Prologue: The Barony of Harkenwold

The party camps for the night inside a shrine dedicated to Avandra; a giant tree that everyone passing into the Barony stop at. The inside has been hollowed out serve as a cabin for travelers, and it's considered good luck to spend the night there before heading into Harkonwold. The only requirement is that travelers replace any fuel they use, keep the place clean, and restock the food stores. The food stores have unfortunately spoiled long ago, but the flour is still good and there's a small oven available.

Hunter spots markings into the trunks of certain trees that surround the shrine, indicating a border around it. They've been written in a thick runic script he doesn't recognize, but he thinks they might be warding magic. Knowing that they're safe here, everyone takes their armor off and make themselves comfortable.

Appalled at the state of the food stores, Hunter goes out of his way to add nuts and berries to any sealed containers where he can to go above the call, and tosses out the spoiled food.

Kathryn volunteers to prepare dinner tonight and cooks a delicious stew with the meat they've obtained from the ferocious owlbear. She also bakes two fresh round loafs of bread with the flour they've found in the shrine, which Jojo is quick to replace with their own reserves. The sun sets while they eat, and once everyone's belly is full, she takes it upon herself to clean the oven and wash the dishes.

The adventurers disperse all across the camp and Kathryn goes to find herself a quiet spot where she can play some of her transverse flute. She sits down under one of the warding trees, wraps herself in her blanket to keep herself warm and brings her instrument to her lips. She starts with a soft lullaby a mother would play for her child.

Hunter points out the markings at the perimeter for his pet, giving him free reign to watch the perimeter, and then looks for Kathryn, finding her by the tree she picked out. He chooses to sit with her, which makes her a little shy and causes her to miss a few notes, but she quickly recovers.  He can tell that she has talent, and that with some more practice, she could become a decent player. The affect he has on her makes him smile, and he lays back perpendicular to her against the tree, not wishing to interrupt.

When the song ends, Kathryn turns to Hunter and says, her embarrassment palpable, "Don't make fun of me."

"I won't. You're very talented. How long have you been playing?"

"A few weeks," she answers while putting the flute back in her bag. "I thought it'd be fun to learn something, but now my fingers are all numb."

She starts to flex her hands.

"Well, if you bear with it, with a little more practice, you'll be decent at it. I wouldn't mind hearing you do that when you have the time for it. We could use some music when we travel. Is that why you started?"

"I thought it'd be fun to learn something," she repeats.

"Oh. Um." Hunter scratches his ear. Suddenly, he gets an idea, and sits up. "Here, let me see your hands."

The young woman tilts her head at him, but does as he says. The ranger immediately notices the callus on her hands, an indication that she's no stranger to manual labor.

He whistles as he feels them. "What kind of labor did your family have you do? Did they make you go out and work the plow?" he comments, working the fingers gently to un-numb them.

Kathryn smiles, amused by Hunter's approach. "I did everything," she says. "Most of the time though, I looked after my brothers and sisters."

"Everything?" The city boy asks incredulously.

"Of course!" In an instant, she seems to have forgotten about Hunter massaging her hands.

"Wow. And here I thought my uncle cracked the whip on me when he was running me through the woods..."

Kathryn giggles at a mental image of an older elf chasing a tiefling through the woods with a switch. "Oh, we'll see him when we get to Harken, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe we'll get to see your folks, too. What was it like growing up in Marl?"

Her cheeks slowly turn red as Hunter starts to feel the difference between the smooth back of her hands and the calluses on her palms. "I, uh... it's nice," she says with difficulty. "I didn't have—I mean, we were never in any danger, so I can't complain."

She clearly doesn't know how to react to Hunter being so intimate with her, so he stops massaging her hands and merely continues to hold them. "What were they like? Did everyone know you? Do you have a lot of friends there?"

Kathryn relaxes a little. "No, not really... I worked on the farm all day and I trained with Robert on my days off."

He rests his arms, one laying across his lap to hold her other hand. "Uh, sorry, remind me again about Robert?"

Her face suddenly lights up at the question. "He's the one who taught me how to fight, just like your uncle! He didn't want to in the beginning, but I kept pestering him about it until he agreed." She laughs.

Hunter laughs too. "Well, it was different with my uncle, but it was good for me. Why didn't he want to teach you?"

"Hmm, I don't know. He didn't speak a lot, except when he told his stories. I wonder if we'll see him..." She ponders the possibility for an instant, feeling much more at ease in this position.

