hand. And as far as I know, only she and I heard the stories—and only I got immersed in them, the details slowly trickling in over the years the followed.

It took months for Qatana to even open up at all. When I first saw her in Korvosa she was still in a state of denial over what had happened. I didn’t know what it was at the time, of course—what 10-year-old understands these things?—I just knew that it wasn’t normal, that she seemed both fully aware yet blissfully ignorant of what had happened in the preceding months. I didn’t know exactly what had happened to her, but I knew it was bad. Worse than what I had been going through. Worse than I was capable of imagining at that age. (Now? Not so much.)

So who would understand? Almost certainly not Olmas. He and Qatana had a very long talk after the incident at the cage. I don’t know what they said to each other, but neither left looking particularly happy so I can probably guess: he expressed concern that she was taking the role of jury and executioner against prisoners who had surrendered to us, and she didn’t understand why there was a problem. Rationally, I know he’s right, but I am having a hard time being rational. Maybe that’s the point, though. Do we really make the best decisions when we can’t separate ourselves from crime and victim?

But it’s not like we’re serving up vigilante justice here, either. She even said their fate would be decided by Jiro. As the ancestral owner of this place, and in the absence of a daimyo who gives two shits about his villeins, I think that’s more than fair. And, so what if she had to make an example of one? It was obviously necessary. I mean, if killing almost everyone here wasn’t proof enough that we should be taken seriously, then gods only know what they would have tried to do when we weren’t watching. At least now we can be relatively certain they won’t oush their luck. Or test our limits.

We’ve had enough surprises for one day as it is, so my patience for those is paper-thin. The women we rescued said there was another girl being held captive, one they referred to as the “cat lady”. She was, of all things, a were-tiger, kept as the personal slave and concubine of the “scary man”, the druidic shaman Kamuy-Paro. Turns out? She wasn’t a slave, or held against her will. So. Surprise!

She put on a good act, though. Zosi found her chained to a bed in Kamuy-Paro’s personal quarters, and she played the part of the unwilling prisoner and play thing of Kamuy-Paro to a tee, even going so far as killing one of the bandits that got in her way. She had convinced all of us of her story, captured and forced to be bitten by a were-tiger to inflict the curse upon her for his amusement (for all we know, that might actually be true). But, really, she was just biding her time, looking for a chance to strike. Considering she was a willing submissive in whatever depraved sexual fantasies Kamuy-Paro was living out, she took the evidence of his death—that would be his still-bleeding-out corpse—rather well (which, I suppose, should have been a clue). It wasn’t until Zosi and Dasi informed her of their plans to make maps from his skin (eesh!) that would “reveal his secrets” that she couldn’t sustain the ruse any longer. I guess they weren’t specific on what those secrets entailed, and there were secrets she wanted keeping. Like, who she fucking was.

She attacked us while Olmas, Radella and Qatana were on their tour with Hashasi. She probably thought she could take us. She was wrong. Surprise! I conjured a pit underneath her, and then Ivan gave her a push with a spell, and down she went. She couldn’t get out, especially after I covered the walls with sleet and snow. Zosi dropped bomb after bomb on her until the screams went silent.

Good riddance.

Gods, these people. Kamuy-Paro was a lunatic who we’re told set people on fire. Their chieftain, Gangasum, built his fiefdom like an Ulfen raider short on manners. The guards used their slaves as personal toys, and killed them out of hand (the women said that they haven’t seen the stable boy in a while; when asked about that, Hishasi said, “We need a new stable boy”). And, of course, all of them found sport in desecrating a statue of Shizuru, which tells you plenty about where they stand.

And the daimyo turned a blind eye to all of it. So to hell with him.

(predawn, Seinaru Heikiko)

The women warned us not to enter the secret garden at night. Come to think of it, Kamuy-Paro said much the same. This was Kamuy-Paro’s rule, and he knew what he was talking about. Based on what we learned about him? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was somehow responsible.

I have no idea what those things were. It was like the a pile of firewood just stood up and attacked, ignoring all of our magic as if it wasn’t there (except, unsurprisingly, for magical fire). This makes me suspect they were some form of golem, but who knows? Now they are kindling and splinters so it hardly matters.

