Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

Posters are tacked, glued, or hung in places of foot traffic in the Greenrest, Soubar, Ulgoth's Beard, and the Friendly Arm Inn. If they're torn down, as inevitably happens, they're replaced soon enough, someone was probably paid to keep them up and available.
///Ooc note, you can simply PM this account if you're interested with an IC letter.

As dawn broke over the Cloudpeak Mountains, a vision of carnage lay around the quiet mountain village. Smoldering corpses of trolls stacked atop one another. The smell of death, thick in the crisp mountain air. The half-elven archer walked among the bodies, pulling arrows that could be saved and checking them over for any advantage gleaned from what remained.

The attack had been quick. The Vanguard had barely set camp before the sound of crashing trees echoed through the snow filled valley. They had stood bravely against the onslaught of trolls as they attempted to overtake Garholm. Sword and shield, spell and arrow, nothing was held back from the troupe as the trolls numbers kept stacking against them. Though the situation was dire at times, the Vanguard's heart carried them through the thick of it and on to morning.

Traegan made way to the stables to check on Mane Attraction, the horse assigned to him by the Company. He approached the mare with apple in one hand and a soft touch to the snout of the creature. He would feed the apple to her as he whispered close to her in Elven.

“I know that was a lot to deal with, my beautiful steed.”, he spoke soft and in a low tone as the horse seemed skittish from the attacks. “I have to ask of you once again, girl. We need to set out into the surrounding area and find where the remaining trolls retreated to. I need you, girl.” Mane's big brown eyes almost gave a knowing look to him as the words were spoke.

His half-even hand caressed the snout and jaw of the horse as he spoke. “Steady now.”, he spoke as he placed the saddle blanket across her back. The horse twitched a bit but remained calm. “That's it. Good girl.” He would them place the saddle on her back, tightening the straps. Once the bit and bridle was in place the Ranger of the Vanguard mounted his horse.

“I'll be back before you know it.”, He stated to his Captain and Sergeants as he took to the trails that surrounded the village. He would look for any sign of retreat. Look for the direction and try to ascertain numbers. Once past any area he thought the Company or the villagers would have been, he looks for the tracks of those that direct the horde of trolls.

He would spend a few hours, traversing the mountain trails. Taking in what information he could, as he bonded with his mount...

((Asked to repost here for the guild))

A few days prior to her next assignment, Syndreth spends her afternoons visiting the stables where the two horses of the Vanguard are staying. Rolling an apple between hands, she approaches the one called Apple, and offers the fruit as a token of friendship to the horse.
“Based on your name, I suppose you really like this thing, right?”
She’s curiously watching the apple being devoured, then reaches out with both hands to caress the wide neck of the mare.
“Say, would you like to come out with me, to train a little? Not just training, but playing and exploring, we would see what’s outside of the walls? Would be better than standing here all day, hmm?”
With that, she takes the reins and leads the horse out to a safe-looking field not far from the village.
“I wonder if you know any command words already. Or should we just learn something new?”
Fumbling a lot at the beginning, she tries a number of calling words and methods to make the horse follow her on her own, some precious slices of apple helping a lot to achieve her goal, as they finally settle on a whistle for “come” and a firm word of “Stay” they could both agree on. Satisfied with the results as the days go by, the elf now dares to leave the horse unattended for a little longer, running off just to suddenly turn, a moment of silence as they both eye each other with playful tension, Apple tossing it’s mane in a silly dance, but stays until the warbling whistle sounds for her to give chase after the elf.
“Run, run!” Syndreth calls out one time as the mare catches up to her, and however impossible the idea to outrun a horse, she hastens her steps for a few breaths to encourage the horse to keep up it’s pace. A wide leap to the side, she grabs the front of the saddle, trying to pull herself up and tightly embrace herself around the steed’s neck, as it lunges forward with enthusiastic determination.
“Run! That’s it, run!” She spits out some hair of unidentified origin when after some struggle, she manages to settle in the saddle at least. Breathing out long to calm her racing heart, the elf lets the horse to gallop around the field to it’s heart’s content before turning her back towards Nashkel.
“Very good, you are very, very clever! We will practice this later. But we have to find Traegan about the mission now..”

"We say thank you and accept your offer mayor..." Dunn said, amongst other words, in a meeting with Mayor Ghastkill of Nashkel.

Five of the Vanguard gathered for the discussion of future business, and the road ahead.

An odd sight passes, for any coming and going through the town of Beregost in the middle of the eve, on the 29th of Nightal. Two men tote a rug out the back door of the Rising Phoenix Inn, followed by a sharp eyed archer and dutiful priestess. A fifth man, a dwarven stout, is with them before parting ways.

The men tote their load over to a patch of fence on the southern side of town, before dropping their load over it, and climbing over themselves, before moving further south with their load.

Soon, they leave the road, and a spade is used to dig a makeshift grave. The robed priestess says words of comfort, care, and mercy, with herbs left to preserve the sanctity of the grave.

The gravedigger kept his head bowed as consecration and brief ceremony is had, while his partner keeps watch, and a poor soul that had a miserable end is laid to rest.

