REFUGEVILLE

- The others will steal the key and help the prisoners escape!
- Steal the crossbows and use them to kill the guards.
- Steal weapons from the tent and give them to the prisoners.
With this, we will have more time to think about the situation and act.
DO NOT attack the Dermilian scholar as he doesn't have any weapons and doesn't look menacing, we're here to free the prisioners and pick food.

A lone Wolfrunner barks at the guards and pees on one of them. The enraged guard chases. His partner follows him, shouting at him and begging him to come back.

The Wolfrunners waste no time in grabbing the weapons. They take the crossbows and hand the maces over to the prisoners.

The giant scholar surrenders. Your Wolfrunners decide to show mercy to him, and take the key. The prisoners are quickly freed.

The pair of giants return, and as soon as they realize what’s happening, they charge towards the Wolfrunners! The crossbows fire!

Neither of the two guards are killed. The crossbow bolts couldn’t penetrate the armor, but they did manage to break the guards’ shins. They both fall onto the ground. Two more crossbows are aimed at them, and they yield.

The prisoners are freed, and all of the giants are now captives. Curiously, the scholar seems unwilling to stop writing.



The Wolfrunners read the report on the table:

To the Royal Court of His Majesty King Vondar,

I, Count Artimen the Scholar, write the following words for I believe my honest expression is necessary. If I am to be executed, tortured or enslaved for these words, so be it.

The people of Padabon are stronger than Dermilyu. To deny it is delusion. They have more soldiers. More food. More allies. More weapons. More everything. To continue antagonizing them, to continue dismissing their offers for truce, is disastrous.

Yet King Vondar remains adamant that we continue doing what our nation has always done, to conquer and enslave others. If we mindlessly follow this path, the Dermilyu Kingdom will become extinct, our people gone and remembered only by people who hated us.

I will tell you a secret, one King Vondar has known for years:

My father was Count Tyren, but my true mother was a slave, a woman abducted from the south. Her name was Fesi, and her tongue was removed by order of King Vondar. She was then poisoned by my ‘official mother’, Countess Dera. I had only known my true mother for five years. I don’t even know which tribe or nation she came from.

Are you shocked? We have been taught since birth that Dermilians could never ‘mate with the beasts of the land’, that no one could be born from any union between ourselves and other races.

Yet here I am. I am real.

I am the son of a slave, and a Count of noble birth. My great-grandfather was Prince Numan. If King Vondar were to abdicate, I would become the new king of Dermilyu as no other nobles of higher rank survive.

If King Vondar refuses to relinquish his power, then he must die. This much is-

It ends there, unfinished.

A royal claimant! The prisoners are surprised to hear it, but they remember hearing that Count Artimen was one of the ‘gentler’ people in the nobility. The two guards had no idea about this but they do agree that the Dermilyu Kingdom is doomed if it keeps making enemies after suffering catastrophic losses.

The Count asks for permission to speak. The Wolfrunners grant him so.

“I was going to confront the Royal Court by myself and reveal my intentions. In hindsight, that would have just been a suicide mission… but I’ve reached the limits of my patience. However, now that you are here, you could be my accomplices and help me assassinate the king. You help me, and I swear by my Mother and Father, you will be rewarded with a powerful friend for life.”

The Wolfrunners are having an argument about what they should do with Artimen. He could make a useful ally, but they are not sure if they could protect him if they took him in. According to the prisoners, King Vondar was able to hire mercenaries with what little wealth he had. Artimen mentions that about 30 mercenaries remain in his employ.

Alternatively, they could pretend to ransom him, and then assassinate Vondar when he appears to negotiate.

Count Artimen reveals more options:

“You could hide here in Mosstown. When King Vondar and his entourage comes in the morning, I can use the cannon and kill him with one shot. No armor could stand up to a cannonball. If he somehow survives, you can shoot him with the crossbows to finish him off. I have a box of matches in my pockets.”

He shrugs and then says:

“Or... I could just… run away. Hide away, until Vondar dies. Knowing him, he will either by killed by the Signet or die from old age. The man is 89, and not in good health. The Royal Guards are all dead now, thanks to the Signet and other tragedies, but that works in our favor now since they were the most loyal of Vondar’s servants.”

The prisoners are in favor of Count Artimen overthrowing King Vondar, though none of them want to stay to take part in any plan. They want to go southwards to Refugeville. The two wounded guards are on board with the possibility of a new leader, after all the catastrophes they’ve had under Vondar’s leadership.

