The creature's shadow could be seen against the wall of the room. As the creature moved closer, it made a wet squishing sound. The group could see long tentacles gripping the room's floor and walls as it came around the corner. The creature made another loud screech as it fully came into view. The beast was huge, and its head seemed to touch the ceiling. It was coming towards them, baring its many open mouths at the players. Flinging some lumps of flesh that landed on the floor, spawning little copies of the monster. Coming closer while trying to crush them with its tentacles.
Summoning minions was a common enough mechanic in a boss fight, enough that Robert felt it would not be a 'meta-knowledge' for Claudia to have enough experience in order to surmise that the minions of the bosses usually shared a similar 'theme', meaning most likely they were also undead, especially since they spawned from the creature's lumps of flesh. Also, there were times that killing the minions haphazardly resulted in the boss gaining buffs, meaning, rather than an AoE to kill all of them, activating all the buffs on the boss, crowd control was the optimal choice.
Besides, casting an AoE nuke before the tanks draw the aggro was looking for trouble. So instead of activating the Flame Strike spell, he cast Spirit Guardians once more, as the same angelic spirits manifested around Claudia in a 15-foot radius, bestowing the same defensive buffs to the party as before while dealing radiant damage to the enemies as well as slowing their speed.
Claudia then shouted, "Let us focus our attack on one of the monsters that spawned from the creature, so we may test whether we can kill them safely without benefitting our quarry!"
"You brought an interesting perspective there, Baronesa De Valmot. Seeing Helvetia break free from its thousand years of neutrality would be a novel sight. But if that happens, they are the least of my worries compared to the elves, who incessantly scheming behind their mask of nonchalance."
"Well, I brought up Helvetia as an example, but their closest ties IS with Varenheim..." Carnatia trailed off. She then shook her head, "I digress, we should probably stop here. It wouldn't do for us to sour the atmosphere with political talks."
She then refilled her cup of wine, before moving to take a plate of a dessert that would pair well with the wine. Panna Cotta, a traditional Helvetica dessert served with fresh fruit ought to complement the sweet wine.
Eventually, the Archbishop returned, introducing a newcomer by the name of Amaris that would be joining their group. She felt like she had heard that name before.
"I am sure that there are some between you who do know me. To those I assure you I that the successful completion of this mission is as important to you as it is for me, as I am quite sure you might know, and that you will have my full cooperation to ensure that it goes well." Amaris completed giving a quick glance towards a certain white haired woman, who was rather infamous even among the Order's clergy, or famous depending on who you asked, due to her extreme... passion... for her job and observing her reaction, before turning her attention to the rest of the group again.
"Should any of you have any question, please don't be afraid to ask." Amaris said, taking a moment to carefully watch every member's reaction before she gently took a dish for herself together with a glass of wine and started to eat, apparently greatly appreciating every bite and sip.
Considering her words, then as Carnatia thought, she must be someone of renown.
Before long, Mirielle's shout of 'A Penitent' helped Carnatia put things together. Back when she was but a teenager, she remembered an incident that had caused an uproar that even made its way to her Father's desk. A massacre of a border town that was committed by a Sarkaz witch, they said. Of course, the true cause of uproar was the fear that the 'secret' of the dealings between the slavery ring in that town at the government be made public.
Carnatia could understand the rationale behind the deal. Slavery ring was hard to root out and eradicate, thus making one 'pseudo-legal', with the benefits it brought to the ring making it the prominent slave trade in Westernant's underground. That way the largest and most prominent slave trade could was at least known and can be somewhat regulated through their agreement. The government found it preferable than the absolute chaos of the slave trade without that particular ring where most slave trade was funneled into.
Carnatia understood the rationale. As a ruler, it was also one's obligation to consider the greater good and see the big picture, and speaking of big picture, admitting that the town was a cover for a slave trade would result in chaos and public unrest, weakening the social fabric, and thus, so it was that the Sarkaz was charged with slaughter of innocent civilians.
The entire debacle was not ideal, but Carnatia couldn't say whether what was done by the Westernant Government at the time was the wrong choice or a dereliction of their duty. It would in an ideal world, but sadly this was not a world of black and white.
Still, at the very least, Carnatia now was certain that for a 'Penitent' this Amaris woman was not as dangerous nor guilty as her status would suggest.