A makeshift cairn of stones, with a wood engraving, is left to mark the location.

His orders were clear. He was to help defend the village of Bekkreguard from the trolls closing in on them. With time his enemy, the half-elf gathered what supplies he could from the outfitter in Nashkel. Rope, arrows, a bag of oats, various other bits a pieces, and enough rations to last a tenday. He packed all this away on his pack sled, bound and tethered with rope, and stored at the Belching Dragon until needed.

The rest of his time is spent going over plans and tactics with fellow Vanguard, working with his horse, Mane, and sharpening his broadheads. He would visit the tanner to have a warm saddle blanket made for Mane from a couple snow tiger pelts he had gathered while patrolling the pass, along with lining his boots and leathers with a third.

In the evenings, Traegan can be found at the Belching Dragon. Either telling lies over a drink to the locals, or talking with fellow Vanguard at a back table. His mind was consumed by the mission ahead, ever the thought lingering that all this planning was for nothing.

Things go sideways with the Vanguard, you can't prepare for that.

As the days pass before the push to the village, several forays into the Cloud Peaks pass are made by members of the Whitewood Vanguard as well as their allies. Through grit and determination they carve out the yeti population, looking for signs of their quarry, as well as drilling together in the snowy terrain. Usually meeting back at The Belching Dragon to share information between themselves and the local guards that are having an off duty drink. Loud and rambunctious as they may be, the group stays in line. They know you don't shite where you sleep...

Black feather fluttered through windswept and snow laden evergreens, outstretched wings with hurried effort to maintain a stable flight path in the ensuing snowstorm and a dark violet eye in hunt for contrasting shape, the raven cut left, then right through the trees before coming upon a clearing occupied by a single broken tree. Wings flicked open to ride a frozen gust upward to loft the frame higher before diving down toward the tree, a few heartbeats to follow before a dark clad Teu’tel’quessir slowly emerged, white hair violently whipped behind her, and knelt to send diminutive hand to brush against the surface of something submerged and forgotten.
Muffled whine of stressed ice and subsequent crack of freed frost was first heard before the mound of displaced white slid free to yield glove and sleeve, digits curled inward struggled to relieve itself of both frozen preservation and finality before outstretching, pivoting, and finding the earth to assist the form beneath to rise to its feet. The shadow it casted was slowly joined by several more in the immediate vicinity, silent obelisks that slowly began their staggered march as raven took flight anew.
Roads that saw their passing was easily covered again by the storm, villages passed by, and no rest given. Time had become critical and their slow perpetual march persisted through day and evening, through break in the weather and tumultuous, piercing cold.
Days of marching passed until the group turned and slowly descended hillside toward a frozen Chionthar as the raven in flight landed to nearby branch and observed their disappearance within an inconspicuous cavern.

Preparations continued throughout the ten-day as the Vanguard made ready for another mountain excursion. The following day promised hard training scheduled to be led by Ranger Aurelian Amon. Trolls were the foe, but they were hardly the only foe out there.

The Captain prepared a special meal over the campfire outside the Bleching Dragon, making sure that the bit of luxury went as far as it could. Potatoes, carrots, basil leaves, turmeric, masala, and other spices saved for a special occasion.

Mottled feathers were piled up and stuffed to a children's toy, passed off to some needy child along the road. But the Vanguard ate well that night, on fattened yard bird.

In the early morn of the twenty third of Hammer, members of the Vanguard begin packing up and loading assets among various carts, horse, and gondsmen in preparation of their next chapter of the southern Amn Campaign. Rally and prayers, last minute iteration of plans poured over by the various members in leadership, Doan's apple chewing, and new recruit welcomes keep the mood business like.

The creak and pop of timber echoed in the valley seconds before a distant thud could be heard. Frosted canopy tips were in stark contrast to the multitude of color that drenched the lands beneath them, the exsanguination of varying states of decay of the trolls once ascending in staggering count, some within the walls that tried to hold them back. Bodies of humanoids littered the streets behind, a third of the city had fell, and with the inhabitants too were agents that sought to turn the Vanguard's attention away - deciding later to attempt assassination upon the mercenary company and their aides. Battered, bruised, wary of their fight the Vanguard slowly came to muster after alleviating the city of residual flame, gather their belongings, and prepare their departure, lucky to do so given circumstances, luckier than those that attempted to stave off threat that would cost them their lives.

Amber dust slid from palm and between fingers, covering the inscribed circle now formed upon the damaged cobblestones in a clearing still marred by blood. The ring of distant bell in solemn tally of the count of inhabitants - their call to life by Vanguard priests unanswered, the scent of charred flesh, the frigid morning, mementos for a memory a tel'quess will put to ledger, but not the one in her heart.

"Everything has a cost..." She'd remind herself in whisper.

She watched as members of the Vanguard now began to move the acquired siege equipment through the teleportation circle, disappearing from view.

"... what matters is who pays."

Diminuitive hands tucked into pockets of her overcoat and the last Vanguard disappeared through the circle.