Hunter on the other hand couldn't be more comfortable right now while holding hands with a beautiful girl. "Why did you want to learn how to fight?"

There's a moment of hesitation. Kathryn avoids her friend's gaze and replies in a shy tone, "...I always wanted to become one of the heroes in Robert's stories. You know, like the ones who fought for the Legion when the Nerath Empire fell?"

Hunter nods. "Do you know why you want to be one?"

"Um..." She's stumped by this question. "Because... they're good guys?"

Hunter looks at her dumbfounded, and then chuckles. "You're amazing, Kat."

"Well, you tell me why you became a ranger!" she retorts with a smile, flattered by the compliment. She lets go of one of his hands so that she can sit more comfortably.

Hunter looks her in the eyes for a moment, and sighs. "Hmm. Well, the short version is that I needed to be one. Just now, I said it was good for me, remember?"

She tilts her head. "Yeah, but... I don't understand. You needed to become one?"

"Well, I'm from Fallcrest, remember? People there are kinda prejudiced against horns and tails, so I didn't make any friends when I was just a tiefling kid, at first. Then, uh, I sorta fell in with a gang."

"A gang?" she repeats. "The... bad sort you mean?"

He sucks air through his teeth, "Yeah. Not really bad. Things started out with us all looking out for each other, but...let's just say we didn't really care about the law."

Kathryn listens attentively to Hunter. Leaning forward a bit, she asks, "What happened next? Did your uncle find you?"

He shakes his head. "It didn't play out so nicely. I got caught stealing something. I don't even remember what it was, some really nice-looking decoration. After boxing me around the ears, the Watch dragged me back home, and after some drama played out at the house, I was to be sent to live with my uncle."

She stays quiet. patiently waiting for the ranger to finish his tale, so he continues.

"Training to become a ranger set me straight. It's not just about how to shoot an arrow straight, or about which plants are safe to eat, how to find north and all that. It's about learning to get along in nature, and being respectful and responsible for yourself and for whatever you do. So, I learned my values just by listening to my uncle and doing what he told me."

At the end, he swells up with pride and concludes nonchalantly, "Then one day, there was nothing left to teach me, and I went back to Fallcrest to join the Watch." He openly laughs at the irony in that statement.

She giggles with Hunter and asks, "What, did you really?"

Hunter laughs again. The young woman joins in on the fun and it takes a long moment before she manages to speak again.

"I didn't know that was even possible!"

"Well, at least after nine years, it certainly is!" he replies. "Nine whole years, just training out in the woods, with the rangers and my uncle's clan. They didn't even recognize me at first. I was just another ranger, but with horns. The look on the face of the one who caught me when he heard my last name...!"

"I would have liked to see that," she says with a big smile. "What made you leave though? It sounds like you liked that job."

Hunter stops and shakes his head. "I made sergeant, and then they wouldn't let me advance to captain. The third time I was passed over, they gave the promotion to a friend I trained myself."

"Uh? Why? Is it because of... your horns?"

He nods. "Yeah, Kat, it's because of my horns." There's a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Kathryn frowns, infuriated. "Well, good riddance. They don't deserve you."

"Thanks. I just want to show them that, you know?"

She nods, a small grin on her face. "I know you will. And I'll help you if I can."

Stunned, Hunter asks, "Really? That - uh, thanks, Kat."

"Of course!"

He smiles, and then looks up at the sky. "It's really beautiful out tonight."

"Uh?" She follows his gaze and then gawks. "Oh! You're right.... Wow, the moon is so shiny."

He smiles to himself and says, "Y'know...it feels like we're already on a date."

"I—uh, well..." Kathryn stammers, now self-conscious that she's been holding Hunter's hand for all this time. However, her response doesn't sound as enthusiastic as Hunter might have hoped. "Yeah... this is really like a date."

Worried, Hunter's grasp on Kathryn's hand loosens. "Wait. Was that too much? Sorry, I was just thinking out loud," he hastens.

She averts her eyes from the night sky and looks down at the grass. The silence hangs in the air for a long moment as she wears a ponderous expression, thinking hard about what to say next. "...Hunter? Can—can I be honest?"

Hunter's eyebrows go up, and his hold on her hand firms up again. "Yes, of course you can!"