Ivan and Radella are talking to the women and helping get them settled in. I have not been included in that discussion because I am quite obviously not in a state where I can be a calming influence. Right now, I am not what they need, and even if I tried I’d almost certainly make things worse rather than better. It’s for the best I stay out of it.

It’s been a long night. The sun will be up soon, just in time for us to go to bed. Later today, I teleport with Qatana to fetch Ameiko and Jiro because we suspect we’ll need the Seal to open the vault. They will come back on Qatana’s spell since it’s faster than the chariot I can conjure. I’ll teleport back because I am impatient and not likely to be good company.

And we have a new problem to worry about. While we were fiddling around in Kamuy-Paro’s garden, my spell that detects magical scrying alerted me for just a couple of minutes.

Someone is watching us.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s Journal for Desnus 25, 4713

Starday, Desnus 25, 4713 early morning

The Osogen Grasslands, Bandit Fort

After “clearing out” the barracks and having lost the advantage of surprise we listened for the sound of any approaching bandits. Standing at a narrow window I could neither hear no see anything.

“This won’t do at all,” Timber said, and I agreed.

Casting Light on a copper piece I tossed it far out into the courtyard.

Badger quietly squeaked, “There’s nothing there.”

One thing we knew from experience was that you did not give your enemy time to prepare — at least not if you could help it.

Radella crept down the stairs into the dimly lit hallway below. She heard soft voices coming from behind a curtain, and a gruff voice calling from further away, “Calm down, calm down!”

Presently the face of a young woman peered out from the curtains. She had not seen Radella, and she quietly stepped out across the hall and behind another curtain, followed by half a dozen other women… girls, actually. Radella found a kitchen area from where the girls had fled.

So probably servants or slaves.

We all joined Radella downstairs and could hear the nervous twitter of the girls behind the curtains.

Radella, Kali and Ivan went in to talk with the girls, hoping to calm (and quiet) them down and find out what they knew of the bandits in the fort.

They were slaves and hopeful that we would set them free. The leader of the bandits was a well muscled man named Gangsum, and his second in command was a “scary and mean” man named Kamui Paro. Apparently the latter had something they called a “cat-woman” as his slave.

Meanwhile Zos, Olmas and I spread out into the hallway. Zos went to a western wall and paused, while Olmas scouted the area beyond a doorway to the south. I went north and found a room with a curtain partitioning off the northern half and a passage to the west.

The soft sound of movement came from behind the curtain, and just as Pookie said, “Uh, oh,” a bandit pulled back the curtain halfway revealing a man standing at the back of the chamber pointing at me.

A bolt of lightening flashed from the ceiling and struck me dead on. “You’ll pay for that!” Star shrieked as I cast Debilitating Portent on Kamui Paro.

But payback would have to wait, for at that moment a large hairy (“And very smelly,” added Takoda) man ran out from the passage and attacked. And thus I was introduced to Gangsum, the bandit chieftain.

I had managed to bring both of the bandit ring leaders into one convenient killing zone. As I contemplated my next move I could hear Dasi singing a song of encouragement out from the darkness behind me.

I gave Gangsum my best “Beorn grin,” but I suspect it was lost on him.

Arrows flew in and struck Kamui Paro, but bounced off with little affect. None the less it was comforting to know that Ivan was with me. Radella rushed out from the darkness and managed to dodge a zap of lightening.

Suddenly Kamui Paro and the entire area behind the curtain vanished in swirling clouds of mist — but the mists stopped at a solid invisible wall of force. “That wall is mine,” Kali called out.

Radella hacked at Gangsum as a pair of bandits closed in, and so I used Sign of Wrath to push them away and inflict damage on them and Gangsum. One of the bandits ran back into the passage, but the other foolishly rushed in, allowing Radella to end his miserable existence.

“And don’t do it again,” Beorn screamed, “I swear I’ll rip off your head and…”

I quickly interrupted, “Uh, Beorn, I think that one’s dead.” Seriously, if you let Beorn get wound up things get ugly fast. He stopped yelling, but I could tell he was already agitated… more than usual.