She then spoke, addressing Mirielle, Carnatia spoke, "A word, Inquisitor. A Penitent, as the name suggest, is someone undergoing a penance, no? I think it's hardly become of you to speak of Miss Amaris with such vehemence and alarm. The fact that she is here presumably meant that this mission is part of her penance."
Carnatia might think that what happened to Amaris was 'correct' in the grand scheme of thing, but she also recognized that she was innocent and a scapegoat, therefore as part of the government who was benefitted by promulgating the narrative of a Sarkaz witch massacring an innocent town, making sure she was treated fairly was the least she could do as compensation, as per her station dictated she ought to do as a noble of Westernant.
"I did not use grapes. With enough sugar,yeast and umami, i can make wine directly out of Champignon mushrooms,which is the reason for your seeming familiarity with it. It's far sweeter than most wines i have tried,and the distinct mushroom taste gets covered by the manifacturing process,while still keeping it's syrupy and sweet flavour."
"No grapes...?"
Cultivation of premium wine grapes were one of the main things that drive up production cost for wines. If she was able to make wine of such quality without grapes...well, making it strictly from mushroom was a bit too out there for it to be marketable, people wanted something 'authentic' after all, but if she could bring out the flavour to this extent without premium grapes, then it would be possible to manufacture botrytised wines of high enough quality without using the premium grapes, thus allowing the wine to be competitive in prices especially for low to middle-income consumers, which was a market segment hitherto untouched by botrytised wines because of its high price due to production cost. That was not to count the possibility that since this much flavour had been brought out without the premium grapes if she were using the premium grapes, the flavour of the wine might be even richer, which would be a competitive advantage even for higher-income consumers.
"Miss Amanita, I find myself intrigued by these wines you manufactured. I think they would make for a promising business venture in Westernant. As you may have heard, I own a Barony in Westernant. After this expedition is over, I would be delighted to welcome you to my land and be your patron, if you are interested."
Leaving Amanita with the proposition, Carnatia excused herself with a small curtsy before mingling with the rest of the room's occupants.
"It is because of The Council." Carmen's expression, a bit somber just a moment ago, now changed to disgust. "They are afraid of making any significant action concerning anything related to Tretagor, and would rather urge everyone to stay their hands. It is for the good of all, they said. What a bull! How could you say it is for the good of all if you let ordinary people be murdered, their homes burned and their wives and children sold off to distant lands? Paladin Thomas was the only one who saw beyond their shortsightedness, but what do they do to award his sacrifice? They branded him as an illegal trespasser, peace breaker, and risk maker." He thumped the table and shook his head. "And worse, most of our cardinals bow down to their so-called wise recommendation!"
Carnatia chimed in, "Well...to give the Council the benefit of the doubt, International Politics are rarely that black and white. Being a remnant of a once mighty empire, Tretagor's provinces that are now fighting among themselves are prime target for their neighbouring nations to absorb as part of their own territory. I presume their reasons for preventing interventions from other nations is to avoid circumstances such as the one we now face with Paladin Thomas and his entourage. If it turns out that the cause of Paladin Thomas' disappearance is the local of Sielse, in the worst-case scenario, it would be held against the local authorities to make them culpable, in the worst case depending how involved they are, it could be casus belli to declare war on the local authorities of Sielse.
It's definitely something Carnatia could see Westernant do. Of course, at first, Westernant would try the diplomatic approach of sending troops in from Dragon's Maw as a peacekeeping troop. But should the local authorities reject the proposal, she imagined that Westernant would declare the local authorities in Sielse to be despot and send their troops to 'liberate the people of Sielse from their despot rulers'.
She continues, "Of course, if say, Westernant were to do that, Helvetia would not simply stay put and allow Westernant to expand our sphere of influence by annexing Sielse and thus the conflict will turn into a proxy war with Helvetia backing the local authorities, which could potentially lead to a larger war breaking out in the future. Which is why I do agree that rather than preventing any interventions whatsoever, the Council should have declared Tretagor a failed state and facilitated multilateral talks among the nations as to how its provinces ought to be distributed as protectorates among the other nations under the supervision of the Council. It is not ideal, of course, but pragmatically speaking taking into account the realpolitik tendencies of the nations, that is the best-case scenario for all. It would return order to Tretagor and prevented the rest of the nations from fighting each other in open conflict for Tretagor provinces."
It would, of course, be a bitter pill to swallow for the rulers of Tretagor, especially those who seek to uphold the monarchy. But in Carnatia's opinion, those who were charged to rule had the obligations to do what was best for their people, and sometimes that meant swallowing their pride and knowing when to capitulate and bend the knee, pursuing diplomatic avenues to keep their autonomy as much as possible.
