Meryelle "Mery" Keryndon
Level 4 Half-Elf Sage College of Lore Bard
AC: 13 (Leather Armor) | HP: 30/30 | Speed: 30 ft.
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft; Passive Perception 11, Passive Insight 11, Passive Investigation 14
Str: 8 (-1) | Dex: 14 (+4) | Con: 14 (+2) | Int: 14 (+2) | Wis: 11 (+0) | Cha: 18 (+6)
Languages: Common, Elven, Solamnic, Kharolian, and Draconic
Spell-casting: +6 or DC 14 | 1st 4/4 2nd 3/3 | Bardic Inspiration: 4/4
“My words,” | ‘My thoughts,’ | My actions
At the Folketh Barony
Mery inwardly breathes a sigh of relief when Steward the younger sends her and Kai to the main house with Booker. She'd been about to rouse herself to use what her sister Tiqi teasingly referred to as her 'Lady Mery' voice, and is glad not to have to do that, especially with people who are in essence still strangers.
As they walk, she tells Booker, "I am from the city of Palanthas, and have spent more than a little time in the Great Library there. Very nearly joined the order of monks who run the place, too, about 5 years ago. Never be ashamed of your love of learning." She smiles at the man.
"But to answer your question, yes, Lady Michelle really is with others from my group in the city."
When Sebston explains the situation, Mery demurs, "Oh, I think your son being on edge is completely understandable under the circumstances. To be honest, the way I handled things probably didn't help very much, and I apologize. I was trying to present Modri - he's the Dwarf fighting from my group - as a tough potential ally against these Duskridges and not a tough threat against your people, but somehow that got lost in the translation. But I've never introduced a fight before, so clearly, I have a few things to learn there." She gives a rueful laugh. "By the way, I'm Mery and the Sea Elf here with me is Merituuli Kaiutin, but since it gets confusing if he's Meri-with-an-i and I'm Mery-with-a-y and I just refuse to open him up to the possibility of being called 'Tuuli from the tulies', I call him Kai, and he graciously answers to that." She winks at the Sea Elf and gives a wide grin to Sebston.
"Your people have answered some of the things I've been wondering about - like what the disagreement between the Ferroes and Folkeths was about and where Lady Michelle's mother was in all of this, but I wonder if I may ask one thing: if this Stevren Ferroe has died and that's who Lady Michelle's mother ran off with, what happened to her? Does Lady Michelle need to be prepared for the possibility of seeing her mother again?"
Proof of Lineage Recap
"Now to answer your questions. Let me start with the proof of lineage since that's the easiest to answer. Lord Michael hid the proof of lineage within Kalaman, and Lady Michelle charged me with retrieving it, since we weren't certain how long she is going to be tied up in the city. We only just arrived in Kalaman this morning, and as you may have heard, we all felt warning the local leaders about this business with Lady Michelle's former army took precedence over everything else."
About the RDA (Recap)
"As for this army that Lord Michael and Lady Michelle were forced to join, yes, that's true. It seems the old gods are stirring on Krynn. Soldiers from that army walk about wearing about the star of Takhisis, and even the god Reorx has appeared to a priest in my group. I'm sure in time there will be similar stirrings about the gods' return in other places if there aren't already. We believe that Takhisis' army has branches that correspond to all the colors of chromatic dragons: red, green, blue, black, and white. The branch that Lady Michelle and Lord Michael were forced to serve has the red dragon as its symbol, and Lady Michelle tells how the priests that serve the army are able to imbue both armor and weapons with the power of red dragons."
Elders/Planning (some recap)
"As for the elders with me, that's the longest part of this story." She pauses to introduce Jarnathan and the other elders. "We came to Kalaman from a little fishing village called Vogler about 30 miles up the Vingaard River from here. These here are the elders from that village." She then goes on to recount how she and her group had come to Vogler for the funeral of Ispin Greenshield and all the events that took place there, from the betrayal at High Hill, the discovery of the army nearby, meeting Lady Michelle and her subsequent capture, then the destruction of Vogler and evacuation to Kalaman. Upon finishing, Mery pauses to take a sip of her tea.