At that moment Olmas arrived and clove a massive gash into Gangsum’s forehead. Somehow the bandit leader managed to stagger back and say, “You swine!” before collapsing into an expanding pool of his own blood.

Suddenly the other bandit ran back into the chamber but stopped dead at the sight of Gangsum’s bloody corpse. I said, “Drop your weapon or die!” and he swiftly complied. “Now go stand facing that corner.” He did.

Then a tiger pounced into the room. “The tiger is mine,” Kali called out.

Kali dropped her Wall of Force, and instantly we were hit with the effects of a powerful Dispel Magic spell. I slowly settled an inch or two onto the floor as Huffy lamented, “Aww.” Damn, I reallty liked Overland Flight.

But Kali had responded with her own Dispel Magic and the fog cleared, revealing Kamui Paro standing nearby.

Ivan quickly sunk several arrows into him before Radella sliced into him. Kamui Paro changed into a fire elemental and so I cast Protection from Energy on those of us nearby, but there was no need. Another flight of arrows from Ivan changed Kamui Paro back into human form: a dead human form.

Then Zos showed up with a half woman, half tiger in tow. This was the cat-woman slave the girls had told us about, and Zos had befriended her and set her free. In turn she had nearly bitten in half one of the bandits. Zos discovered that Kamui Paro had exposed her to a were-cat, who bit her, and thus she was now afflicted with the curse. We promised to look into breaking the curse as soon as we had a chance.

I then questioned our surviving bandit, Hashasi. He said there were no traps in the fortress that he was aware of, and then described where the rest of the bandits were. By our calculation we had slain all but four: the two on the main gate, the one at the southern lookout, and Hashasi.

We did the usual search and seizure of belongings.

646 master-work scimitar
647 master-work dagger
648 wand of Cure Moderate Wounds (36)
649 wand of Speak with Animals (36)
650 +2 horn lamellar armor
651 +1 light wooden shield
652 wooden holy symbol to Lady Nanbyo
653 spell component pouch
654 ironwood key
655 diamond dust (500gp)
656 +2 amulet of natural armor (on were-tiger)
657 studded leather armor (on were-tiger)
658 +2 scimitar
659 +2 composite short bow (+3 STR)
660 potion of Cure Serious Wounds
661 Armor of the Tireless Warrior
662 +2 light wooden shield
663 master-work dagger
664 +2 Belt of Incredible Dexterity
665 set of ironwood keys

Hashasi then took Olmas, Radella and I on a tour so we could inform the remaining bandits that we had taken over control of the fort.

But we had not gone far before I realized that Ivan had been wounded. I looked at Olmas and said, “Status, Ivan’s injured! We have to run, but keep your eye on him,” pointing at Hashasi.

We arrived back at the others to find a large pit in the floor and Zos standing off to one side, throwing in blazing flasks of alchemical fire. There were shrieks of pain from the pit, but Zos yelled several choice words in response and kept on throwing in the fire until the pit was silent. Zos is usually so calm and quiet but something had obviously pissed him off.

It was the cat-woman. Zos had announced his intention to use his skin-mapping skill on Kamui Paro to “learn all of his secrets,” which the cat-woman took literally. Apparently there were some secrets between servant — er, pet? — and master that she did not wish to be known, and so she turned on Zos and the others.

I turned to Hashasi and with a, “Hmm, okay, shall we resume our tour?” we set off again.

We passed through various rooms, including an armory, where we grabbed a very nice lance before heading on.

666 +2 lance

In the next chamber were three bamboo cages along the west wall and shelves of cured meats along the far wall. I asked what the cages were for, and Hashasi said, “The girls have to sleep somewhere.”

I felt a low growl from Star and the string of profanities Beorn had been muttering became more vocal.

Passing through the stables I asked who cared for the horses, and Hashasi paused before replying, “Uh, we, uh, we need a new stable boy.” I then remembered that the girls had mentioned that they had not seen the stable boy for several days, after Kamui Paro had been angry with him.

At the top of a set of stairs Hashasi called out, and then introduced us to the bandit on duty at the lookout. It took only a moment upon learning about the deaths of Gangsum and Kamui Paro for him to turn to us and hail us as the the new bandit overlords.

We then repeated the scene with the two guards on the gate, and then returned to the others.