Carnatia then watched the others start introducing themselves. Some of them, like Mirielle and Ludvig seem dedicated to the mission. She had expected as much from Mirielle, being a member of the Church, but she was under the impression that Ludvig was more lackadaisical. Though in the end, even if it were lip service, that boded well for the mission, he'll keep up the appearance, if nothing else. Carnatia noted that Ludvig might be a good potential negotiator with the locale. He seemed approachable enough and was—if nothing else—willing to keep up the appearance of virtuous pontificals on a humanitarian mission, that might be effective in gaining the trust of the locales. Furthermore, a pretty face always helped in negotiations. Perhaps not the most egalitarian concept to be kept in mind, but that was the reality of things.
Linceleste York, meanwhile, turned out to be the niece of Paladin Thomas Wayne. Carnatia was even more unsure of bringing her along, given the potential conflict of interest. On one hand, that meant she would be even more dedicated to saving her uncle, on the other hand...that might also make her emotionally compromised, prone to making rash decisions. Well, in the end choosing the personnel for the mission was not her responsibility, that was outside her jurisdiction, so to speak. So she would respect the decision to include York in the mission. At the very least, if her words could be trusted, her skillset could prove to be useful.
"Ah, Baronesa Carnatia. It is a rare occurrence indeed to meet a fellow noble in a foreign land. I suppose I should say congratulations to you first. And a heartfelt apology that I was not present during your appointment ceremony."
"Oh, no, it's quite all right, sir. I'm sure you had your own duties to consider. In any case, it was a ceremony to confer a noble title for a Barony, nothing a Count Household such as yours have to concern themselves with. I do appreciate the gifts from your Household, though. In particular, the exotic coffee beans grown in your fief...Earth Almond, I think they were called? Made for an interesting gift. I admit, I am more familiar with tea than I am with coffee, but coffee is not bad at all. The Horchata de Chufa made from those beans are quite the treat during summer when served ice cold."
Carnatia had never interacted much with the Friston Household, who governed the Servielle Province in the Southwest, even when she was part of the de Luson Household, given that their lands were somewhat opposite of each other. The de Luson House, being a Ducal family had deep ties to the original families that first made up Westernant and culturally the land they govern was what one would think of quintessential Westernants in demographic and culture. the Servielle Province, meanwhile was a vassal state annexed at one point during Westernant's expansion and was culturally somewhat different from the native of Westernant. They were given a relative degree of autonomy and today, Servielle maintains its own cultural identity under the umbrella of the Kingdom.
Finally, Carnatia approached Amanita, who had hitherto been silent.
"Pardon me, Miss Amanita? You were the one that supplied tonight's wine, I believe? They seemed to be somewhat similar to botrytized wines such as Sauternes. Were they manufactured through a similar process? I noticed that the wine grapes weren't premium grapes typically used for botrytized wines, nevertheless, the flavour was quite excellent still, if you do not mind me asking, were the grapes specially treated or were special fungi used to induce the noble rot?"
Carnatia strode into the Glory Hall, briefly observing the guests that had been gathered there. With the exception of the familiar knight with black hair who had been a fellow hired adventurer in the 'Land of Twilight Expedition,' she was famous for, Carnatia had not met the rest of the occupants in the room.
Giving a nod to Sten, Carnatia took her seat as she continued to take stock of her companions for the search and rescue mission on behalf of the Synodus.
Some, such as Osric Griswall the famed gun for hire and Mirielle, a veteran inquisitor she knew by reputation. But the rest were more of an unknown, albeit with their own peculiarities. Such as the man with streaks of platinum blonde, or the girl who looked to be too young to be here—then again, she was about that young when she started adventuring after being exiled, so she did not have room to speak—and perhaps the most bizarre of them all, a girl wearing what appeared to be an oversized mushroom head.
Before long, the Archbishop arrived with the final member of their group in tow, who appeared like Mirielle, was also a member of the Church. As the two took their seats, the Archbishop gave a small speech before uttering a prayer.
"...Amen," Carnatia uttered as per the proper responsorial to the prayer. She wasn't particularly pious, at least not more than the average Westernant citizens. But in this hall, she was a guest of the Church, and especially as a noble representing Westernant, therefore proper etiquette needed to be observed.
