Watchman Trials ~ Rita Whalebiter

[Linaeus]

Good t'see a future Grenadier finally gettin' their chance to earn their Cap! Unfortunately fer ye, though, I cinnae let a future Grenadier off with an easy trial. After all, Grenadiers have t'be Disciplined and Tough! Don' worry, lass, I aint' sending ye into Karnaugh again. M'sendin' ye somewhere worse...

Trial One ~ The Teacher

It's the duty of all full Guardsman, Junior and above, to pass their knowledge on to those of lesser rank. I'm certain that if all of our Juniors, Regulars, and Seniors lived up to this, the casualty rate amongst Recruits would be more around Seven in Ten instead of Nine in Ten.

~ Hold a training in which you teach those present the importance of the following key concepts; Cross-healing, Formation Fighting, Combat Orders, Parade Orders, Discipline, and Teamwork.
~ At least 4 guardsmen must attend.
~ I dont care how you go about teaching the lesson, just do it creatively.

Trial Two ~ The Warrior

Amongst our current Recruits and Watchman, you in particular have shown great improvement since you joined the Army in terms of your personal fighting skill. You've been along on a few epic hunts and seen a number of battles, but I havent seen as much Leadership as I'd like! Lets test your abilities, eh!?

~ Lead a hunt to the Dungeon Deceit and slay a Lich Lord.
~ At least 4 guardsmen must attend.
~ You must gather at least 15,000 gold.

Sergeant's Note: The only party to accomplish this task in recent memory was a 6-man group led by then-Regular Guardsman Kurt Alimar. No pressure.

Task Three ~ The Survivor

As the first person to prove to me that they have a complete, well-conditioned kit, you earn the honor of also being the first person to be put through Keres' wilderness survival trials. See below for details;

~ You must go into the wilderness ALONE or with ONE other person of your choosing, carrying nothing but your soldiers' kit and as little extra gear and clothing as possible. No armor.
~ All tools and weapons (weapons must double as tools, such as axes. Regular, NPC bows are allowed as well, but you must make the arrows yourself in the field) must be purchased from an NPC vendor in the town you depart from.
~ You must establish a camp, forage, hunt, or fish for food, gather wood, and construct a shelter for yourself.
~ Report your adventure creatively, including sketches where possible.

Sergeant's Notes: Bringing an Arcanist with you is cheating. Also, avoid dying.

*Signed*
Sergeant Torrak Keres
Baron's Own Grenadiers

[Rita]

Trial One ~ The Teacher

Leading: Rita Whalebiter, Watchman
Attending: Matthew Ironside, Guardsman Recruit
Kelban Longleaf, Guardsman Recruit
Bersi, Guardsman Recruit
Ruby Whalebiter, Guardsman Recruit
Mizuho Kazami, 'Guest Archer'


Havin' had a fair think 'bout places 'round Cove t'train in, and realisin' that I've yet t'see a shipload o' soldiers make it through our waters without some significant difficulties, I decided t' make good use o' the old family tub an' take a few recruits out t'sea.




After plenty o' pushin' an' proddin' an' bell-ringin' and pigeon-sendin', I were able to rassle up four recruits for a line at the barracks. They marched in a fair tracker's line from one end o' the buildin' to the other, and then to the coast, without my teachin' them how, and lined up within sight o' the boat. I quized 'em on parade orders, and then ran through a few o' the basic concepts we'd be coverin' out in the field, like cross-healin' an' formin'. This were painless, as everyone could answer my questions pretty well, so I sent 'em -- despite some grumblin'-- off land.





Like I'd warned 'em, we were immediately set upon by all manner o' beasts-- the wytched-up water-spouts wot hurled poisonin' magicks an' seized our muscles up so's we couldn't move, an' the tangle o' serpents livin' in the bay's depths, which hurled fire at us. We rushed 'round the slippery deck formin' up and healin' well, despite the choppy waters, nay strayin' t'the other side o' the boat, and not a one o' us got knocked down. Behind us floated a trail o' the corpses o' our foes.




The harbour was quickly provin' too easy for this crew, so we turned towards the bogs t'seek out a better challenge.

We found a fight quickly, and I led 'em chargin' into battle 'gainst hordes o' 'gators, slimes, an' ratmen along top o' bog things and plague beasties. Save for a few slips here an' there-- none o' 'em resultin' in one o' our men fallin'-- the group kept together, healed together, and downed four o' the plague beasts together. Havin' come an' proved our point 'bout teamwork and disciplined fightin' pretty well, we made the voyage to the docks, remainin' in formation all the way.




After we'd landed at the docks I lined the 'cruits up and gave 'em a brief run-down o' what we'd covered, an' congratulated 'em for a job well done-- and dismissed 'em for lunch at the Goblin.

*signed*
R Whalebiter, Watchman

[Raiden Morana]

A fine start ter yer trials lass.

Keep up the good work and yer Grenadier trials will be waitin' fer ye once ye reach Junior.

*signed*

Raiden, Commander.

[Rita]

Trial Two ~ The Warrior

Leading: Rita Whalebiter, Watchman
Attending: Sergeant Torrak Keres
Junior Grenadier Delferium
Captain Hoagie Grayner
Me'an Silen, Watchman
Matt Ironside, Recruit
Ruby Whalebiter, Recruit
Robyn Steel, Recruit
Starkad, Recruit
Bersi, Recruit


I led a fairly large party down into the depths o' Deceit this week in hunt o' the lich lord.



With a bit o' directional advice from Keres, we made our way fairly quickly down through corridors stained with blood 'n covered in moss, redcaps, n' gigantic spider's webs, tacklin' waves o' the undead as we marched forward. Watchman Silen's keen elf eyes found a few chinks in the bricks what were actually hidden an' trap doors, most leadin' to e'en more horrible places...



...'til he discovered one which Keres confirmed were what we were lookin' for: the door t'the lich lord's sanctum.

Soon's we opened the final big iron doors, snakes th' colour o' a sword-blade, and each nearly as big as all o' us soldiers put together, streaked 'cross the floor towards us. And behind them were the lich lords themselves, first one, and then a second hurlin' dark wytchery at us as they rushed forward.

We formed up in that doorway there, puttin' the snakes down and then turnin' our blades 'gainst the liches, who were heartier than any o' the undead I've ever seen. E'en with the ten o' us hackin' away at them it took us long minutes endurin' terrible pain an' poison afore they even began to slow, but down 'em both we did in the end, before beatin' back 'long the corridor an' tendin' to our wounds.



We kept tighter together as we clambered back out o' there. The undead were e'en more restless now, liches appearin' in pairs to try an' stop us reachin' daylight.

We had quite a lot more'n the required 'mount of gold when we returned to the barracks, only t'find a good chunk o' it stolen come 'counting time; but 15,000 gold were placed in the coffers, an' we all retired t'the Goblin with a good new story t'tell.



*signed*
Rita Whalebiter, Watchman

[Rita]

Trial Three ~ The Survivor

*rather worn and dirty pages from a journal spanning a few days, with sketches attached, are turned in to Command*













I lived off the fish I caught from the sea for several days, cookin' 'em up away from my camp to be sure I'd nay get anythin' beastly foragin' near my bedroll in the dark... I weren't gettin' enough sleep as it was at night, with naybody else t'keep watch. It were a livelier place than I expected, an' I wouldn't do it again on my lonesome.

3,266 gold handed in to the coffers.

*signed*
R Whalebiter, Watchman

[Raiden Morana]

Excellent work lass!

Trial completed!

*signed*

Raiden, Commander.