Hashasi had mentioned a shrine that was behind the panels in Kamui Paro’s bedroom, and so we all gathered there.

Once it had been a magnificent holy place filled with elegant carvings with delicate tracings of patterns lining the walls. Now it was a room filled with broken statuary and crude graffiti carved into the plaster. At the far end a defaced statue of a Tien god, Shizuru, stood armless. It had once held a sword, and when I asked what had happened here Hashasi boasted about how he and his mates had carved the place up and hacked at the statue of Shizuru.

When I asked about the sword he replied stupidly, “Uh, I dunno. I think we sold it.”

I exploded, “Fool! Idiot! You’ve destroyed something that held more value than this fortress and everything in it. You are the new stable boy. Go!”

After Hashasi had left I used Comprehend Languages to read the cartouches still visible on Shizuru’s armor.

I read the name “Hirobashi Akikaza” and also an inscription that read, “Empress of Heaven, touch me with your grace”. We deduced this was the secret vault and both I and Olmas tried touching it, but nothing happened. So much for being scions of the Amutatsu line.

Back in the hallway Ivan had been talking with girls and found that they had been taken as slaves from various bandit raids throughout the area. For some it had been long enough ago that they had forgotten any other way of life. All of them seemed timid and reluctant to discuss the details of the treatment, but clearly they had been used and abused in every way possible. The truly sad thing was that they seemed to think of this as normal.

For a moment the room faded away and I saw myself back in Kaer Maga. All of my friends, even Beorn, became deathly silent, but I could sense their contained fury. Coming back to the present I saw Kali shaking with rage.

“What shall we do with the remaining bandits?”

Yes, well that was the question. A message had been sent to Ameiko telling her of our victory here, and the plan was for Kali and I to go fetch Ameiko and Jiro and some of the others later on today. But we didn’t want the remaining bandits to flee or do some other horrific acts while wandering free. And there were still several bands out on raiding parties that we did not want warned when they returned.

I eyed the cages in the room and said, “Leave them to me. I think Jiro will need to decide their fates.”

Radella and Olmas joined me and we gathered our quartet of bandit followers in the room with the cage. “You need to go in here and wait,” I said, indicating the nearest cage.

“Um, I don’t know about this,” one of the bandits began.

There was a blast of rage from Beorn and the bandit cried out, his face contorted in horror, and he fell to the floor dead.

“Get. In. The. Cage.” I said again, my voice shaking with anger.

The remaining three got in the cage and we closed and locked the door behind them. They looked a little too smug for where they were, and Timber whispered, “Well, they are bandits and I think that lock won’t keep them in there for long.”

I invested ten minutes in casting a Glyph of Warding before the door, making the gestures as elaborate as possible. I then pointed at the dead bandit on the floor and said, “Anyone who leaves this cage will face the same fate.”

Judging from their reactions I guessed that they did not recognize the spell I had cast and believed me.

With the bandits restrained we next decided to check out the way into the grove. A secret door in the wood working shop opened onto a short tunnel that led out into the grove. It looked like nothing more than that: a place where a druid could relax…

Except for several piles of stacked firewood that unexpectedly had magical auras. Thinking perhaps that they were self-lighting bonfires I approached one only to have the wood spring up into three vaguely humanoid shapes.

I tried to confine them within a Blade Barrier, but they passed through with no harm.

“Hey, they can’t do that!” Takoda protested. And yet clearly they did, and when they slammed you with their woody fists they hurt. But the creatures were made of wood, and each of them fell quickly with the application of magical fire.

With only a few hours left until sunrise we decided we had best rest. We only need two hours sleep each and so one pair of watches would be all that was required. I needed to think before I could rest and so joined the first watch along with Ivan and Olmas.

I felt the need to talk with someone, and Ivan was on his way back inside to check on the girls and so I walked alongside him and began to talk.

We’ve come a long way and seen a lot of different cultures since leaving Sandpoint. I think even Pookie has been a bit overwhelmed with all that we’ve encountered. But that has made me wonder why I have stuck with the group for so long. I’ve made more than enough money to see the world, which was my original goal. This is Ameiko’s journey and not mine, and I suspect if it were not for Shalelu and you and Kali I would have left some time around Kalsgard.