The party then commenced, with the Archbishop making some more small talks. A peculiar thing that Carnatia noted was how the wine served came from one of the members of the group, introduced as Amanita Mycellia. She had been curious of the wine. It felt somewhat similar to a particular type of wine manufactured in some parts of Westernant called the Sauternes. Sauternes was a type of dessert wine, or sweet wine, with gold colour. What was unique of Sauternes was that it was made not from mere grapes, but grapes that had undergone what was referred to as 'noble rot', which was an euphemism to say that the grapes had been infected by a particular fungi. The fungi shrivelled the grape and gave its own characteristic, which end up concentrating the sugars, acidity, and flavours, resulting in rich, syrupy juice, full of honeyed and floral aromas.
The wine served here was like that, but not quite. The quality was not bad. The ageing aside, Carnatia could tell the grape wine used were not the premium horticulture specimen such as Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, or Furmint that was ideal for noble rot and instead were using cheaper, more common, variety. But it was somehow still passable for her palate, which was saying something. If she were to infer, then it must be the fungi that were special rather than the grape.
An interesting approach from Amanita, to be sure. It was quite novel, to her knowledge, as the conventional wisdom was to disregard the fungi quality and be more peculiar with the grapes. Amanita did the opposite.
A novel wine manufacturer certainly wasn't someone she expected to join her in this mission, but then again, neither were the rest of the group.
When Carnatia received the mandate from Casterdiar to join the expedition to find Paladin Thomas and his entourage as Pontificials, she certainly did not imagine these would be the fellows who would join her on the mission, the two members of the Church aside. While Pontificials were technically mercenaries, the word had...specific implications for the type of people who were hired as Pontificials. Typically they were the virtuous type. Not that Carnatia claimed to be a paragon of virtues, but she, at least could reasonably claim that she looked the part. It was not even that Carnatia condemned the manner of clothing by which these people chose to comport themselves, but pragmatically speaking—especially in a war-torn land like Tretagor—it would be easier to interact with the locale if they could lean into the reputation of Pontificial. Instead, with this group, Carnatia feared that the locale would treat them with suspicion wariness instead.
Which would not be ideal to their objective. Since the first step to bringing back home Paladin Thomas Sanders and his group was finding out what exactly happened, she imagined information gathering from the locale would be paramount.
She hoped that either of the Church members would be able to coax said information. Carnatia was no stranger to diplomacy, but in the end, she was a known figure from Westernant, and considering the history between Tretagor and Westernant, Carnatia doubted that the people of Sielse would be open to sharing information and whatnot with her. If anything they would probably be more suspicious of her,
...Not that it was unwarranted in this case. After all, she was representing Westernant as sort of a...propaganda piece, or rather, a justification piece would be more apt. Without being involved in resolving the incident, it would be hard for Westernant to portray themselves as the 'good guys' when they used this incident with the Paladin and his group to declare that Tretagor can no longer be trusted to keep order in Sielse and thus Westernant would be sending in a 'peacekeeping troops' to restore order in a 'humanitarian mission'. Annexation of the province, was, of course, the goal.
None of this was in the official mandate Carnatia was given, of course, for plausible deniability, but the writing was clear on the wall to Carnatia. Though to be honest, Carnatia was of the opinion that none of that concerned her. She was a noble of Westernant, and thus when a noble was given a mandate from the King, it was their duty to fulfil the mandate. The mandate was to help with the search and rescue mission of the missing Order of the Golden Sun's personnel. And that was what she would do. Political ramifications that came about after was...frankly, the domain of Tretagor's and Westernant's officials, not hers.
Prompted by Carmen introducing himself, Carnatia followed suit, pinching the tip of her skirt for a curtsy, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir Carmen, while addressing the rest of the group, she continued, "I am Baroness Carnatia de Valmont, here to represent Westernant in the Kingdom's support for the Church and the Order of the Golden Sun. I look forward to work with all of you."
Name: Baroness Carnatia de Valmont Species: Human Age: 24 Gender: Female Appearance:
Bio: The third child of the de Luson ducal noble family from Westernant famous for producing knights, Carnatia was born without the necessary physique and skills for the martially oriented family, making her a black sheep of the family of sorts…at least until she got it in her head to secretly start using magic to enhance her performance. She started winning tourneys and gaining recognition…until she was caught at one of the tourneys and was eventually exiled for bringing shame upon the family.
