The Lost Valley: Heroes for Hire

In which our erstwhile heroes discover that the world is a lot more complicated than they every anticipated..

After thinking things over at the Inn, they came up with a semblance of a plan. None of them wanted to help the Protector, but they couldn’t afford to openly opposed him. For all the other factions, all they had to go on was hearsay. So Will proposed that they begin cooperating with all of them… just to see what sorts of things they ask for. Get a feel for all of them by what they ask to be done. In the process they could feel out the political situation, further explore the area, and perhaps pick up some clues as to how to find Ving and get out of this mess.

d&d painting;plain hispanic woman,distrustful,age 35,straight black hair,dark tanned skin,elaborate black and red leather armor,sits at table in dark corner of medieval tavern watching the viewer with interest — They met a human woman named Sima at the Inn, who asked a favor in exchange for information. She was non-commital about Ving, saying only that she wouldn’t say more until she was sure she could trust them. For now the “favor” she wanted was recovering a booklet which had been confiscated by a guardsman. This seemed pretty simple to Will. The guard stole something she needed. They steal it back. Perfectly fair.

d&d painting;rear view;(halfling rogue,4'2") sneakily reaches from behind into belt-pouch of (elf guard,5'10",looking away)young halfling male,scottish,wide fey face,black eyes,age 18,smooth skin,wild black hair,black ragged leather armor);(noble elf guard,roman armor,spear,looking off into the background);medieval town — A little distraction (Glory batting her eyes and asking for directions), and Will had the booklet picked in no time. They brought it back to Sima, and she insinuated that she was associated with the Rebellion. She would tell them more about both the Rebellion… and Ving… if they were to “acquire” a package from one of the Protector’s Outposts. Hmmm. Will said they’d think it over, but he wasn’t quite ready to dive into direct conflict with Protector just yet.

On their way through the market, Marik asked them if they could acquire some prized Badland Bear meat. Apparently it was considered a local delicacy and fetched a very good price. He told them were they were likely to find such beasts, and it wasn’t far out of their way so they figure they’d give the hunt a shot.

d&d painting;action;rear view;(tiefling teen,ram horns,cuts,falling) mauled by large angry bear;(young samoan tiefling,ram horns,hammer,age 18,muscular,red mohawk,caramel skin,glowing tattoos,tiny goatee,barbarian vest);jungle clearing — As it turns out, Badland Bears were *tough*. Blaze went completely down for the count. Will was teetering on the edge.

Dawn and Glory had to pull out all the stops in a hail of fire and radiance to turn the tide, and healing them up was even harder.

d&d painting;(samoan tiefling teen,6'2",cuts,bloody,sitting) thoughtfully accepts celtic wooden shield from (norwegian teen female,5'8");(young samoan tiefling,rams horns,age 18,muscular,red mohawk,caramel skin with drab tattoos,tiny goatee,worn leather vest,exhausted);(norwegian teen girl,cyan eyes,age 18,braided golden hair,leather armor,white cloak);jungle clearing — When he returned to consciousness, Blaze was much quieter than his usual self. More thoughtful. He knew that this time his jumping in without a plan had not only almost cost his own life… but Will’s too. Rather than chastising him while healing him, this time Dawn gave him a gift. A shield – which she had decorated herself.

**“You don’t have stop protecting us. We still need you up there. We just need you to be a bit more tactical about it. Help us to help you.”**

He stared at the shield for a long time. Then smiled and took it. **“OK Dawn. OK. I’ll try things your way for a bit”.**

d&d painting;(furtive elf guard,5'10") slips note to (hobbit rogue,4'2");(young halfling male,scottish,wide fey face,black eyes,age 18,smooth skin,wild black hair,black leather armor);(elf guard,roman armor,spear);shadowy corner of roman castle — The mysterious dwarf Cafrain had her own request. She wanted them to meet with a guard in the palace, acquire a guard rotation roster from him, and bring it back. Without being seen or incriminating the guard informant. Sounded easy enough for Will, and gave him a bit better idea what this “mystery faction” was likely to be.

Her next request was to bring a package back, unopened, to Samko at the Outpost. She also hinted that her “associates” might have more information about Ving…

At this point, a number of tasks were taking them back to the jungle outpost, so they set out to return. First they visited Gartok the Giant. He was thrilled with the sewing supplied. He invited them into the fort to meet the other giants, and asked another favor – several Giants from their clan had gone missing, and he wanted them to ask around to see if anyone had seen them. It seemed a simple enough request, so they readily agreed.

