Chapter 3 [The Mystery at Longtree]

[reefwood]

The Lone Survivor

Sergeant Nero woke up alone several miles outside of Longtree. No sign of Corporal Preston or the few remaining privates under his command. They must had disappeared during the night. Lost. Just like the rest of his division.

The road that weaved through the hilly grasslands led to Verdas - a major city held by the enemy. The allied army was still days from reaching it. Nero could reach it in less than two but would almost certainly be taken captive. The alternative of waiting this close to Longtree was not appealing. The Sergeant decided instead to cut through the hills in hopes of meeting up with the army still on the move.

Nero walked all day and into the night. Fearful to sleep, he pressed on through the darkness until it overtook him. He was roused when the ground began to rumble. A fright lifted him quickly to his feet, but seeing the cause brought relief. A flood of soldiers, mounts, and armaments were washing across the land. Dressed in colors matching his. The allied army was here.

* * * * *

Nero spent the rest of that day in the back of a supply wagon, feverishly ranting and drifting in and out of sleep. That evening, he had finally gained some degree of lucidity, and was brought before command to report on his mission. He spoke clearly and gave a detailed account of everything that had happened. However, the commanders couldn't help but notice an unsettling shiftiness to Nero's eyes, the feeling that he was occasionally on the verge of either tears or laughter, the deck of cards he nervously shuffled as he spoke.

"Thank you, Sergeant," they said, casting meaningful glances at one another. "Your report will no doubt prove invaluable." But as soon as the young soldier was led away from their tent, their mutterings and misgivings began...

* * * * *

Nero was escorted back to the covered wagon as the sound of crickets began to fill the air. Within the hour, a higher ranking mage arrived to confiscate his equipment, "Your ordnance will be returned or replaced as deemed appropriate for your next assignment."

The remainder of the night brought no more visitors. His only company, the soldiers standing guard outside.

In the morning, Nero was standing before the commanders again. They were brief and direct. Quashing resistance and overseeing succession in Gharn was commendable. A job well done. The loss of an entire division at Longtree, however, was disturbing in more ways than one. Such a failure could not be overlooked. Nero was stripped of his command. Demoted from sergeant all the way back down to private. At least for now.

Furthermore, the army was set to arrive outside Verdas by noon. It would then spend what was left of the day preparing for the siege that would commence the following dawn first send an envoy to negotiate terms of surrender, but if an agreement could not be reached, preparations for a siege would be set in motion. It was not certain how long the city would take to fall, but those in charge did not want an unknown factor at their flank. During the night, a small but capable unit had been formed to investigate the matters at Longtree. Nero had been selected to join them. To provide firsthand knowledge and insights. They were to leave immediately.


[OOC: Compilation of various info from Boot Camp to have it all in one place. Please post any questions in the Boot Camp or OOC thread, as appropriate, to avoid clutter here.

Character Creation, 3rd-level

Ability Scores
Roll 4d6 six times, drop lowest. No re-roll.

Hit Points
Max hit points for 1st-level and gain hit points equal to at least half your class HD at all other levels. If the hit point total (HD+Con) rolled is equal to at least half the HD for that class, no change is made. Otherwise, bump it up to half the HD amount.

Military Skills
You must select two of the following skills as ones in which you've received special training and place at least one rank in each of them. The selected skills must be chosen at 1st level and cannot be changed, but the minimum one rank may be placed at 1st or 2nd level. Military skills are always considered class skills at every level and receive a competence bonus equal to half your character level.
Skills: Acrobatics, Craft (armor/weapon-related), Disable Device, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (military), Ride, Profession (military), Spellcraft, Survival, Use Magic Device

Military Feats
You may select up to two of the following feats as special bonus feats. You must meet the prerequisites, but you may select the feat(s) at 1st or 2nd level, and the same feat may be taken twice if it can be applied to different criteria each time.
Feats: Armor Proficiency (any), Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deadly Aim, Manybolt*, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Rapid Reload, Shield Proficiency (any), Skill Focus, Spell Focus, Toughness, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Weapon Proficiency (any), or any feat which grants a +2 bonus to paired skills (such as Alertness or Stealthy)
*house feat

---

Starting Equipment Packages, 3rd-level

Standard Combat
- Masterwork melee weapon (400 gp)
- Masterwork ranged weapon (600 gp)
- Masterwork armor (600 gp)
- Masterwork shield (400 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (500 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (300)
- Magic items (200 gp)
- Potion of cure moderate wounds (300 gp)
= 3,300 gp limit