Being too used to a life of luxury, Carnatia has had it hard at first, having either irresponsibly spent or swindled off most of the money her elder brother secretly gave her. Eventually, a passing monk took pity on her and took her under his tutelage. After determining that Carnatia can at least survive on her own, the monk continues his journey, occasionally sending letters to Carnatia.
With her only other skills aside from statecraft being fighting, Carnatia became an adventurer, selling her services to various clients—some discreetly introduced to her by her elder brother, unbeknown to their family—with her Golden Prerogative skill, one would think Carnatia would be rich by now…and she would be if she had saved up the money instead of using it to support a luxurious lifestyle. It’s not a matter of status to Carnatia, but as a former noble of high status, she had simply gotten too used to a luxurious lifestyle to do without. She’s trying her best to be more ‘down to earth’ but alas, one glimpse at her and most would definitely think ‘Ah, noble’.
Two years ago, on behalf of a client, Carnatia was involved in an expedition to the so-called ‘Land of Twilight’ the forgotten forested land in Varenheim infamous for being ‘cursed’. While the details of the expedition were never made public, she returned with enough riches to buy a land and start an Eastern Tea shop-Massage Parlour for the upper class, which proved to be quite successful in Westernant. Due to the Land of Twilight’s reputation as the cursed land of the elves and the Kingdom of Westernant seeing itself as humanity’s liberator and eternal shield, Carnatia’s rumoured exploits in the Land of Twilight had become romanticized by Westernant bards as one of the Kingdom’s knights triumphing over an ancient evil of the elves, earning her somewhat of a celebrity status in the kingdom. A status that was only emboldened after the King of Westernant granted the de Luson’s prodigal daughter a barony of her own, starting her own noble family of de Valmont.
Currently, Carnatia has received a mandate from the kingdom to volunteer as part of the Pontificials on an observation mission in the Province of Sielse, Tretagor. The official reason is to bring back Paladin Thomas Sanders and his entourage.
The unofficial reason is that once the cause of the disappearance is resolved, Westernant intents to use the incident to claim that Tretegor could no longer be trusted with the security of their own provinces, hence Westernant, which bordered Sielse would send a ‘peacekeeping troops’ to keep order, with the eventual goal being the annexation of the province. It would, however, be hard to present oneself as the well-intentioned ‘good guys’ if they do not take part in the initial mission to resolve the incident, hence, Westernant’s own rising celebrity being sent to take part as part of the Pontificials as a propaganda of sorts.
On Carnatia’s part, the mandate she was given was to join the Pontificials and find out the cause of the entourage’s disappearance. And that is just what she will do, what happens after is not the business of a mere Baroness but that of the higher-ranking nobles in Westernant and officials of other nations, after all.
Passives: Golden Prerogative A skill somewhat common among the nobility. Some say it is proof of a noble’s Divine Right to rule, other say it is merely a passive skill cultivated by noble families. Allows its possessor to have a better chance of stumbling upon valuables and getting a better price.
Prescient Defense A skill obtained due to Carnatia’s seamless blending of magic and swordsmanship. A form of arcane divination that allows one glimpses of attacks made by their opponents, therefore allowing one to dodge or counter if their body can keep up.
Spells:
Arcane Enhancement Magic that supernaturally enhances Carnatia’s weapon, allowing it to be sharper and strike faster. Carnatia can also use it to wreathe the blade in flames, though at an increased mana cost.
Zen Focus A skill learned from her monk master that allows Carnatia to hone her mind to seek that one vital spot of her opponent, allowing for a single ‘critical strike’.
Mirror Image Illusion magic that creates eight copies of Carnatia to confound enemies. The copies are incorporeal and will and thus cannot harm enemies, but are otherwise indistinguishable until they are attacked, after which they will disappear after one strike.
Dispelling Strike A spell wreathed through Carnatia’s weapon to ‘cut down’ a magical construct. The blade itself needs to physically touch the spell—or things affected by the spell—to dispel it. The amount of slashes required to cut down the construct depends on the strength and complexity of its arcane component. Outside of combat, this spell can be used as a channelling spell that can thoroughly dismantle magical enchantment.
Mundane Skills: Through her education as a former noble, Carnatia is adept at various aspects of statecraft, such as diplomacy, knowledge of laws, fief management, and so on. Of course, basic life skills for commoners such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning are…adequate at best.
Equipment: Rapier, well-decorated light armour, a courtier’s outfit with jewellery, an adventurer bag with various assortments of tools, and an expensive enchanted tea set able to store and brew various flavours of tea.
