Taurba - After Action Report - Supplemental 1

Once we returned to the Kaer, we had to wait for the doors to open. It seemed to take a long time but eventually the doors opened. We were met cautiously by our fellow citizens and each was asked to complete the Greeting Ritual before they would allow us to enter. All save Quinn succeeded on the first try. Quinn eventually succeeded after being given a moment to calm and focus.

Ermin was treated and revived by the alchemist and healer. Even though he was physically in a diminished state, he was not spared the Greeting Ritual. Ermin painted a passable giant spider. Once satisfied, we were allowed entry and the doors we quickly closed.

After we were debriefed, our unit was given leisure time. After bathing and seeing to my equipment, I challenged Ermin to drill with me. His style and approach are very unorthodox. He acquitted himself well in our sparing until he left an opening that in the real world would have proved fatal. He lacks focus but he does have determination. I hope that he will quickly find the balance required to be a serious combatant.

We were advised that we would tell the tale of our mission to the Kaer. It was a bit of a spectacle. Oren told the tale and added some magical flourishes while Erim “danced” in the background. Quinn said a very few words while Cetharel told the haunting tale of the deaths that she experienced and the funeral. I told the parts of the tale involving combat with the spiders. It was good to perform. It was the largest gathering that I can recall. The children were appreciative of the hemp spiders that I made and passed out at the end of our telling.

A second group returned on time. They experienced about what we had but did not face anything like the spiders. There was another telling for the accomplishments.

The remaining two units are overdue. I fear for their safety and suspect that we will soon be asked to venture outside once more.

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Taurba - After Action Report 1

The Outside is amazing … and bright … and hot … and dangerous. It is nothing like we expected it to be.

It took us a little while to get the hang of things outside of the Kaer. Ultimately we decided on alternate course of action. We traveled by dusk and night and rested during the day.

Travel to our objective proved to be a manageable task. The terrain was not easy to traverse but it was passable. The lack of living plants and animals was disconcerting and disheartening.

The riverbed provided some further disappointment as well as some excitement and change in surroundings. The river was not there. Only the bed remained. We discovered some additional plant life and a pre-scourge artifact; a river boat. The boat contained nothing of physical value but did house the remains of 4 namegivers. Cetharel determined that three of the remains belonged to pre-scourge crewmen of the boat. Apparently they died in battle with a sea monster. The fourth set of remains appears to have belonged to a foreign contemporary who died of his wounds from some unknown battle. He had been dead for approximately 5 years.

The remains were laid to final rest with words from Cetharel and a fire fueled by portions of the boat. During the funeral, the light of the fire glinted off of something in the distance. Oren and Ermin rushed to find the source. The rest of us quickly followed after them as trouble was in the making. The source of the reflected light was a large puddle of standing water. It was the bait for a trap set by hideous wildlife.

Ermin fell into a concealed pit where a giant spider laid in wait. He was prone and appeared to be having trouble fending off the beast. I jumped into the pit to protect my fellow citizen and confront the monster. Ermin suffered a bite which paralyzed him. I was eventually able to kill the monster with my axe. Apparently there was a second pit with another beast which Quinn, Oren and Cetharel were able to dispatch.

Our journey was cut short by our worry for Ermin. The effects of the spider’s bite did not wear off. We were forced to carry our stricken comrade back to the Kaer in as much haste as we could muster. The trip back was somber yet more peaceful. We arrived back earlier than our mission allowed but by our estimation we accomplish all that we were asked to accomplish.

Assessments:

Our unit is a versatile bunch of namegivers. Each brings a different and useful skill to the whole. We worked well as a team but there is certainly room for improvement.

Oren is a capable scout. His ability to fly proved invaluable in scouting our route of travel. Oren and Ermin together should not be left to their own devices.

Cetharel was able to gather potentially important information from the dead we encountered. She did a respectable job administering final rights. She needs to work on her confidence in general and drill on the use of her abilities in combat situations.

Quinn used Elementalist abilities to great advantage. The water that we located was made safe for use because of Quinn. Quinn was an asset in combat.

Ermin appears to have potential as a combatant but needs to learn focus; for his own sake as well as the rest of the group. He is reckless and unpredictable. I plan to drill him on combat and discipline if our unit is to remain working together.

The execution of abilities in a real world setting proved to be strange yet exhilarating. I have trained my whole life to kill things in combat and to protect my fellow citizens. This mission provided me the opportunity to do both and I did not find myself wanting.

I hope that the the rest of my unit and the other units found this to be true as well.