She licks her lips and searches for her words. "We've been friends for a year now, and... I—I don't know if I'll manage to think of you as anything else. I mean, we can try, but..." She pauses. "I'd be sad if it doesn't work and I hurt you."

Her words sink in for the city boy, his eyes downcast. When he looks back up, he says, "I...I think I'm okay with that. I'm just happy that you want to give me a chance. It would be better than going into something we both regret. Right?"

Reassured by his answer, Kathryn smiles at Hunter. She tightens her hold on his hand and says, "Right. Thanks for that."

He smiles. "How are your fingers now? Better?"

She blushes and looks up at the sky again, right where the Thief constellation once was. "Yeah, they're okay now."

He notices where she looks, but chooses not to say anything. "Can you play again?"

"You want me to?"

"Yeah. Besides, you still need the practice, right?"

The silver-haired knight is more than happy to oblige. She pulls out her flute and starts playing a joyous melody, although there is the slightest hint of a melancholic undertone to it. Hunter relaxes against the tree, and intermittently looks between Kat and the woods around them.

Despite having cooked for her friends already, Kathryn insisted that she take first watch tonight—she and Eninahes had a few things to talk about. The rest of the adventurers agreed, placed their bedrolls around the fireplace and went to sleep. Some time later, Hunter wakes up when he feels someone gently shaking his shoulder. It must be his turn to take watch. When he opens his eyes, he sees Kathryn kneelingd next to him, her pale skin illuminated by the crackling fire. He stirs and groans a little before opening his eyes and looking up.

"Oh... My turn already?" He continues to lay lethargically beneath his blanket, wishing he had a few more minutes.

She seems a little nervous, but before he can ask her why, she places a hand right next to his head and slowly lowers her face toward his. There's some uncertainty reflected in Hunter's eyes before he realizes what she's doing. He waits for it to come. She kisses him gently, a few explorative pecks at first, until she grows more confident and switches to prolonged smooches. He leans into a long one, and when he pulls back, he's smiling.

"Wow. Um...wow," he chuckles softly.

Kathryn laughs a little. She shyly brushes a lock of hair behind her ear, and whispers, "It's your turn to keep watch."

He breathes in deeply and exhales. "Right." Damn, looks like he'll have to get up. He sits up on his bedroll and looks around at the others, hoping they're all still sleeping. "Uh, wanna watch a little bit with me?"

Kathryn blinks at the offer. It's clear that she hadn't considered the possibility. Nevertheless, while her cheeks flush, she nods at him, and he gets up and walks a short distance away from the fireplace, and waves her over. Kathryn doesn't hesitate, following the young tiefling to the window where she kept watch. She sits down on the bench right next to him, while he thinks for a minute about what to talk about.

"Hmm... Well, do you wanna tell me some more interesting facts about you? You know, for that biography about your life that I'm secretly working on," he jokes.

She's caught off-guard by the question, but she smiles at the joke. "My life isn't that interesting..." she whispers. "I'm just a farming girl from Marl, you know? I have lots of brothers and sisters who I haven't seen in years."

"I'm sorry. Do you miss them?"

"A lot, yeah." She pauses to look outside the window. "I often write to my parents though. I hope we can see them... What about your family?"

"My family?" he echoes. "Well, I haven't been in the habit of writing to them, if that's what you mean." He looks out the window pensively.

"Why not?"

"I know I should. I've just been out here focused on the guild. Had some stuff on my mind for a while. But you were asking about my folks." He holds up his hand to count. "I have two younger brothers. They're twins. They get along just fine with each other, they're pretty much each other's best friend. My mom's a homemaker, and my dad used to be a mercenary. He works for the Warden, now. Mom's human, like you."

"You have brothers? I had no idea. Are... are your parents still together?"

Hunter smirks at a distant memory. "They are, thankfully. Me getting my ass thrown out in the woods probably had something to do with that...and maybe the twins, too. That all happened before they were born."

"So they're children? How old are they?" She seems very interested by the answer.

"Oh, they're a little older than that..." Hunter counts to himself. "They're 14."

Kathryn blinks when she hears this, a little surprised. "Really? How old are you...?"

Hunter tilts his head. "I'm 24. And how about you, Kat?"

"Oh, I just kind of forgot when you were sent to your uncle's..." she admits, embarrassed by her own mistake. "I'm 22."

"Wow, I cannot believe you forgot about that. There's a person attached to these lips, ya know?" he jokes.