Other: Duties and Obligations were what had been taught to Carnatia since she was young, and it stuck until now. However, for her, what those duties and obligations are... depends on one's circumstances and position. As a noble of House de Luson, she would never take advantage of her subject for her duty and obligation is to take care of the realm. She didn't do it out of an inherent desire for benevolence, rather to Carnatia, being a noble is an occupation with a social contract of making sure their subjects are taken care of, and in return, they are afforded wealth and respect.
To her, nobles who shirk their duties to their subject do not deserve an iota of their wealth nor respect given to them. While she was exiled, she did not consider such things her obligations and duties. She wouldn’t take advantage of a person simply because she can, but as long as it's within the bounds of the laws of the land and she was in great need, (because the law had to be respected so everyone can live in a civilized society) she had no qualms to 'taking advantage' of the law, rather than upholding the spirit of said law. She also did not particularly care to stop injustice if it did not concern her because that was not her duty and obligation anymore.
Of course, now that she has been reinstated as Westernant nobles’, her perspective on duties and obligations is more similar to when she was Duke de Luson’s daughter rather than when she was an adventurer/mercenary, which includes furthering Westernant’s interest and upholding its laws. On the other hand, as she has joined the Pontificials, upholding the Pontificials’ mission and acting in accordance to its code is also paramount. To Carnatia, she is now in the unique position of having two duties and obligations that may conflict with one another.
While no longer part of a Ducal’s Household, Carnatia has grown too used to luxury that more often than not she ended up paying more than she probably needed to for that extra luxury. For example, Carnatia can only drink alcohol of the high-quality ones, in particular high-quality wine. Despite being a mere Baroness, due to her booming business, her level of wealth is more similar to a Count, alas, due to her own spending, her personal finances typically just about break even. Most of the time, that is.
On her days off, Carnatia enjoys relaxing on a bed with a book, or practising with her rapier if she's in the mood for more physical activities.
While looking around, Claudia found some diaries of the monks living there. The monks were living a peaceful life when a wizard of some kind came to the temple, looking for the artifact hidden inside. The wizard killed all inhabitants and used the temple as a base of operations. However, because the temple was quite old, Claudia wouldn’t be sure if the wizard was still there.
Obviously, from the perspective of Robert, the player, the wizard would be relevant. If not in this dungeon in other dungeons or future expansions that in lore would be related to this dungeon. There is no way that the developer would just put it as part of the lore of a dungeon the player can explore if it wasn't relevant. Of course, that was knowledge Cladia would have no access to. From her perspective Endoroth is real life instead of a game designed by a developer, therefore it was perfectly reasonable that a wizard would have massacred a temple before both being forgotten to obscurity.
And so, rather than speaking out of the possibility that the boss was a caster or the wizard might came into play at some point, Claudia opted not to say anything and continued exploring the dungeon without tapping into meta-knowledge.
Eventually, the party found what appeared to be the boss' room where a being of eldritch appearance lay in wait, a rank, putrid smell emanating from it.
'Ugh...I get this is a type of flex for their virtual reality technology, but do they have to replicate such a pungent smell so meticulously?'
For a moment, the smell elicited a thought from Robert, the player, as he momentarily broke character.
He sighed.
'Wait, no. That's now what Claudia would be thinking when confronted by this thing...all right, back to character...'
"Judging from this repugnant smell, as well as the undead that roamed this place, I think it is safe to assume this creature is an undead of some kind. In that case..." Claudia said, before pointing his sword at the undead.
A pillar of light fell into the undead, marking it with divine scorn. The signature ability of the paladin class, Divine Smite, that gave additional radiant damage—typically effective against undead—from the party against the designated enemy.
*Texts in orange is the added part to reflect the previous 'Into the Land of Twilight' campaign and this new campaign
Name: Baroness Carnatia de Valmont Species: Human Age: 24 Gender: Female Appearance:
Bio: The third child of the de Luson ducal noble family from Westernant famous for producing knights, Carnatia was born without the necessary physique and skills for the martially oriented family, making her a black sheep of the family of sorts…at least until she got it in her head to secretly start using magic to enhance her performance. She started winning tourneys and gaining recognition…until she was caught at one of the tourneys and was eventually exiled for bringing shame upon the family.