Magic Combat
- Wand of any touch spell of a level you can cast (500 gp)
- Wand of any ranged spell of a level you can cast (500 gp)
- Potions of mage armor (600 gp)
- Potions of shield of faith (400 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (200 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (300)
- Additional magic items (500 gp)
- Potion of cure moderate wounds (300 gp)
= 3,300 gp limit

Hybrid Combat
- Melee attack item from standard or magic combat (450 gp)
- Ranged attack item from standard or magic combat (550 gp)
- Masterwork armor and mage armor potions (600 gp)
- Masterwork shield and shield of faith potions (400 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (350 gp)
- Additional magic items (350 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (300)
- Potion of cure moderate wounds (300 gp)
= 3,300 gp limit

---

Income Pool
This pool provides each soldier with an amount of wealth that can be spent on items. However, it is not actual coinage, and therefore, cannot be spent or used in any other way. Each day of service adds the following amount to an income pool:

[Character level x5] + Profession (military) modifier = daily wage in gp income pool

If a soldier does not have any ranks in Profession (military), that amount is treated as +0. Wealth from an income pool is earned at the end of each day, and it may be spent whenever the soldier is with the main army. Alternatively, it can be saved for later use.

PCs will start this adventure with 10 days of income pool that may be spent on equipment or saved.

---

Warforged
Racial traits remain the same as D&D 3.5, except for the following:

1) +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. The bonuses are for reasons mentioned previously, and the penalty to Cha seems to make more sense than Wis because I could see them struggling to interact more than being bad at perception and most other Wis skills.

2) No more Light Fortification because it seems to be based on construct immunity to critical hits, and that immunity has been removed in Pathfinder.

3) 2 slams (1d4) - one slam per free hand.

4) Craft (armorsmithing, blacksmithing, gemcutting, sculpting) - Repair Deadly Wounds: When repairing deadly wounds, you can restore hit points to a damaged warforged. Repairing deadly wounds restores 1 hit point per level of the warforged. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, add your Intelligence modifier (if positive) to this amount. A warforged can only benefit from its deadly wounds being repaired within 24 hours of being injured and never more than once per day. You must expend two uses from a warforged repair kit to perform this task, or else you take a –2 penalty on your Craft skill check for each use from the healer's kit that you lack. This action takes one hour and may be retried until successful.

---

Horse

N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6

Defense
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 9 (+2 Dex, +2 armor –1 size)
hp 15 (2d8+6)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1

Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Melee 2 hooves +3 (1d4+3)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Statistics
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 17 (21 vs. trip)
Feats: Endurance, RunB
Skills: Perception +6
Combat Trained (Ex) Hooves treated as primary attacks
Tricks: attack, come, defend, down, guard, heel

Load: 55 lb (Light 228 / Medium 459 / Max 690)
Equipment: Leather Barding (30 lbs), Riding Saddle (25 lbs)

[reefwood]

[OOC: Please post any questions in the Boot Camp or OOC threads.

NPC Corporal, 2nd-level Build

Ability Scores
Option #1 - Roll 3d6 six times, no re-rolls
Option #2 - Use the basic NPC array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8)
If option #1 is selected, then option #2 cannot be selected later. Once you roll, you must stick with those stats. That's how the gamble goes. Hence the safe option of the array.

Race
Any Pathfinder core race or warforged.

Class
Any Pathfinder PC core class or NPC class, but no multiclassing.

Hit Points
Roll for all HD. No min or max hp rules.

Income Pool
They are soldiers too, so their income pool works the same as PCs.


NPC Equipment Packages, 2nd-level

Standard Combat
- Masterwork melee or ranged weapon (350 gp)
- Masterwork armor (250 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (200 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mount (100 gp)
- Potion of cure light wounds (50 gp)
= 850 gp

Magic Combat
- Wand of any spell able to cast (300 gp)
- Potions of mage armor and/or shield of faith (150 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (150 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (100 gp)
- Additional magic items (100 gp)
- Potion of cure light wounds (50 gp)
= 850 gp

Hybrid Combat
- Masterwork weapon OR wand of any spell able to cast (325 gp)
- Masterwork armor OR potions of mage armor potions & shield of faith (200 gp)
- Nonmagical ammunition, weapons, armor, shields (125 gp)
- Adventuring gear, special substances, tools & skill kits, mounts (100 gp)
- Additional magic items (50 gp)
- Potion of cure light wounds (50 gp)
= 850 gp

These NPCs are meant to be less awesome than you. Also, they are meant to assist, but I didn't want players to rely or spend too much on them, which is partially why I waited this long to present this info. Hopefully, they give you an edge early on, but don't be surprised if they don't survive the adventure. Of course, if they do survive, they might be able to return in a future adventure, along with possibly advancing and earning spoils too.]