From what I’ve seen of Tien thus far I can’t say that I am impressed. Self serving despots with no regard for the common folk seem to be the norm here — even before we arrived in Minkai, and so we can’t blame everything on the Five Storms. And now it seems slavery may be a culturally accepted thing here in Minkai itself.

To be honest I am not too thrilled to be working toward replacing the oni with the ”rightful heir” unless the ”rightful heir” has an interest in doing more than keeping the status quo. I want to have a chat with Ameiko after we’ve settled the matters with Jiro’s family fortress.

Ivan stopped and turned to me and replied.

I too have been struggling to continue a quest if it only means changing the people at the top that mistreat the common folk. I have been trying to figure out if Ameiko has a good heart and is willing to stand up for them.

I don’t care about the ”rightful heir” thing. I am more worried about the Oni spreading this across the world. I have to admit I would really like to know Ameiko’s position on this as well as Jiro and Hatsue. If they have no regard for common folk then this Minkai is doomed.

Right now I feel like we should take these seven women away from this god forsaken country to somewhere that they can be treated with respect.

Hearing Ivan call Minkai “god-forsaken” was an eye opener. As an oracle he does not follow the doctrine or whims of a single god, but instead lets the voices of multiple deities guide him. For him to think of Minkai as forsaken by the gods was not a good sign.

As for the future of the girls… I didn’t know, and answered in turn.

I fully understand the sentiment, but I wonder if the shock from placing the girls suddenly into a dramatically different culture would add more stress to their lives. But maybe I’m underestimating them. They’ve had to be strong to get through the lives they’ve been leading here.

Let’s see what Jiro and Hatsue have to say about slavery and Minkai. Perhaps it has arisen only since the oni have been in control, which has been for more than a generation now. And even if it was culturally acceptable before the Five Storms, I find it hard to believe that Ameiko would condone it — while she may be from a royal family, she was raised a commoner the same as us. I think the question might be, what would she be willing to do to put an end to it?

Ivan nodded once and continued on towards the room where the girls were sleeping. I turned left and went over to where the bandits were caged.

They were still there. I sat down with my back to the wall and let the wonderful smell of smoked meats waft over me.

“Bacon,” Pookie sighed with delight.

Soon thereafter Olmas walked over and sat down beside me. Apparently he too had something on his mind.

Qatana, this journey has gone for many months now and while it’s been challenging at times, one thing I’m very glad about is that I’ve gotten to know everyone in our party so much better than I did at the start. That includes you, and while I still don’t know all the secrets you keep inside your head, I know that each and every one of them contributes to you being you.

Lately, I’ve been concerned. Specifically, today I’ve been concerned. I know you’ve got a lot going on in your head but you’ve been more… surprising than usual. I’d like to understand. Can we spend a little time bringing each other up to date?

Concerned? What the hell was Olmas talking about? I answered cautiously.

What? I’m mostly the same as I ever was and mostly acting the same way. I do not know what has happened today that raised your concerns. We had a lot to do dealing with what could have been an overwhelming force of foes. And with the discovery of slaves — those young girls used as sex slaves — I think our actions were more than restrained and fair. Some of the bandit fiends still live unharmed, and any bandits that arrive from their patrols will join them.

Olmas replied.

Neither of us is the same, really. I’ve gained in proficiency at both riding and fighting, and you have gotten more skilled too — I’m constantly amazed at the new spells you come up with.

I’m now capable of killing somebody with a single blow… and you with a single spell. At times that’s convenient… but it’s also a little scary. We can heal injured people that we were ”overly skillful with”, but once they’re dead, fixing any errors in judgment are, well, quite a bit more expensive.

So when I say you’re surprising, I guess I mean is your reactions have been more deadly. As have mine, no doubt… but I feel that perhaps we should be using more restraint and stepping a bit more carefully since our skills now carry more consequences. What do you think?

What I thought was, “What the hell is this about? Does he feel guilty for slaying the cruel and unjust, and now he wants, what to give up Ameiko’s quest, or stop harming anyone else?” But what I said was something else.