Being too used to a life of luxury, Carnatia has had it hard at first, having either irresponsibly spent or swindled off most of the money her elder brother secretly gave her. Eventually, a passing monk took pity on her and took her under his tutelage. After determining that Carnatia can at least survive on her own, the monk continues his journey, occasionally sending letters to Carnatia.
With her only other skills aside from statecraft being fighting, Carnatia became an adventurer, selling her services to various clients—some discreetly introduced to her by her elder brother, unbeknown to their family—with her Golden Prerogative skill, one would think Carnatia would be rich by now…and she would be if she had saved up the money instead of using it to support a luxurious lifestyle. It’s not a matter of status to Carnatia, but as a former noble of high status, she had simply gotten too used to a luxurious lifestyle to do without. She’s trying her best to be more ‘down to earth’ but alas, one glimpse at her and most would definitely think ‘Ah, noble’.
Two years ago, on behalf of a client, Carnatia was involved in an expedition to the so-called ‘Land of Twilight’ the forgotten forested land in Varenheim infamous for being ‘cursed’. While the details of the expedition were never made public, she returned with enough riches to buy a land and start an Eastern Tea shop-Massage Parlour for the upper class, which proved to be quite successful in Westernant. Due to the Land of Twilight’s reputation as the cursed land of the elves and the Kingdom of Westernant seeing itself as humanity’s liberator and eternal shield, Carnatia’s rumoured exploits in the Land of Twilight had become romanticized by Westernant bards as one of the Kingdom’s knights triumphing over an ancient evil of the elves, earning her somewhat of a celebrity status in the kingdom. A status that was only emboldened after the King of Westernant granted the de Luson’s prodigal daughter a barony of her own, starting her own noble family of de Valmont.
Currently, Carnatia has received a mandate from the kingdom to volunteer as part of the Pontificials on an observation mission in the Province of Sielse, Tretagor. The official reason is to bring back Paladin Thomas Sanders and his entourage.
The unofficial reason is that once the cause of the disappearance is resolved, Westernant intents to use the incident to claim that Tretegor could no longer be trusted with the security of their own provinces, hence Westernant, which bordered Sielse would send a ‘peacekeeping troops’ to keep order, with the eventual goal being the annexation of the province. It would, however, be hard to present oneself as the well-intentioned ‘good guys’ if they do not take part in the initial mission to resolve the incident, hence, Westernant’s own rising celebrity being sent to take part as part of the Pontificials as a propaganda of sorts.
On Carnatia’s part, the mandate she was given was to join the Pontificials and find out the cause of the entourage’s disappearance. And that is just what she will do, what happens after is not the business of a mere Baroness but that of the higher-ranking nobles in Westernant and officials of other nations, after all.
Passives: Golden Prerogative A skill somewhat common among the nobility. Some say it is proof of a noble’s Divine Right to rule, other say it is merely a passive skill cultivated by noble families. Allows its possessor to have a better chance of stumbling upon valuables and getting a better price.
Prescient Defense A skill obtained due to Carnatia’s seamless blending of magic and swordsmanship. A form of arcane divination that allows one glimpses of attacks made by their opponents, therefore allowing one to dodge or counter if their body can keep up.
Spells:
Arcane Enhancement Magic that supernaturally enhances Carnatia’s weapon, allowing it to be sharper and strike faster. Carnatia can also use it to wreathe the blade in flames, though at an increased mana cost.
Zen Focus A skill learned from her monk master that allows Carnatia to hone her mind to seek that one vital spot of her opponent, allowing for a single ‘critical strike’.
Mirror Image Illusion magic that creates eight copies of Carnatia to confound enemies. The copies are incorporeal and will and thus cannot harm enemies, but are otherwise indistinguishable until they are attacked, after which they will disappear after one strike.
Dispelling Strike A spell wreathed through Carnatia’s weapon to ‘cut down’ a magical construct. The blade itself needs to physically touch the spell—or things affected by the spell—to dispel it. The amount of slashes required to cut down the construct depends on the strength and complexity of its arcane component. Outside of combat, this spell can be used as a channelling spell that can thoroughly dismantle magical enchantment.
Mundane Skills: Through her education as a former noble, Carnatia is adept at various aspects of statecraft, such as diplomacy, knowledge of laws, fief management, and so on. Of course, basic life skills for commoners such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning are…adequate at best.
Equipment: Rapier, well-decorated light armour, a courtier’s outfit with jewellery, an adventurer bag with various assortments of tools, and an expensive enchanted tea set able to store and brew various flavours of tea.
