Aurial of Wynndale, devoted mother and wife, and huntress for her village, had begun to finally lose all hope of finding her family. A year past, while she was out hunting, her husband and two infant children disappeared. No one in the village had seen a thing. The more Aurial struggled to make sense of the mystery, the more it baffled her. There was not a hint to be found.
After a month, she had widened the net of her search to surrounding cities, each more distant than the last. Sympathetic ears heard her tale, but none could offer her more than comfort and well wishes.
Now, fully a year after the mystery began, Aurial had given up the search. Rather than quit on life, as was not in her nature, she instead turned her focus inward - to actively pursue her bond with the hawk totem. She reasoned that if she could find herself, then she might one day find her family.
Aurial found herself in the small trading crossroads of Lothis, deep in the Central Plains and hundreds of miles from home. A young boy running the streets cried out about the need for adventurers at Ebonring Keep. This marked her new beginning.
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Ys-Korros, eldest of two boys, had taken up the respectable calling of a Champion of Life. Having a knack for martial duties, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a guardsman for the city of Jerrad. It was satisfying work, though in the back of his mind there was a nagging feeling that he should be doing more - stretching to find his potential.
His younger brother, Ys-Baddaden, upon reaching the age of maturity, underwent the first ritual of Shu-Rin - becoming more in touch with his giant nature. Much to Ys-Korros' surprise, Ys-Baddaden promptly announced his intention to leave Jerrad and see the world, to find adventure wherever it presented itself.
Two days after his younger brother had struck out to the west, Ys-Korros made up his mind to join and protect his "little" brother. With little difficulty, he was able to track Ys-Baddaden's path to the town of Lothis, and from there to the Liar's Club.
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Aurial and Ys-Korros both arrived at the Liar's Club in the early evening. Admittance to the exclusive club for experienced adventurers seemed unlikely, until the doorman asked if they were here about the call from Ebonring Keep for adventurers. Aurial said she was there for the job, and on a hunch Ys-Korros said he was as well.
The pair were quickly pushed in and introduced to Bean Silvertongue, the faen proprietor of the club. She explained that she knew little about the job, but that they could travel out to the Ebonring Keep and inquire with the magister Iriana Truthspeaker for the exact details. Bean also mentioned that a half dozen other young adventurers had already headed out earlier in the day. Ys-Korros' hunch paid off when Bean admitted that Ys-Baddaden had been among that group.
Aurial and Ys-Korros agreed to travel together to the keep, both for companionship and safety. Starting early the next day, they pushed hard along the modest roads, finding one another's companionship amicable. Several times along the way they encountered bodies, and each time Ys-Korros worried that he might find his brother amongst them. Nothing more than a few rhodin and devil dogs were found - all slain in combat.
After several days, the pair finally reached the Ebonring Keep just before dinnertime. It was a small but effective-looking stone structure built into the side of a hill. Outside the keep, a small military camp had been erected and the sound of training, maintenance, and construction could be heard.
A pair of litorian scouts greeted them and soon escorted them into the keep proper. The main hall of the keep was dimly lit and empty aside from three large tables surrounded by benches. The scouts passed a door (through which the muffled sounds of certain other adventurers could be faintly heard trying to deal with the cook's concoctions) and descended a long flight of stairs. A smaller hall at the bottom of the stairs had passages leading off to the barracks and a storage area. There were two sets of double doors, and through one of these the litorians led Aurial and Ys-Korros.
The room beyond was clearly intended for some arcane purpose. Two columns dominated the far wall and an empty pedestal was the focal point of a lower section in the center of the chamber. Iriana Truthspeaker, a middle aged human woman whose eyes revealed great brilliance and a hint of humor and exhaustion, sets aside her notes and greets the new arrivals warmly.
She briefly recaps the tale of how her research into the Ebonring Keep had allowed her and the small military force to oust the rhodin from their occupation. Iriana believes that a number of rhodin managed to flee somehow, possibly through an unknown secret passage, and she suspects that they took the Ebonring with them. While she doesn't know all the abilities of the Ebonring, it is written that the magic item holds the key to the keep's defenses. She has brought in adventurers to help find and recover the ring because her own forces are barely adequate to hold the keep should the rhodin try to mount a counterattack.
Iriana says that she would prefer that you wait at the keep until some of the scouts return with more detailed information on where the fleeing rhodin were heading. The magister also mentions that another party had arrived just a few hours earlier...hinting that they might be wise to hook up. Claiming that she was ready to finish for the day, she offers to lead you to the room upstairs that the other adventurers are using.
She opens the door from the ring chamber and expresses her pleasant surprise at finding the other adventurers...looking a little green and discussing where to begin their search of the lowest level. Among them are a pair of humans, a litorian, a sibbecai, a loresong faen, and the giant Ys-Baddaden (with a big look of shock).
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ooc: Go ahead and play out the reunion and introduction. We can come back to your exploration of the basement shortly. I have something in mind to play out the departing characters, as well as a short aside in which Ys-Baddaden attains his greenbond status.
