TNN: True & Neutral News - "INTERVIEW WITH A SPROUT"
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:54 am
I don’t know about you folks, but I sure as hell have lost count of how many new kith I’ve seen roaming around Risenholm’s streets. Most of them are Scar-hunters to boot, as if the Well had a hunch or something - just spit out adventurers all day. When was the last time you saw a friendly old lady crawl out of the Well and start knitting up new clothes? You sit by the Well long enough and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see some wide-eyed newcomer shamble out into the open, and they’re pretty much guaranteed to be clutching some manner of killing tool.
I should know, I’m one of them. A Surger. We’re practically swarming Risenholm with deadly intent, most of it, thankfully, for now, focused on the Scars outside of Risenholm’s walls. Makes sense, right? Scars are threatening. But also threatening, to me, are people’s attention spans. With this many people, I figure it’s only a matter of time until tensions start rising between kith - just the nature of cramming a bunch of folks into the same, small village. So it isn’t much of a surprise that, among the big three organizations of Risenholm, the Reeves seem to be the ones stepping up and launching initial recruiting efforts. Maybe the other two have, too, and just don’t have as much good publicity. Sounds like something they ought to change.
For those who somehow ain’t in the know, or on the off-chance this article blows through and hits your face as you come out of the Well, the Reeves are the militia of Risenholm. They defend the town from outside threats, enforce the laws of the village, and go out and about scouting in the wilderness. If there were a place out there that really needed a spear stuck in it, that’d be the Reeves’ job. I had the chance to sit down with one of their newest recruits, bloke named Tarkhan, and ask him a couple of questions. Bloke’s a tall, masculine fellow, and not to get too raunchy but I’ve already seen ladies giving him second glances. Uniforms can do wonders, people. First, I asked him why he went and joined the Reeves - what prompts a guy to put on a uniform if it ain’t to get second looks?
Naturally, he mentioned no such cynical motivations. “What I feel, or remember, of my past causes me great unease. That was what prompted me to take my oaths - oaths of service, of putting the self last and the community first. The Reeves were a natural choice.”
No secret that we’re all walking, talking voids of memory - for the most part, anyway. A lot of kith seem to get flashes of memory, nothing substantial, and I’ve noticed a bit of a trend among those who do. Let’s just say I’ve yet to hear someone recall a good memory, so what Tarkhan said makes sense. That he’s using that unease towards a decent goal, that of helping other folk out first, is something I think a lot of prospective Reeves might seek to emulate. On that note, according to Tarkhan, the Quartermaster, Olivia Hawke, is seeking out “capable scouts and survivalists,” so I get the sense law and order at home ain’t the only thing on their mind with this expansion of manpower. More to the point, Tarkhan’s initiation itself involved an outside mission.
He told me it was, “… a group of Scar-born goblins had begun building a more permanent encampment in the Suthwood… it was extremely well-hidden, the goblins inside much stronger than those in the Scar nearby that they had been birthed from. A stronger, focused Reeve presence outside Risenholm could catch threats like that early and act on them.”
He went on to say, “While some of the Risen seem to be of the opinion that their deaths do not matter, thanks to the Well… we should make use of it as little as humanly possible. To say nothing of the mental toll death and rebirth take on a soul.”
Can’t disagree there - I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen familiar faces emerging from the Well, then get right back to running around every which way, haunted looks on their faces be damned. If the Reeves are taking care of nasty, emerging threats like this, that’ll mean fewer corpses needing to get uncorpsed. Which ain’t to say the Reeves are inclined to be flippant with those in their ranks - Tarkhan said, on the subject of two Reeves he had spoken to who had recently died due to that shadow monster from a few weeks ago, “Quartermaster Olivia expressed genuine concern over their wellbeing when I spoke with her about my joining the service.”
Now, it ain’t much of a surprise that Quartermaster Hawke’s the woman on the job when it comes to organizing the Reeves, what with Captain Vollan pretty much always out on extended patrol missions. Tarkhan expressed his admiration for the woman’s work as well, though he couched this in a bit of a pragmatic way. “With the logistical problems surrounding establishing a presence outside… I personally believe the Quartermaster is uniquely suited to a leadership role in our present times.”
From there, we touched on a few other subjects, mostly on Cohecium - for those that don’t know, there’s a great big city to the south that’s crawling with nasty, hostile constructs. The Reeves don’t seem too concerned about it at the moment, as it’s a little further away from Risenholm to present an immediate threat, and the great big hub-bub that resulted from that initial attack hasn’t turned into anything. It always could, though, and I asked Tarkhan about the Reeves’ ability to defend Risenholm. He told me he was, “Confident in the community’s ability to defend itself. Law and order are necessary parts of that, and help focus the efforts of the community as a whole… Surgers in particular are well-equipped to defend this place, and should feel obligated to do so.”
He ain’t wrong - Surgers are basically walking armories and very willing to use their Powers and abilities, after all - but it wasn’t precisely what I’d asked. I pressed him a bit more about the Reeves, and he said, “The Reeves are responsible for coordinating defenses of the town in the event of an attack, yes.”
This all a round-about way of saying that the Reeves are a little tapped out on manpower, and if push comes to shove, they’re expecting Scar-hunters to assist in the defense of Risenholm. Makes sense, but here’s hoping they get enough folk in their ranks soon, right? I asked for any closing comments, and he actually touched upon that very thing by saying, “It would be appreciated if you directed any possible new recruits to me… no new recruits should make the decision to serve without first considering what it means to them as a person.”
