[Eberron] Queen with Burning Eyes

Eyre the 4th, 998 YK

It has been a hard month since you last heard from Lady Elaydren. "Check in with the House Sivis message station at the Barmin Tower," you remember her saying to you at your final meeting in the Broken Anvil. "I may leave a message for you if more work becomes available."

Since then, you've heard nothing.

You came to the fabled City of Towers hoping to get some questions answered, to escape some of the prejudices against your people so prevalent in the north-eastern portions of Breland, and maybe to make a little money on the side. You thought that Lady Luck had been on your side when you had been hired by the noblewoman of House Cannith to procure the strange schema from the ruins of Dorasharn deep in the bones of the city. But the money you received for that quick smash-and-grab soon ran out, and after the two attacks by the warforged disciples of the Lord of Blades, you started feeling less and less safe.

The Broken Anvil soon became too expensive for you to stay in, and so you went in the direction that all the poor of Sharn eventually travel in. Down.

Lately you've been passing your time at a "fine" establishment known as "The Pineapple", one of dozens of bars in the rowdy district know affectionately as Downstairs. This tavern is frequented by ex-pat Cyreans, mostly of the mercenary type, who have familiar-looking faces, and sing songs you remember from your childhood. There is some comraderie and fellowship to be found here, which is more than can be said for much of the rest of Sharn.

The bar is a rickety two-story structure, built in what used to be a bathhouse, and sits in the long shadow of Lyrandar tower. The neighboring buildings are so tall that direct sunlight only manages to show its face at noontime. The dozens of local firepits, stoves and chimneys spew out enough soot and smoke that even at those times it doesn't get much brighter than a hazy twilight.

You've had your breakfast (those of you who eat, that is) and are sitting on the stoop of the Pineapple, watching the colorful streetlife pass by and wondering what to do next. Lately, Tok has been studying the journal left behind by the late Bonal Geldem, the gentleman whose death launched your encounters with Lady Elaydren. At first it seemed as if the pages of the book had been blank, but the changeling artificer sensed that some magic was at work, and was soon able to crack the code.

Upon careful study, Tok informed you that the journal revealed that Geldem had been an unmarked member of House Cannith and an archeologist, working on the recovery of a magical artifact known as a schema. He had been in the middle of an excavation under Sharn at the time of his death, a dig which had yielded some interesting artifacts which pre-dated the ancient city of Dorasharn, and were quite valuable. He had had to abandon this dig when he learned of the location of the piece of the schema which you eventually recovered. The location of this dig is described in detail.

Anvuss, Warforged Fighter 2

Anvuss bemusedly glances around the common room. Such a lot of noise! Peace still feels a bit odd to the warforged, but Anvuss isn't sure that the common room of an inn like the Pinapple (or was it Pineapple?) can really be described as peacefull. The mild chaos of the common room is like a counterpoint to the inaction of unemployment. So many ex-soldiers, so little paying violence... if something doesn't change soon, Anvuss is worried that his humanoid friends might be unable to acquire the food they desire. At the moment, having spent all that money on scribing scrolls is starting to seem unwise, but Anvuss reflects that when times become more desperate the plan may well be redeemed.

Hobbes - Shifter Barbarian 2

This insufferable city is going to kill me. If I am unable to focus my mind on a task soon this city will kill me, I am already feeling it closing in on me. I am afraid one of these days literally buried underground such that we are I will snap and kill everything in site, which is not what I want. I just want to be under the open sky and feel the sweet breath of nature caressing me, not this stink of the city. It looks like Tok might have discovered something of interest and finally we might have a purpose again.

Lady Elaydren has made us wait too long for work and I am growing tired of this. If were not for my friends here I would have abandoned this fruitless adventure long ago. All I want is my home restored and to find my family once more. Hopefully this artifact can help restore some of what we have Cyreans have lost over the years.

"So Tok what does this book say and where do we need to go to get whatever item you mentioned earlier? I am sure by now you have noticed that I am getting a little restless."