Kathryn grins and playfully elbows him in the ribs. "I'll try to remember now."

"Thank you!" He smiles back. "Anyway, have you ever had any trouble with a brother or sister?"

"Trouble? Nothing unusual I think. I had to help my parents raise them since I was... four or five? We argued a few times, but nothing too bad."

"Oh, well, imagine that but nonstop, and multiply it by two, and you get my brothers. They're absolute hellions." His annoyance comes out in his tone.

She smirks. "You just need to find the right way to handle them." She seems to be speaking from experience. "What're their names?"

He shakes his head. "Their names are Kaxik and Arthos, and you'd better watch out, Kat. They like to prank people," he warns, the source of his annoyance revealed.

"I'll make sure not to drop my guard around them. Thanks." She looks outside the window again in search of possible intruders. "That reminds me... Um, that might be a little personal."

He looks over. "Oh? Okay, shoot."

The knight looks back at her tiefling friend and asks, "Your name. Is it really Hunter?"

Hunter closes his eyes for a moment. Opening them again, he smiles and shakes his head. "No, it's not. I hear it's a common humie name, though."

"Thought so. Why change it?"

"I, uh..." He falls silent and looks out the window.

Kathryn tilts her head in concern, but she doesn't push him for an immediate answer. Instead, she weighs her words and lets a few seconds pass before she says, "If you ever want to talk about it, I can listen. And I also can keep a secret."

He nods. "Okay. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

She nods back at him. "...I should go to sleep. It's getting late."

"Sure, go right ahead. I've got this." Hunter appears to be watching through the window more intently. "Oh, wait, um, what's your favorite color?"

Kathryn stops in the middle of getting up and asks with a smile, "Why?"

He looks up, notices the smile, and grins back at her. "Oh, just thinking about doing something to impress you."

"What, like a gift?" she asks, excited just like a kid.

"Maybe..."

By now, Kat has sat back down on the bench. She thinks for an instant before answering Hunter. "It's blue. Pale blue actually. But not turquoise."

"Pale blue, but not turquoise," he repeats, almost surprised by this short renewal of energy sparked by interest (almost). "Got it. Anything you hate getting?"

The silver-haired knight scratches the back of her head. "Hmm... I don't think I could hate any gift."

Hunter holds back a giggle. "Awesome, that makes this so much easier!"

"Hey, I'm trying to help!" she whispers, amused. She waits for him to say something else before she goes to bed.

"I know that your favorite color is pale blue and that I can't possibly fail at this, I'd say that helps me bunches," Hunter whispers back jovially.

Kathryn blushes, but still appears as relaxed around Hunter as before. "Make sure to give one to everyone else too."

No longer paying attention to the window, Hunter tilts his head forward with a raised eyebrow. "Kat. Kathryn. Are you giving me permission to go behind your back and put the moves on Hot Lips? Goodness, what would Zoe think?"

Kathryn can barely suppress her laughter. The idea of Hunter somehow courting Hot Lips is hilarious to her, and she has to put both hands on her mouth or risk waking up her friends. The red ranger purses his lips and holds her close, looking into her eyes. She slowly starts to calm down, and only now realizes that Hunter has closed the distance. Her fit of laughter gradually recedes and she puts her hands down again.

"Shh. Sorry, I shouldn't make you laugh right now."

He kisses her. She doesn't respond immediately to the kiss, but it doesn't take too long before she does. He breaks it to look at her again; she looks confused, as though wondering why he stopped, so he kisses her again. This time, he doesn't pull back, and they continue until, when they've had enough, he realizes almost an hour of his watch has passed.

As she goes back to her bedroll, Hunter thinks, Why did I ask her that? That bouquet would have done nicely, but now she'll be disappointed! Crap, well it wouldn't hurt to look at the book again... Now he has his own reason to stay up for a little while.

Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends.

You randomly flip through the book three times before finding something that looks useful. The writing is in long flowing script. It's very pretty. It almost looks like it can move...

"If a knight should travel in mixed entourage,
follow these steps three.

Have the knight introduce himself. If more than one, highest rank and seniority first, and then so on and so on in order.
Have the knight introduce your leader. Social rank is important.
Have the leader introduce themselves and then the rest as normal.

Warning: When in the Feywild, the Nine Hells, or the City of Brass, have the knight introduce everyone so that it is clear that all fall under the knight's protection."