[reefwood]

Setting Off

As the army continued its eastward march toward Verdas, a small unit set off to the north. Cutting through tall grass and between rolling hills. Six riders made Longtree their aim. The meager village held no strategic advantage or any other obvious worth. Ill-tidings of unknown origin are what drew attention from the invading force. A massive siege was soon to commence, and it would be folly to leave a potential danger unchecked.

Nero - commander of a division sent prior to Longtree, and the only one to return - led the way. Among those lost was the younger brother of Corporal Brion Shaw. Sergeants Grolton and Sermon were tasked with command of this new unit, and each selected for it the best soldier from their respective divisions.

By noon, hooves turned onto the stone road that connected Verdas and Longtree. Four more hours passed quietly. However, the peace was broken when, around a bend, the enemy came into view.

A trio soldiers stood across the road with shields raised. Behind the them were several others. All with arms of some sort. Spears of various lengths strapped to most backs and bows held by others. Those on the front line reached for their blades...

The battle was long and fierce. None were spared wounds, but in the end, it was the enemy that lay vanquished. All were executed except for their apparent commander - a gnome left temporarily comatose from injury.

Once spoils were collected and the bodies given a final resting place, the order was given to set up camp on a hill along the road. The location had more than one merit. The flat top was wide enough for the entire unit and their horses. It provided a fair view of the surrounding land. Any traffic along the road was certain to be spotted. Furthermore, the higher ground could prove beneficial should the need to defend arise.

The sun would not meet the horizon for a few more hours, but recovery was now the priority. Sustenance was handed out to those who required it. Tools were set out in preparation to repair damage. During this time before sleep, the opportunity arose to reflect and share thoughts on the day's events.


[OOC: I have first listed the equipment found on each type of enemy. Below that is a list of everything with weights and those who I believe already claimed items. Feel free to correct me or make changes. But I do want everyone to have their load figured out for their characters and horses by next time.

Half-elf archer x2 - MW Chainshirt, MW Buckler, MW Composite Longbow [Str +?], Arrows x35, Longsword

Half-orc spearman x3 - MW Chainmail Armor, MW Longspear, Spear x2

Human swordsman x5 - MW Scale mail, MW Heavy Wooden Shield, MW Longsword, Shortspear x2

Gnome commander - MW Chainshirt, Darkwood Shield, MW Rapier, MW Shortbow, Wand of scorching ray [? charges], Wand of ?? [? charges]


MW Chainshirt [25 lb] x2
MW Scale mail [30 lb] x5
MW Chainmail Armor [40 lb] x3
MW Buckler [5 lb] x2 (-1 Brion)
MW Heavy Wooden Shield [10 lb] x5 (-1 Grolton)
MW Composite Longbow [Str +?, 3 lb] x2
Arrows x70 [10.5 lb or 3 lb per 20]
MW Longspear [9 lb] x3 (-1 Brion, -1 Grolton, -1 Sermon)
MW Longsword [4 lb] x5
Longsword [4 lb] x2
Spear [6 lb] x6 (-1 Sermon, -1 Crow)
Shortspear [3 lb] x10 (-9 Grolton)
MW Chainshirt [small, 12.5 lb]
Darkwood Shield [small, 2.5 lb]
MW Rapier [small, 1 lb]
MW Shortbow [small, 1 lb]
Wand of scorching ray [? charges] (Nero)
Wand of ?? [? charges] (Nero)]

[icnivad]

I thought the first set of spears were shortspears. I don't need any regular spears. I think Rabbit wanted one but thought the same. Change that to nothing, and shortspear to 9 to Sir Grolton and 1 to Sermon. (unless Rabbit wants more)

And I'd also like to take a MW longsword. A knight doesn't quite feel complete without a longsword.

[Rabbit]

The sun would not meet the horizon for a few more hours, but recovery was now the priority. Sustenance was handed out to those who required it. Tools were set out in preparation to repair damage. During this time before sleep, the opportunity arose to reflect and share thoughts on the day's events.