"Lady Michelle indicates that this was the first time she'd ever seen her own army attack ordinary people, that every other combat she'd been involved in was between her group and opposing ones like militias - people who all had some form of combat training and consented to the fight - and she was incensed by the lack of honor her own side showed. She conducted herself with a great deal of honor while our prisoner, and then received a vision from Takhisis in which the members of her platoon were slain because the leaders feared her honor had rubbed off on them. At this point, she hates that army as much as the rest of us do and has said explicitly that she's willing to help fight them. However, since she initially surrendered to a knight of Solamnia in my group, he felt obligated to turn her over as a military prisoner to the Order of the Rose here in Kalaman - a Ser Marbleheart, I believe. We're not really sure what's going to happen to her or how quickly the Order of the Rose might make their judgment, but if need be, I plan to let the Order know in clear terms how honorably she's conducted herself and make a case that she merits clemency."
"Given that my group helped approximately 350 residents of Vogler to escape their burning village and they now need a place to stay in Kalaman and Lady Michelle's lands have lain unworked for these past several years and are in clear need of some repair and sprucing up, it seemed like a mutually beneficial arrangement for both sides to have her offer to shelter them here, plus it's a way for her to do what she can to make amends for the evil her former army committed against their village. That's why these elders are here - to start figuring out where and how to house the Voglerites. Lady Michelle suggested tents, and that seems a reasonable idea under the circumstances until the roofs of enough of the buildings can be repaired or replaced. I'm hoping maybe the Kalaman military might have some extras they'd be willing to loan us."
"She also offered to allow my group of 7 to stay here. We feel an obligation to help get the Voglerites settled, but I'm honestly not sure what's next for us once we warn the city leaders and the villagers are settled in. I'm not even certain whether everyone from my group is going to want to stay here. I can only say that I for one will definitely be staying here."
"Oh, and one more thing. The noblewoman who served as the Mayor of Vogler was also displaced. We figured that with Lady Michelle having been away for so long and never having had full training in running an estate, aid from this noblewoman - a Baronetess Raven uth Vogler - would be useful in getting things going around here, so we've recruited her. I'm not sure what the exact arrangement is going to be, but that can be sorted out later."
When she finishes, Mery says, "I apologize for speaking for so long - there was just a lot of news to cover. Is there anything you have any particular questions about?"
Actions & Resources
Actions:
Shortbow (simple, ranged, ammunition, two-handed). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 80/320 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Dagger (light, ranged or melee). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 20/80 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.
Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions:
Healing Word
A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains hit points equal to 1d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d4 for each slot level above 1st.
Bardic Inspiration (3 per long rest, for 1d6)
As a bonus action, a creature (other than yourself) within 60 ft. that can hear you gains an inspiration die (1d6). For 10 minutes, the creature can add it to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. This can be added after seeing the roll, but before knowing the outcome.
Heat Metal
Until the spell ends (up to 1 minute), you can use a bonus action on each of your subsequent turns to cause this damage (1d8 fire damage for each level the spell is cast at, minimum 2nd level) again.
Ammunition:
14 arrows in quiver, 0 arrow bundles in backpack.
Spellcasting:
Mery is a 2nd-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following bard spells available for spontaneous casting:
- Cantrips (3/3 slots): prestidigitation, vicious mockery, message
- 1st level (4/4 slots): healing word, hideous laughter, cure wounds, unseen servant
- 2nd (3/3 slots): invisibility, heat metal, enhance ability
Class Features:
- 3/3 Bardic Inspiration, recovered after a long rest
- Song of Rest (Use on any short rest - anyone who hears her performance and chooses to regain a hit die gains an extra 1d6 of HP.)
- Jack of All Trades (add 1/2 proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.)
- Bardic College = College of Lore. Gain expertise in 2 skills you already have proficiency in, and proficiency in 3 new skills. (Choosing Persuasion and Deception for Expertise, adding Nature, Stealth, and Religion for Proficiency.)