At the Outpost, they delivered receipts and packages to Telerian and Samko. Samko merely said that “they had passed their tests, and walked well in shadow”. They could begin real tasks after returning to Cafrain. Now Will was even more sure he knew who this outfit was…

Telerian, on the other hand, said he had a more dangerous task if they were interested. One of his clients needed Crimson Spider glands for alchemical ingredients. Fresh glands. He told them were to find a cave with Crimson Spiders, but warned them *not* to underestimate the creatures.

d&d art;motion;(samoan tiefling boy,6'2",rams horns,hammer and celtic wood shield) and (halfling rogue,4'2",two daggers) back-to-back tackle (huge spiders);(young samoan tiefling,age 18,muscular,red mohawk,caramel skin,tattoos,tiny goatee,barbarian armor);(young halfling male,scottish,wide fey face,black eyes,age 18,wild black hair,black rogue armor);(giant back spiders,red marks,lunging);dark cave with webs — The Spiders were as dangerous as warned… but this time, Blaze listened when Will laid out a plan of attack. He and Will guarded each other’s flanks. They waited to engage until Dawn and Glory had softened things up, and despite taking a beating they pulled through with everyone upright.

d&d painting;(samoan tiefling male,age 18,6'2",cuts) cleans (celtic wooden shield) and smiles at (norwegian female,age 18,5'8",blushing);(samoan tiefling,rams horns,muscular,red mohawk hair,honey-brown skin,lavender tattoos,tiny goatee,worn barbarian armor);(norwegian teen girl,cyan eyes,braided blonde hair,leather armor,white cloak);dark cave webs — Blaze winked at Dawn as he wiped Spider ichor off his shield. **“Works great Sunshine! Thanks!”** She just smiled back.

Telerian was pleased with the glands, but said he had an even bigger problem he needed help with. It seems a group of giants had set up a fort down the river and were menacing trade caravans…. Was there anything they could do to resolve the matter? Will quickly glared at Blaze – who actually managed to keep quiet – and then offered to take on the “monumental task”. They spent the afternoon hanging out with Gartok, and then returned having “negotiated a truce and trade agreement with the dangerous adversaries”. Dawn rolled her eyes, but Telerian was ecstatic. He gave them a gift to take to the leader of the Forge in their secret base in the Swamp – as an introduction.

d&d painting;action;rear view;(samoan tiefling girl,rams horns) hurls flames at (tall lean troll,large head,roaring,surrounded by flames,retreating);(samoan tiefling girl,blazing red eyes,age 18,turquoise pixie-cut hair,caramel skin,neon tattoos,leather vest,leatherskirt);(tall troll,warty skin,tangled black hair,rangy,long nose,long arms,long claws);jungle clearing — They figured they need to at least honor the Lord Protector’s initial “suggestion”, to avoid directly opposing him at this stage. They were ambushed by goblins and a troll while gathering the requested herbs, but at this point a Troll was not much of a match for Glory cutting loose.

d&d painting;(samoan tiefling teen girl) and (norwegian teen girl) look horrified as they read a scrawled list;(samoan tiefling girl,red eyes,age 18,turquoise pixie-cut hair,honey-brown skin,rams horns,gray tattoos,leather vest,leather skirt);(norwegian teen girl,glowing cyan eyes,age 18,braided golden hair,worn leather armor,white cloak);in dark corner of roman castle — They returned to the city to complete some of their contracts. The Lord Protector acknowledged their service and cooperation, and wondered if they could help with another task. He wanted to study some “strange beasts” which had appeared in his valley, and asked them to acquire samples. As the items on the list included the likes of “head of a Dryad Queen” and a “head of Smart Giant”, they decided they were done working directly for the Lord Protector.

Caefrin’s first mission was far more to Will’s liking. Infiltrate a Dominion base elsewhere in the valley…. and replace the flag with a Mask Insignia. That was it. Avoid combat. Don’t get caught. Don’t get seen. Just swap the flag and sneak back out. Will wasn’t quite sure why they wanted this done, but it sounded like good fun to him.