Other: Duties and Obligations were what had been taught to Carnatia since she was young, and it stuck until now. However, for her, what those duties and obligations are... depends on one's circumstances and position. As a noble of House de Luson, she would never take advantage of her subject for her duty and obligation is to take care of the realm. She didn't do it out of an inherent desire for benevolence, rather to Carnatia, being a noble is an occupation with a social contract of making sure their subjects are taken care of, and in return, they are afforded wealth and respect.
To her, nobles who shirk their duties to their subject do not deserve an iota of their wealth nor respect given to them. While she was exiled, she did not consider such things her obligations and duties. She wouldn’t take advantage of a person simply because she can, but as long as it's within the bounds of the laws of the land and she was in great need, (because the law had to be respected so everyone can live in a civilized society) she had no qualms to 'taking advantage' of the law, rather than upholding the spirit of said law. She also did not particularly care to stop injustice if it did not concern her because that was not her duty and obligation anymore.
Of course, now that she was reinstated as Westernant nobles’, her perspective on duties and obligations is more similar to when she was Duke de Luson’s daughter rather than when she was an adventurer/mercenary, which includes furthering Westernant’s interest. On the other hand, as she has joined the Pontificials, upholding the Pontificials’ mission and acting in accordance to its code is also paramount. To Carnatia, she is now in the unique position of having two duties and obligations that may conflict with one another.
While no longer part of a Ducal’s Household, Carnatia has grown too used to luxury that more often than not she ended up paying more than she probably needed to for that extra luxury. For example, Carnatia can only drink alcohol of the high-quality ones, in particular high-quality wine. Despite being a mere Baroness, due to her booming business, her level of wealth is more similar to a Count, alas, due to her own spending, her personal finances typically just about break even. Most of the time, that is.
On her days off, Carnatia enjoys relaxing on a bed with a book, or practising with her rapier if she's in the mood for more physical activities.
Cadmus nodded in satisfaction after they were dismissed. All the answers he had gathered thus far seemed reasonable. At the very least Cadmus could rest easy that this did not seem to be a desperate vainglorious half-cocked operation not unlike what was attempted by the Orlesian Warden during the Corypheus debacle. But at the same time, they also did not see it necessary to be overly conservative in their attempts such as avoiding politics. Actually, this was, exactly the sort of middle ground Cadmus had been arguing for. Taking the fight directly to the darkspawn eschewing the outdated part of the Warden's doctrines, but doing so with caution. All in all, Cadmus would say that this was an operation he could get behind on and support.
As ordered, Cadmus went ahead and started packing for the trip. He brought his usual kit. His mage staff and dagger, crossbow and bolts, a couple of spare clothes, and of course, his Ritewine. He also packed in the standard first injury kits as well as some health salve and mana potions, for good measure. They weren't ordered to prepare for any specific things, and so Cadmus decided it was best to treat this as a routine mission. And so, having been Warden for a while, he finished packing for the usual deep road trips early, with enough time of writing and submitting his input for the demonstration of the new magical research on weakening the Blight’s grip on plant life he saw earlier on the day.
As night came, Cadmus arrived at the designated meeting place, before loading his belongings into the cart. The Tevinter warden then hopped onto the cart and start making himself comfortable. Turning to the rest of his compatriots, he spoke, "Weather looks good for the trip, what with the clear moon in the sky. Doesn't look like it will rain, at least. In any case, as we are to work together, I do believe it is prudent to do as the High Constable suggested and get to know each other a little, no? Pragmatically, it also make sense for us to learn a bit about our skillset so we can effectively work together. Since I'm the one who brought it up, I will start. I'm Cadmus Laenas, originally from Tevinter. I was recruited to the wardens about four years ago by a family friend, before that I was a member of the Tevinter Magisterium, so in the off-chance we need some diplomacy on this mission, I will be happy to contribute what I can. As for battle...well, I am a mage. I have access to healing spells, but my specialty is...well, blood magic."
Knowing the typical reactions from Southerners, Cadmus then hurriedly added, "However, I am properly trained and I can assure you that you are in no danger of coming face-to-face with an abomination. As you know, the wardens do not forbid blood magic, and we do that for a reason, warden mages who practice blood magic know how to do it safely and passed down the knowledge to newer recruits, and even before that I am properly trained in the Tevinter Circle of Magi, so rest assured that the only magic I cast will be at our enemies."
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