IN CHARACTER
After the troop secured the grassy hill Sermon and Crow, the two warforged, wordlessly remove their packs. Each begins to inspect itself and assess damage. They prod dints and scrapes along their construct bodies, then they test joint rotation in their limbs and necks. Eventually each pulls out a Repair Kit and begins repairs. Crow squats down into the tall grass attempting to keep his bulky frame out of the sky line.

Sermon takes a moment to look over his subordinates and Sir Grolton. Remembering that these were humanoids and required certain other types of repair Sermon tried to think how to address his team. Nothing comes to mind except what he heard other leaders say to their own troops a hundred times before.

“Good job today, lads.” Sermon says. “A battle to be proud of.”

[reefwood]

Dec 10, 2009 12:27:47 GMT -5 icnivad said:

I thought the first set of spears were shortspears. I don't need any regular spears. I think Rabbit wanted one but thought the same. Change that to nothing, and shortspear to 9 to Sir Grolton and 1 to Sermon. (unless Rabbit wants more)

And I'd also like to take a MW longsword. A knight doesn't quite feel complete without a longsword.

[OOC: You got it for Sir Grolton! And no longspear either? It's not listed with equipment, so I'm guessing not.

I remember Sermon specifically going for a longspear but don't remember him taking anything else, so Rabbit, just let me know if you want more than that.

Also, please keep any non-character posts out of this thread. Place them in the OOC thread, or include out-of-character info in brackets at the bottom of in-character posts.

*This post will self-destruct at the end of the day.*]

[icnivad]

Sir Grolton looks at the marvel of modern technology as if not quite understanding him. The knight seems distant, and aged. Even though his physical scars from the battle are healed, there seems to be something weighing him down. Lost in his thought, he glances around and realizes that he is the ranking officer here, and is expected to say something. He then looks back to the warforged, nods, then addresses the rest of the party.

"Yes, you all fought well. We vanquished overwhelming foes and came away nearly unscathed. We were hand picked because someone thought we would work well together, and we more than met their expectations. Sure there are a couple things we can work on to operate better as a team, but all in all we did well. But today is not a day we should be proud of." His eyes momentarily glance back to the site of the dead soldiers. "I can understand the need to kill a foe in the heat of battle, but what we did after the battle was over is unthinkable. We killed those men in cold blood, and I think that we should all bow our heads a moment and pray that they meet their gods with the honor they deserve."

After a moment of bowed heads, Sir Grolton looks up again, and addresses each member in turn. "Sermon, Crow," Sir Grolton looks between them as he says their names, as if not quite sure which one is which. "Today was my first time serving with warforged. You fought with all the bravery and honor that I have heard of your kind. Now that we have seen each other fight, perhaps in the future we can coordinate our attacks a little better. It seems you can take a beating, but deal little damage, which I can deal a tremendous amount of damage, but can not take as much myself. I also know little of your anatomy, and James tells me that traditional healing magic has little effect on you. Will your damages be ok?"

Turning to Brion. "Brion, I did not see much of what you were doing during the battle today, but James tells me that I live this very moment in large part because of you. That the waves of healing I felt come over me multiple times came from you. You are clearly an expert healer, and you have my gratitude."

"Nero... . Uhm." Sir Grolton does not seem to know quite where to start, or what to say, "Perhaps your failure today was my fault, I should have had your role as a spellcaster in today's battle more clearly layed out, and I should have made sure you were prepared with your gear before we set out from the main army. If you insist on running into battle, though, and would like, I would be happy to show you how to hold that sword so you are less likely to break your wrist when using it. You seem weak, but quick, and you can use that to your advantage. If you desire I can show you how to use your speed, rather than your strength to your advantage in a battle with a slower foe. But perhaps you would be better suited to stay behind the robo.." Grolton catches himself using the degrading slang and quickly corrects his mistake, "..warforged. And blast your foes from afar, or enchant the fighters with magic. Do you have what wands and scrolls you need now to do this?"

[Rabbit]

Crow looks up from his repair work once Sir Grolton begins to speak. When the knight mentions the disposal of the enemy troops; using the phrases like unthinkable and cold blood the warforged looks to the other sergeant, Sermon. Sermon stiffens at the knights words and returns Crow’s glance.

Once the First Sergeant finishes addressing the troops Sermon speaks.

“Sir Grolton,” Sermon says, “Their blockade hindered our mission. We took their lives and cleared the road. Our enemies return to the earth in their own fields. Things we desired…we now have. Is that not what makes us proud?”