On the way out Rose stopped them and asked for a favor. It seems a certain Elven Nobleman had taken to getting drunk and accosting townsfolk at night – who suffered his abuse because they feared retribution from the Protector. It seemed straightforward. They had a plan all set for Will to spin a yarn, with Blaze’s intimidation as backup. But when they saw the man Dawn asked them to let her handle it.

d&d painting;(norwegian teen girl) gently calms (drunken elf noble,angry);(norwegian teen girl,glowing cyan eyes,age 18,braided golden hair,worn leather armor,white cloak);(elf noble,age 35,smooth skin,roman,wrinkled fine tunic,clenched jaw,clenched fists);in medieval tavern — So they shrugged and sat back. And watched in amazement as she talked quietly to the man for some time, he grew slowly sadder and quieter, and then simply walked away. Dawn returned, said that the man “simply needed someone to listen”, and that was that.

Rose was impressed, but asked for a harder task given their success. A particular guard lieutenant – named Sharpeyes – had been abusing her position. Rose was certain she had beaten townsfolk, and strongly suspected she had had some killed. She wanted them to deal with the lieutenant – but in a way that did not invite retaliation from the Protector. She was able to tell them that she believed the lieutenant had stolen a ring from the palace. This put a light in Will’s eyes…

d&d painting;side view;(halfling rogue,4'2",devious smirk) shows signet ring to (female elf guard,5'10",shocked,scared);(young halfling male,scottish,wide fey face,black eyes,age 18,smooth skin,wild black hair,black leather armor);(female elf guard,roman armor));shadowy medieval alley — Sharpeyes responded aggressively when they confronted her, and had little interest in going away quietly. Until Will held up the ring he had picked from her pocket. **“Would be a real shame if the Lord Protector got wind of where I found this….”**, he commented, staring at her. She immediately grew pale. She thought about trying to take it from him, then glanced at Blaze growling behind him. She curtly agreed to request a transfer to a border fort and stalked off.

Rose was pleased with this outcome as well, and so asked them to speak to a Priest named Reya if they wanted to help more.

d&d painting;side view;(halfling rogue,4'2") listens attentively to (female hispanic priest,5'10") telling sad story;(young halfling male,scottish,wide fey face,black eyes,age 18,smooth skin,wild black hair,black leather armor);(female hispanic priest,black hair,dark skin,dark forehead tattoos,age 45,simple robes,simple armor,weary,haggard);roman temple garden — Reya had a *lot* to tell them. Including that the Protector had not always been nearly so harsh. She though perhaps it was bad advisors, but Will thought that unlikely to be the whole story. He considered himself a pretty good judge of people. And the Protector had not seemed like the type to be easily swayed by other opinions. Will had no doubts that he knew exactly what his forces were up to. Reya wanted them to rescue a friend who was being held in one of the Protector’s outposts. Preferably non-violently. And preferably without leaving clues that would invite a reprisal.

They asked around, but it seemed nobody they asked in the city had seen anything of the missing Giants.

They stayed in the Inn again to consider their situation. The Forge seemed relatively neutral so far. Working with them seemed unlikely to upset any apple carts. Rose and the Reya seemed earnest, but they would have to tread carefully – as that seemed to be quickly escalating in opposing the Protector. The liked the Giants and wanted to continue to help them. The “mystery faction” so far appealed to Will’s sense of mischief. And even the Rebellion hadn’t yet asked them to do anything worse than steal a package. So they would continue following all trails, but wait on the Priest’s request until they had seen the situations with the other Outpost missions on their plate. They wanted to be good and ready before upping the ante.

2 responses to “The Lost Valley: Heroes for Hire”

atcDave

February 17, 2025 at 3:39 pm

A lot of fun here. I *loved* Blaze and Dawn’s agreement. Awesome character moment. And I like sorting out the factions. It feels like some tense moments for the team.

1. Zeno
  
  February 17, 2025 at 3:54 pm
  
  They play off each other surprisingly well. Dawn’s used to deferring to Will. Blaze is used to deferring to his sister. They have more in common than it initially seems.
  
  Not sure what to make of the factions yet. Definitely don’t like the Lord Protector. Want to help the priest, but don’t know what the consequences might be. Don’t really know what to think of any of the others yet..

The Lost Valley: Heroes for Hire

2 responses to “The Lost Valley: Heroes for Hire”

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