So, there you have it. If you’ve got a hankering to be a Reeve, Tarkhan, newest sprout of the Reeves, is the guy to talk to first if you feel like doing some philosophizing about what that means to you. Ain’t a bad thing to consider your decisions, of course, but if you want my opinion? Don’t dwell on the subject too long - Risenholm ain’t getting any smaller, and our need for defenders is only gonna grow.
See you next time, and don’t find yourself climbing up.
Needle,
True & Neutral News
I should know, I’m one of them. A Surger. We’re practically swarming Risenholm with deadly intent, most of it, thankfully, for now, focused on the Scars outside of Risenholm’s walls. Makes sense, right? Scars are threatening. But also threatening, to me, are people’s attention spans. With this many people, I figure it’s only a matter of time until tensions start rising between kith - just the nature of cramming a bunch of folks into the same, small village. So it isn’t much of a surprise that, among the big three organizations of Risenholm, the Reeves seem to be the ones stepping up and launching initial recruiting efforts. Maybe the other two have, too, and just don’t have as much good publicity. Sounds like something they ought to change.
For those who somehow ain’t in the know, or on the off-chance this article blows through and hits your face as you come out of the Well, the Reeves are the militia of Risenholm. They defend the town from outside threats, enforce the laws of the village, and go out and about scouting in the wilderness. If there were a place out there that really needed a spear stuck in it, that’d be the Reeves’ job. I had the chance to sit down with one of their newest recruits, bloke named Tarkhan, and ask him a couple of questions. Bloke’s a tall, masculine fellow, and not to get too raunchy but I’ve already seen ladies giving him second glances. Uniforms can do wonders, people. First, I asked him why he went and joined the Reeves - what prompts a guy to put on a uniform if it ain’t to get second looks?
Naturally, he mentioned no such cynical motivations. “What I feel, or remember, of my past causes me great unease. That was what prompted me to take my oaths - oaths of service, of putting the self last and the community first. The Reeves were a natural choice.”
No secret that we’re all walking, talking voids of memory - for the most part, anyway. A lot of kith seem to get flashes of memory, nothing substantial, and I’ve noticed a bit of a trend among those who do. Let’s just say I’ve yet to hear someone recall a good memory, so what Tarkhan said makes sense. That he’s using that unease towards a decent goal, that of helping other folk out first, is something I think a lot of prospective Reeves might seek to emulate. On that note, according to Tarkhan, the Quartermaster, Olivia Hawke, is seeking out “capable scouts and survivalists,” so I get the sense law and order at home ain’t the only thing on their mind with this expansion of manpower. More to the point, Tarkhan’s initiation itself involved an outside mission.
He told me it was, “… a group of Scar-born goblins had begun building a more permanent encampment in the Suthwood… it was extremely well-hidden, the goblins inside much stronger than those in the Scar nearby that they had been birthed from. A stronger, focused Reeve presence outside Risenholm could catch threats like that early and act on them.”
He went on to say, “While some of the Risen seem to be of the opinion that their deaths do not matter, thanks to the Well… we should make use of it as little as humanly possible. To say nothing of the mental toll death and rebirth take on a soul.”
Can’t disagree there - I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen familiar faces emerging from the Well, then get right back to running around every which way, haunted looks on their faces be damned. If the Reeves are taking care of nasty, emerging threats like this, that’ll mean fewer corpses needing to get uncorpsed. Which ain’t to say the Reeves are inclined to be flippant with those in their ranks - Tarkhan said, on the subject of two Reeves he had spoken to who had recently died due to that shadow monster from a few weeks ago, “Quartermaster Olivia expressed genuine concern over their wellbeing when I spoke with her about my joining the service.”
Now, it ain’t much of a surprise that Quartermaster Hawke’s the woman on the job when it comes to organizing the Reeves, what with Captain Vollan pretty much always out on extended patrol missions. Tarkhan expressed his admiration for the woman’s work as well, though he couched this in a bit of a pragmatic way. “With the logistical problems surrounding establishing a presence outside… I personally believe the Quartermaster is uniquely suited to a leadership role in our present times.”
From there, we touched on a few other subjects, mostly on Cohecium - for those that don’t know, there’s a great big city to the south that’s crawling with nasty, hostile constructs. The Reeves don’t seem too concerned about it at the moment, as it’s a little further away from Risenholm to present an immediate threat, and the great big hub-bub that resulted from that initial attack hasn’t turned into anything. It always could, though, and I asked Tarkhan about the Reeves’ ability to defend Risenholm. He told me he was, “Confident in the community’s ability to defend itself. Law and order are necessary parts of that, and help focus the efforts of the community as a whole… Surgers in particular are well-equipped to defend this place, and should feel obligated to do so.”
He ain’t wrong - Surgers are basically walking armories and very willing to use their Powers and abilities, after all - but it wasn’t precisely what I’d asked. I pressed him a bit more about the Reeves, and he said, “The Reeves are responsible for coordinating defenses of the town in the event of an attack, yes.”
This all a round-about way of saying that the Reeves are a little tapped out on manpower, and if push comes to shove, they’re expecting Scar-hunters to assist in the defense of Risenholm. Makes sense, but here’s hoping they get enough folk in their ranks soon, right? I asked for any closing comments, and he actually touched upon that very thing by saying, “It would be appreciated if you directed any possible new recruits to me… no new recruits should make the decision to serve without first considering what it means to them as a person.”
So, there you have it. If you’ve got a hankering to be a Reeve, Tarkhan, newest sprout of the Reeves, is the guy to talk to first if you feel like doing some philosophizing about what that means to you. Ain’t a bad thing to consider your decisions, of course, but if you want my opinion? Don’t dwell on the subject too long - Risenholm ain’t getting any smaller, and our need for defenders is only gonna grow.
See you next time, and don’t find yourself climbing up.
Needle,
True & Neutral News