The plan to kill Vondar with the cannon could work but it’s also very risky. What if you missed, or what if Artimen died in a fight?

What should Refugeville do about Count Artimen and the wounded guards, as well as the recently freed slaves?

Your Wolfrunners are armed with 4 crossbows, while 5 of the prisoners are armed with steel maces.

- Let Count Artimen and the two guards live in Refugeville. Wait for Vondar to die.
- Tell the prisoners to go to Padabon.
- Tell the prisoners to stay in Refugeville.
- Pretend to ransom Artimen, and when Vondar appears to negotiate, kill him.
- Hide in Mosstown. Wait for morning and then kill Vondar with the cannon.
- Bring Count Artimen to Padabon, let the Zalugi protect him.
- Send a letter to Padabon, explaining the situation. Ask them to send an assassin to eliminate Vondar.
- Something else.

>_

Show Content

Spoiler
Population: 12 out of 24 shelter spaces

Allies:
Preeray Village - Gains Guarded Thoughts blessing for Refugeville, traded for 5 hunks of food daily
Padabon Village - Sends daily Care Packages (Temporarily on hold)

Wealth: 7 crumbit

Animals:
1 Dog (Relief)
2 Cows (Bilin, Daina)
1 Horse (Comet)

Agriculture:
12 tapioca (growing, 17 days left)
10 mangould (growing, 13 days left)
20 underground mushrooms (growing, 10 days left)

Weapons:
Iron Knife x 1 (4 crumbits)
Stone Axe x 5 (2 crumbits)
Stone Shovel x 1 (2 crumbits)
Steel Hooked Chains x 2 (Equipped by Guards, 8 crumbits each)
Ceramic Dagger x 1 (6 crumbits)

Vehicles:
Crude Wooden Raft (Kori won’t buy it)

Guards:
Two Chain-Hook Users

Merchants:
Kori (Miscellaneous Goods)
Ogot (Building Materials)

Stockpile:
304 branches (1 crumbit for 4 branches)
5 beef jerky (5 crumbits each)
8 rabbit meat (2 crumbits each)
18 rabbit jerky (3 crumbits each)
20 fish meat (2 crumbits each)
5 dried fish filet (3 crumbits each)
9 jars of milk (4 crumbits each)
5 loincloths (1 crumbit each)
30 pieces of clay (2 crumbits each)
188 stones
1 Bottle of Wine (40 crumbits each)
2 Bottles of Mead (30 crumbits each)

Buildings:
1 stone house (with basement)
1 shrine
1 palisade
1 fishpond
1 rabbit hutch

Items:
2 Steel Hammers
Leather Bag
4 Treated Bandages
Construction Manual
Yaranga Phrasebook
2 Steel Pliers
2 Boxes of matches
1 Steel Chain
1 Compass
1 Cooler Crystal (Refrigerates Food)

Fishblood Lantern - A lantern that uses fish blood as fuel. Provides light and warmth. One adult fish from the river should be enough for one night. Easy to carry, even for a dog or a wolf.

Copy of Hildevert’s Journal: Hate Box - The Signet have been hunting a man named Hildevert for the past month, and he continues to elude capture. This book is about what he saw in a place called the Hate Box, a place where powerful prisoners are tortured for amusement.

Mycah Wizard Robe - Doesn’t grant magical powers, but Mycah spells are woven into it that protect the wearer from undeath. The spells repel teeth and rotten meat, so it’s perfect for fighting ghouls.

Acid Jar - A jar full of liquid that will melt anything metal. Extremely useful against armored opponents and locks.

Divine Artifacts:

Shrunken Head of Asimuth - Screams when an agent of the Signet sees Refugeville.

Blessings:

Devoted Wolfpack: Rimewulf’s followers can transform into wolves at night, granting faster movement, enhanced senses and combat strength.

Call of the Wild: Once per day, you may summon one animal to appear in the village. The animal will always obey your people and never harm them.

Arara’s Shade: Your people can endure heat that would normally cause heatstrokes. A common blessing for desert-dwellers and those who wish to endure drought.

Guarded Thoughts: Your people are protected from mind-altering poisons and curses. They cannot be brainwashed or mind controlled, not even by the Signet.

Curses:

Marked By The Signet: The Signet will never stop sending scouts.