>>5281481You march your column of jubilant zealots to the breeding pits, where ethe guards on duty look at your horde of breeding-restricted mongrels and low-bloods with horror. They know that they cannot stop you all. Imagine their relief when, rather than storming their flesh-den in some act of riotous rebellion, you merely call out for the Pit-Guard who you know from the day before. You recognize him easily by his still-battered face, and you call him to your side.
“Dragonborn,” he acknowledges you, though his eyes roam your supplicants instead. “What is this?”
“This is…” you pause, trying to decide what to call it. “A near-critical success in my recruitment efforts for our expedition. I must cull these ranks. I can select only seven. Can you help me separate meat from fat?”
In the end, the Pit-Guard’s age and experience at vetting worthies and testing mettle proves immensely useful. With a sadistic glee barely hidden behind a stiffened face, he bellows and belts with blows the weakest-willed members of your over-excited assembly, chasing and frightening away those who are physically or mentally unworthy. Those who refuse to accept his judgement fall before his fists, or wither beneath your own judgement.
You are left with:
>‘Paeris’, the half-elven Degenerate who you earlier spotted in the crowd (a tracker and scout with some gift for ‘music-magic’, he says)>‘Oluwadamilare’; a dark-skinned Degenerate male of middle-age, with eyes even darker than his complexion who declares a willingness to die for you; he proved this, in daring to even bite and claw with his pathetic mammal-mouth and nails at the Pit-Guard for the privilege>‘The Bastard’; A reddish-skinned Dragonblood/Steeltalon hybrid, clanless and thin with hunger, who cannot produce fire but can resist it, and who fights with a desperation that speaks to miserable circumstances>‘The North-Merchant and South-Merchant’’; a pair of Silkscale merchants who have experience in exploring the surface to the North and South respectively, and who prove at least nimble enough to evade the Pit-Guard’s blows and slip free of his grappling attempts for a time>‘The Thief’; another Silkscale male, a young one who admits to being a thief and a Shamed One, and who bares the brand of that shame on his face, but who has considerable skill with a knife and ALSO admits to skulking the surface alone, without an Amulet of Disguise… And without being detected for several years>‘The Pit-Guard’s Apprentice’; technically another Steeltalon pit-guard, a bit younger and less-experienced than THE Pit-Guard, but also bigger, and nearly as strong, as the Pit-Guard; his coworker vouches for him, and he demonstrates his skill against a few lesser challengers to his positionThus, your retinue is filled!