[michael]

Brion Shaw sat, reminiscing on the day's battle. It was a good fight, to be sure, one to be proud of. Their opponents fought well, and those that wish it have no doubt secured their place in Gorum's barracks. The manner of their deaths, though, did disturb him. It is natural in war to kill a foe when capture is deemed unfeasible, but it should be done with the honor due a warrior. A man should be allowed to meet Death with his eyes open, not have it stomp his head as he lays unconscious in the mud. These warforged were effective warriors, he could not deny, but to make one sergeant? To put a machine in charge of men? You may as well put the sword in charge of its wielder.

"Speak of the devil..." he muttered to himself. Sermon moved towards the group, obviously about to speak. "Good job today, lads. A battle to be proud of.” It was a mockery of actual leadership, a line delivered with all the passion of a dead fish.

Luckily, his other commanding officer took the lead. His speech was decent, but showed too much. Sir Grolton seemed to be a good man, (with the power of a rhino!) but he wears his grief on his sleeve. Soldiers in war need a leader with confidence, not one who mourns for the enemy. Still, he knows the battlefield well, and his tactics are sound. Perhaps he simply needs encouragement. As soon as he's done talking to that blasted robot, I'll give him some words to boost his spirits.

[icnivad]

Sir Grolton gives Sermon a strong glance as if to say, We do not discuss this in front of the troops, and nods to the side. Once they are alone, "Yes, I understand the strategic advantage of disposing of them, but there is a human element, as well, that.." He pauses, thinking about how to phrase what comes next, "..that I'm not sure if you understand. Those were people, whatever nation they were associated with. They had families, parents, kids, lovers." With a pause to see if any emotion shows on the warforged face he continues, "For every one of them that does not come home tonight, there will be several who cry for them, their only console that their warrior received an honorable death in battle. We alone know the truth, that their deaths were not honorable, that they did not die fighting, but that they died after the battle was over--that we could have left them tied up, and gone on our way. It is important to remember, if we do not fight with honor, then we are no better than savages and are no more deserving of victory than a goblin."

After the commanders move to the side, Sir James, who was standing behind Sir Grolton during the speech turns to Brion. James is smart and meticulous, which is why Sir Grolton appreciates him as a steward, but he is young, has seen few battles, and his skills as a healer have not fully developed. "Brion, you are clearly much more versed in the healing arts than I. I noticed several times during the battle that you let loose a healing wave in the midst of chaos. Father Gordon taught me to be careful when healing in this manner so as not to heal the enemy. How were you able to do such a thing without affecting them? I noticed that one of our foes stood after he was knocked out. I can only assume that it was my fault, for losing track of where they were in the tall grass I think I accidentally healed him while trying to heal Sir Grolton."

[Rabbit]

Sermon quickly follows Sir Grolton’s gesture by stepping away from the others and listens intently to the sergeant’s words.

As the knight speaks about the families of those they killed in battle Sermon reflects on his own past meditations. That the world is an interconnected cobweb of actions and reactions. In their homeland there is ruler. All other men have chosen to follow him. This ruler craves this land they march upon. He covets it so much he is willing to spill blood to take it. To help achieve his ends He has enlisted craftsmen and arcanists to forge metals and bind magics to create the warforged. Sermon and his brethren’s existence is a direct result of men’s gluttony. Others march to the drums of war for different reasons, but it is always to serve one’s own agenda. Sermon’s thoughts make him aware of the wooded carving of a scythe hanging around his neck; a tribute to the goddess Urgathoa. As Sermon understands it; The warforged are not meant to have an agenda. They are merely arbitrators of greed.

“Those you speak of, the families of our enemy. Are they not also our enemy? You are correct that I do not understand these things fully…” Sermon looks towards Crow before speaking again, “Warforged are not without emotions. I have a deep fondness for Crow and Crow for me. But honor confuses me. I understand that many soldiers depend on it… to justify…” the warforged hesitates in his speaking, “I understand the importance of morale. If my actions have done harm to our unit I will take full responsibility for Crow and I. Crow was only following my orders.”

[icnivad]

"no-no. No harm done," Sir Grolton quickly assures, "It is a complicated matter, and perhaps I was wrong in questioning it." Reflecting on his actions after the battle the knight's tone changes as he reflects on his own mistakes. As far as he can tell, he made two. One was staying out of the decision to end the enemy, and the other was just now, in letting his questioning show in front of the troops. This was a matter for the two ranking officers to decide on their own, without the troops.

