She shrugs. "Eh. All the standard boring soldier stuff."
She nods in greeting. "I'm Kim."
You meet a lithe woman in chain mail. She has a rapier and bow at the ready.
0
stnd
25
""
0
stnd
0
""
0
stnd
0
""
0
stnd
0
""
0
stnd
0
""
0
stnd
0
""
0
stnd
0
"I would not serve rats to humans. They would not be liking them, and I want all of them to myself!" He purrs hungrily.
0
rats
6
"They say I like wanting to put rats in the stew. But I would not do that. The rats here are not good enough." You can't tell whether he's joking or not, and you decide not to think about it.
0
joki
6
"I cook. It is strange, working for human tastes, I do do OK. Though sometimes people are joking."
0
earn@empl
6
"I wanted to see this land. I travelled this Great Cave everywhere, but with the battles, I needed a place to stop. I ended here, where I earned employing." He gives you a proud, toothy grin.
0
peop@trav
6
He makes a soft purring noise. "This is where I ended up. I wanted to leave my people, to do travel, you see."
0
cook@fort
6
"I am honored to do the cooking at this fort."
He bows to you. "I am Mawrrr."
What a rare sight! It's a Nephilim, wearing an immaculately clean apron.
0
stnd
6
"Just be careful when you head east."
"Magical cat people. A bunch of them came from the surface with the Empire, attracted to easy prey and easy loot. There's a fortress full of them to the east. Fortunately, they don't come here, so you're safe from them now."
0
raks
5
"When they arrive. The rakshasi keep killing off the merchants."
0
supp@dhar
5
"I'm the quartermaster. I get the supplies from Dharmon. Keep the weapons sharp. That sort of thing."
0
toil
5
"In a place like this, you need to rest when you can. You can go a week without seeing a single foe, and then it'll be non-stop fighting for two weeks. You grab quiet when you can."
0
brea
5
"I'm taking my break before returning to my toil."
She doesn't get up. "I'm Angarahad. Sit and relax."
There is a young, pretty woman sitting below the tree. She has a nasty, curved knife at her belt.
0
stnd
5
""
20
heal
4
"There are strong warriors here, and powerful mages. However, I am the only one who can heal. Let me know if that is something you need."
0
prot
4
"We don't know what manner of bizarre creature will come from the west next. Demons? Undead? Mutant giants? We don't know, and we prepare the best we can."
0
spel@atta
4
"I am storing my energies to cast spells should we be attacked."
0
prep@myse
4
"I am preparing myself. People here need my protection."
"I am Mother Madge."
You meet a holy woman. She paces about, praying silently to herself. She seems agitated.
0
stnd
4
"He's a solitary man, but he often welcomes visitors and potential students. He sometimes even teaches those with the willingness to learn and the money to pay."
0
visi@taug
3
"He lives in solitude now, hidden away in the ruin to the north. I will go visit him soon - He taught me well, and I owe him that much."
0
reti
3
"The finest bladesman I've ever had the pleasure to know. A sad story, really. He finally tired of the bloodshed, and retired."
0
mast@kevt
3
"That was what Master Kevtar told me to do - always keep my blade sharp."
0
shar@swor
3
"Sharpening my sword."
He continues running the sharpening stone along the edge of the beautiful blade. "I'm Blademaster Deltarian."
The first thing you notice is the long steel blade, shining and sharp enough to cut granite. The next thing you notice is the man sharpening it: short, muscular, and with a wickedly pointed black beard. He gives you a momentary glance.
0
stnd
3
9
61
"He said that, to find him, you must look behind the painting in the eastern guest room."
(You take note of this.)
2
hidi@secr
2
"Before he was gone, though, he told me the secret of his hiding place, should an Exile need to find him."
Fraitus looks startled. He looks around, then bends close to you. "Yes, he came here. He is in hiding below - he is convinced the Empire wishes to destroy him. He came here one night, and the next morning he disappeared."
0
thom
2
"This fort can fall, but it will take a mighty blow to defeat it, probably too mighty."
"The central hall is filled with runes enchanted with powerful defensive magic. I helped create them. When we wish, anyone touching them is blasted to dust. Our walls are magically hardened as well."
0
rune
2
"This fort is well-defended enough to withstand their assaults, especially because of the runes."
0
empi@atta
2
"Nothing complicated. Mass hastes, strength spells, and such. Things for when the Empire attacks."
0
spel@defe
2
"I am preparing spells of defense."
"I am Fraitus."
There is an aging wizard here, reading rituals from a dog-eared spell book. When you approach, he closes the book and looks up at you.
0
stnd
2
""
141
adve@miss
1
"That reminds me, I'm always looking for adventurers to go on missions."
"They haven't attacked in a while, which is strange, since, while the Empire doesn't have many troops to the west, if they broke past us they could run wild through the great cave. So I'm preparing our defenses, and looking for opportunities to attack."
0
empi@atta
1
"There's a huge gate blocking access, and we can't get anyone through it. I suggest against a frontal attack, unless you want to die."
"A huge fort. Black stone, black magic. We know nothing about what goes on inside, except that prisoners that go in never come out, and it gives our priests splitting headaches to just get near the place."
0
akhr
1
"Kothtar is a site of magic and magical experimentation. Strange creatures come from there, including huge, amazingly strong mutant giants. Not the sort of thing an ordinary soldier has to deal with."
0
koth
1
"There are two large Empire outposts to the west, Kothtar and Akhronath. They are very unusual places."
0
unus
1
"I don't like uniforms, and I don't like uniform thinking. The Empire's forces in this area are unusual, and we this fort needs to be unusual to deal with them."
0
styl
1
"Our defenses are much better now then they were when this fort was destroyed. They have to be."
0
defe
1
She looks down at her unusual garb, and smiles. "As you can see, I've made my way in my own style."
"My father was slain when a horde of demons destroyed the old Fort Remote. You can still find the old fort's ruins, just to the east. When he died, I joined the army, and rose up to this position in order to take his place."
0
fath@dest
1
"I command this fort, as my father did before me. I organize our defenses, and prepare for the Empire attack."
She looks up and smiles guardedly. Her eyes, piercing and analytical, sweep over you. She says "I am Commander Lori, daughter of Rourke. Welcome."
You meet a middle-aged woman with very long, very curly scarlet hair. She is sitting at her desk, poring over maps. Oddly, she is dressed in a simple dress, with the symbol of a Commander embroidered on the shoulders.