I have come to realize that in these strange lands that if not for us there would be no justice for folk who are unable to defend themselves. The people who should protect the innocent are either unwilling or unable.

As such I have no patience for those who choose to prey on the weak, and have no issue being the arbitrar to mete out justice. And I have no time to waste on thugs that when show mercy try to parley for terms. The time for thinking about justice was well before they decided to pillage, loot and rape those who were weaker than themselves.

The area is now free from a large band of state endorsed brigands and an ancestral home has been returned to its rightful owner. I’m fairly sure I am ok with those consequences.

Olmas pressed on.

Ultimately, getting Ameiko where she ought to be should address that. But in the meantime, yes, the land we’ve seen so far is essentially lawless.

I would ordinarily agree with you. Here, it seems though, there is a more appropriate arbiter for justice… I’m thinking of Jiro. While he may decide much the same, I think the decision should be his. Clearly any who were killed in battle are not covered by this thinking, but those who are left… we could learn more about Jiro by seeing how he treats them.

I am uncomfortable with showing mercy to these bandits only to then kill them individually. Having captured them instead of battling them, I think we would learn more by handing them to Jiro.

And that said, yes, I think we still have much more work ahead of us in bringing even the hope of justice to these people. I want to make sure that in returning that to them, we don’t also usurp their authority and right to rule themselves.

Wait, now he wants us to be lawful? Like that’s done anyone any good!

These bandits were operating under the approval of the regional government. You can’t get much more lawful than that!

Rule themselves? What do you think we’re doing here? We are replacing one autocratic government with another autocratic government. Ideally one that will act more kindly and will look after the masses, but if we are successful the only ones doing the ruling will be Ameiko and those she appoints.

Jiro will indeed determine the fate of the survivors. Thus far the only only bandit killed after our initial onslaught was the one breeding dissension. Our position here is not secure enough to tolerate this for one moment, and by making an example of him we’ve effectively subdued the remaining three to behave until Jiro can decide their fates.

And still Olmas persisted.

We agree that Jiro is the right authority. It may seem odd to ask this of a follower of Groetus, but before you end the life of one who is otherwise completely under control, please consider if there is a better earthly authority who should pass judgment. I don’t want our actions to appear, at least to uninformed onlookers, to be as lawless and independent as those we are ridding the area of.

Again with the concept that lawlessness is bad. Does he not have eyes that see? And why does Jiro suddenly have the right to decide what’s right and fair when he has been powerless to do anything about these abuses? I simply wanted to ask him what should be done with the bandits to see how the local culture deals with people like these.

These bandits were operating under the authority of law. The law has been doing absolutely nothing good for the local folks, and for all of his talk of honor, Jiro has done precious little to help them. Perhaps a little lawlessness is exactly what is needed.

We are the ones who have made the difference, and we are the best authorities here to ultimately decide the fates of those whom we defeat.

I wish to consult with Jiro because we are restoring his ancestral home to him. We. Not him. Not the local authorities. Us. I am also curious about the local customs of Minkai and whether slavery is an accepted part of their culture. I have no desire to overthrow one set of tyrants to simply install another.

Olmas was quiet for a moment and I thought, “Great, we’re done here.” This seemed like a pointless conversation. But Olmas had more to say.

You have given me things to ponder on. But since you used the word ”we” I would ask that we make that word work. I’m not sure we as a group had agreed on how to treat/punish/adjudicate the prisoners. We may be at that point now, but may I suggest that we make sure going forward that agreement has been reached before taking action?

So what, he wanted us to vote or form a committee for every action we take? That seemed absurd and I said as much.

I used the word ”we” both as in each of us individually and as the group as a whole. We already trend toward discussing issues and plans when there is time, and I see no reason for that to stop. But we also have a history (and need) to act individually when situations demand it. We seem to have found an elusive balance between these two that have allowed us to work together extremely well and to be incredibly effective as a team. I’d hate to disturb that equilibrium by making promises that I cannot keep.

Olmas looked perhaps a bit disappointed… I don’t know, maybe instead he was relieved to be done with this conversation. I know I was.

He stood up and said, “We don’t talk often enough! This has been helpful.” and walked away.

Was it helpful? I found it more puzzling than anything else.