"I was certainly wrong in showing my questioning out there. I apologize," Sir Grolton says sincerely with a bow. "It will not happen again. I am new to command, and sometimes forget the weight my words and actions can have. But no, no harm done. I could have stepped in at any time, but I did not, so any fault of yours would also be a fault of mine." He looks out at the rest of the troops. It was a small crew, but it was their responsibility to lead them, both in battle, and in spirit. Sir Grolton was used to leading men in battle, as his sincerity, strength and skill tended to make those around him look to him even if he did not have a ranking position over them. But out of battle was another thing, and he was realizing the weight and responsibility of that position. "It was I who did the disservice out there. I do not believe we should have killed those men, but a much worse infraction was that I did not lead out there, but closed my eyes." It quickly becomes apparent that Sir Grolton's anger isn't actually directed at Sermon, but at himself for his inability to act. "I put you in an unfair position of having to make that decision on your own. It should not be my place to question you for making a hard decision when I did not have the guts to make it myself. Again, I ask you accept my sincere apology."

"You asked, though, about the families of our enemy. whether they were also our enemy. This is another complicated topic. What happens to those enemy civilians when we take over a new countryside? Why, they become our civilians then! And as our civilians, it then becomes our responsibility to defend them." Deciding to try another approach, Sir Grolton goes on, "Even if we think about this in a purely military sense, a dead enemy soldier is nothing. A live enemy soldier captured and returned to HQ has a chance of converting to our side. This chance is increased if we show them respect, and treat them fairly, as they have reason to see our ways are just. This also holds true for civilians. Once we take over a land, do you think a child who then grows to adulthood is more likely to join in our service if we held his father prisoner and released him once the front was past? Or if we slaughtered him leaving the child to be raised a bastard?"

[michael]

"Ah, James! I'd wanted to talk to you, tell you how well you handled yourself today! Sir Grolton has a valuable asset in you, lad." Brion's hand crashes across the steward's back. Although it was no doubt meant as a friendly motion, the jolt nearly sends the unsuspecting Sir James sprawling.

"Now, as to the healing? First off, don't concern yourself with the enemy you healed earlier today. Aye, he woke up, but woke up weak as a kitten. Far more often than not, our decisions have both good and ill consequences, and the good done by healing your commanding officer far outweighed the bad. As for making sure you're not put in that circumstance again, well, it should prove simple enough. Why, give it a battle or two, and you'll be every bit the cleric I am!"

As Brion instructs the squire, he makes occasional glances towards Sir Grolton. His sergeant seems to be much better composed, and handling the warforged well, but Brion knew the guilt must still reside within him. A talk should come before the next battle, but such a thing can wait until morning. Often, time and rest are better healers than any cleric, particularly of the wounds Grolton has received.

[Rabbit]

Sermon’s steal and adamantine face stares back at Sir Grolton as the knight speaks. When he is finished there is a silence as the warforged considers Grolton’s words. It has been said that the lacking features of warforged leave some humanoids feeling like are talking to a wall or a chair or a brick. Eventually Sermon speaks.

“I believe I follow you, Sergeant.” Sermon says, “The civilians and sometimes even the enemy resistance are more than just obstacles to overcome. They are also a part of victory’s bounty. Like a bridge. Why blow up an enemy’s bridge when you can make it your own?” Its voice conveys a pride in revelation.

“Regarding what has already transpired. The soldiers we have killed today. No apology from you is needed. Perhaps it is good that there are two sergeants on this mission. You will honor these men by leading them well.” Sermon gesture to the soldiers of their troop, “Should you live long enough I believe you will make a fine commander. And for now, when needed, I can be the tool you use to act and decide in the shadows. To do the things that must be done.”

Suddenly, the warforge straightens and solutes, “Permission to leave First Sergeant? I still have repairs to attend to.”

[icnivad]

Sir Grolton nods slowly watching the warforged carefully, starting to pick up on minor movements that he previously would have missed. Movements that show a bit of insight into the warforged emotions. Not enough to really understand what the man is thinking, but a start none the less.

"Permission granted. I think we've come to understand ourselves a bit better today. Thank you for taking the time to talk, if there's anything I can do to help in your repairs, don't hesitate to ask."

Walking back to the rest of the group, Sir Grolton seems much more composed. Holding his head high with the pride he is usually seen with all doubt has left his face. Internally, however, the knight knows that what they did was wrong. He is not sure that he will always have the strength to make the right decision, but he knows he must try. Quitting is not an option, and there is no time to grovel in his self doubt. For the sake of his command, he must go on.