Saric Acoma Human Ranger 2

Saric sat rather listlessly in the corase wooden chair, glancing towards the door every few minutes. He wore his travel cloak despite the warmth of the room, keeping the hood pulled down to shield his eyes from the bright light from a nearby lantern. His senses were overloaded by all the noise and smells of the common room, and it made him a bit nervous. Days living amongst the smoke and soot had made him feel as though every breath was a labor. I can't wait to get out of this hole, he thought, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He appreciated being among this new group. It was good to hear the accent of Cyr, even so far away from the land of his birth.

Saric shared Hobbes' opinion of the situation. He could sense the shifter's restlessness, and also longed for the woods and plains. I think if we had something to focus our attention on, things would be better for the lot of us.

He glanced across the table at Tok and Hobbes. "I know how you feel, Hobbes. All those night sleeping under the stars seem so far past now."

Tilting his head towards the changeling, he inquired, "I must admit, you have my curiousity as well. What do you think the next step should be?"

Anvuss, Warforged Fighter 2

Bobitron said:

He glanced across the table at Tok and Hobbes. "I know how you feel, Hobbes. All those night sleeping under the stars seem so far past now."

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"Perhaps under the stars would be a step in the right direction. If we are unable to find an employer soon, we should find a way to employ ourselves. If we visited the sight of this dig, we might discover something of interest. In any event, we would at least not be paying for our stay.

"Do you think the assasins that have been attacking us would find it more difficult to do so in the wild, or less?"

Hobbes - Shifter Barbarian 2

Patlin said:

"Do you think the assassins that have been attacking us would find it more difficult to do so in the wild, or less?"

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"I believe they would have a much harder time of it in the wild than in this cesspool of a place. The problem is all the people that surround you in the city, who knows might be friend or foe. In the wild when you are surrounded by nothing it is far more difficult to sneak up on someone and do them harm. That is one of the many reasons why I prefer to stay out in the wild and only enter a city if I have no choice."

At which point I start to pace back and forth my nerves on edge with all this waiting. I have never liked sitting in one place for any length of time and I grow weary of this. Why do I always let myself get pulled into others affairs? I should have learned form my past dealing with "official" people to never trust them and never believe what they say. If it were not for my friends, I would have never come into this slimy cesspool of a city and would have preferred to stay in the nearby forests. As the smells of this place continuously assault my nose, making me even more tense than I normally am.

A large man enters the Pineapple. His name is Magnus Walberg and he looks far more haggard that he did when he first entered Sharn. His beard, normaly kept short and well trimmed, is now somewhat long and wild. He's returning from house Sivis' message station. In fact, he has been going there every day in hope Lady Elaydren would send them a message. There hasn't been such a thing, not yesterday, not today and probably not tommorow.

While Magnus is an optimist and he isn't depressed, he's getting rather restless, like Hobbes. "By the holy light of Dol Arrah, I can hardly see the tip of my nose down here. Argghh, barkeep! I need a drink!" He sits down close to his companions. "No message again today, friends. I tell you, a true servant of Dol Dorn isn't supposed to stay in inns all day, drinking to past the time. I need to prove myself with feats of arms! Never mind this Lady Elaydren! I say we leave this accursed place. I know! We could head for New Cyre. I'm sure the Prince is in dire need of experienced men like us. We could help the restoration of Cyre!" Magnus looks to the others for approbation.

Anvuss

"Welcome back, Magnus. We were just discussing the possibility of looking for some gainfull activity. There are a number of ways to go about it, I suppose."

Patlin said:

OOC: I had sort of expected a message would be there today. Perhaps we should wait for a hint from the DM as to what we should be doing, so as not to wander out of the module completely...

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"Well, other than the schema we already recovered for Lady Elaydren, this journal indicates that the dig here, amongst ancient Dorasharn ruins has been left abandoned. If we don't feel too bad about infringing on a site of ancient treasures that others MIGHT consider theirs, we could probably uncover some items of value, and sell them to continue our existence until our patron decides to contact us. With 500gp, I could attempt to make a full contingent of spell scrolls and potions to aid us on our journey. I will have to study the journal a little further to determine what we might need..."

((OOC Further study of the journal, does it tell me anything about possible dangers?))