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Correl: An Element of Origin
MarauderX
Explorer
Session 21: Lorleena's Cutter
Quentin watched the beastial form of Varekai jump up to a nearby balcony, and Alex stopped in the doorway to see the were-creature’s silhouette against the starry sky as it leapt over the rooftop. They turned to the others in the group and saw the diminutive form of Jerrin trying to assist Thovaas to his feet. They inspected the six-armed snake woman, stabbing her several more times in reaction to her tail twitching.
The voices of neighbors could be heard as they looked into the courtyard. Three sages stumbled into the courtyard, and Thovaas told one to fetch the city guard. The group investigated the creature’s weapons, Jerrin staring at them to detect if they were magically enhanced. The only thing he came across was the wand that she had used on Thovaas.
The group watched as the guards poked around, and the sergeant sent a runner to bring the lieutenant and captain after hearing the party explain what had happened. It took them a few times to get it right with the many questions the guards had, so Thovaas borrowed some parchment and began writing what he had just witnessed. Alex searched vigorously through Marak’s quarters and came up with several tomes that he had recently used. The books were of ancient days, and there were a few pages where the corners had been folded and passages underlined. In each occasion it seemed to reference a six-armed being, or mentioned an elder race.
Alex also discovered Marak’s journal. In it were the last notes of tasks and research notes, and also included a timeline of his latest meetings and appointments. Alex read through the final entries and discovered that the day after the party had arrived and talked with him, he had asked for a book to be delivered from Suln, the Kingdom’s capital. A return message stated that the book would be on its way with the next riverboat to go upstream to Kargam, a ship called Lorleena’s Cutter. By the schedule the ship would likely be arrive in Kargam within the next few days. The group decided to intercept the ship in order to collect the book on Marak’s behalf.
The party stayed a while at the row house of the Order of Conhenci, and Rian and Siakam showed up to direct events as the night finally settled down. Rian gave the group an open invitation to stay the night, to stay any night they wished as long as they were in town. The guards took the body of the six-armed woman-beast away to the castle, and the guard lieutenant asked that the party visit the castle in the morning to discuss their events with investigators there. Thovaas went to spend the night at a nicer inn, and discovered that there not many empty places to be had. The night was alive with people and merriment; entertainers seemed to be in their glory as a makeshift theater held a play despite the hour. Eventually he found a room he could share and wrote everything he could remember from the night before down on parchment.
Quentin informed them that the large river ship might arrive a bit early, since it may try to unload some extra supplies at the south docks. He and Alex made their way through the city gathering rumors of the ship, but the main topic was the assassination attempt on the King, and who was behind it. Rumors ran wild –
• Dark elves called drow were responsible, and had tried to kill the king, the marquis and all the barons in one blow. I’d heard that they tried to kill the King in Suln and that’s why he fled to Kargam so suddenly. The poor King, I hope he and the Marquis find them and take care of the wretched cretins once and for all.
• The king had summoned the barons to meet to find out which one of them was really a dark elf in disguise, and I heard it was that strange mage Volare from Deepmoor. After all he is the only foreigner to rule a barony in the entire Kingdom.
• I was at the castle crypt and saw that it was really elves that tried to kill the king, and they had painted their skin to look like drow. Ok, it wasn’t me, but my sisters-brothers-cousins-uncle says so. What?
• There was no assassination attempt; the king is still safe inside the castle because the Marquis and other Barons smelled the plot from a mile away. The way my servant wench tells it, she pegs one of the nobles for being the mastermind.
• The barons, led by the marquis, left the castle stealthily to track down the assassin at a lord’s house in the merchant district. They were spotted by my boy and his pals as they played. He says they tossed him a gold coin to stay where they were, but I ain’t seen it.
• The assassin was chased down by the Marquis’s dogs, and they tracked him back to the castle where the king himself dispatched the murderer. The man had twelve heads and was said to be a necromancer.
• The king’s chief advisor, Nemdori, was killed in cold blood in his quarters by the assassin and the king was left unharmed. The assassin wasn’t after the King at all but Nemdori.
• Nemdori saved the king’s life by jumping heroically between the assassin’s blade and the king’s throat. Then Nemdori valiantly fought the attacker to his dying breath, and the Marquis revenged him.
• I saw the barons together in the streets headed to the artisan district in the middle of the day, possibly following a lead on the assassination attempt. They stopped to take two of my clay jugs and asked to borrow my staff. I never got my staff back, and they didn’t pay for anything either! Cheapskates!
• Ogmund was the assassin and had tried to kill the king just to show that he could and get away with it. It was to prove how powerless Marquis Hoil was against him. That showoff Ogmund will be the death of him someday.
• The assassin escaped because one of the barons let him, and he ran out the front gate of the castle after killing several of the guards. He was probably hired by one of the Barons just to show off.
• The assassin wasn’t a man, but a woman, and had silver eyelashes to match her silver tongue, and any man meeting her eye would be entranced to do her bidding. I wish I’d met her, I’d show her!
• The assassin wasn’t a human, but drow intent on starting a war just to mess with the trade guilds.
After a long night of listening to everyone’s sob story, both Quentin and Alex turned in at a hideout Quentin took them to.
Everyone woke to a new day and strolled over to meet the others at the castle in the late morning. There the captain of the guard questioned them and what they knew of an assassination attempt on the King and the death of his advisor. In the middle of the discussion, horns are sounded and a large amount of knights poured out of the main gates. They were followed by an entourage of the Marquis and the five Barons of the surrounding lands, and everyone on the grounds of the castle could see them as they walked downhill from the castle and straight into the noble quarter. Marquis Hoil, each of the Barons, and all of their assistants seemed to be ready for something, as if readying for war. Alex, like the wise merchants, watched everyone else, keeping his valuables safe from wandering hands. After the war parade disappeared down the main street of the noble district everything seemed to resume. The captain explained that the sages, Marak included, never got to see the King’s advisor, Nemdori, and that they had been detained as the attack unfolded. Though he was sure Marak and the others had never seen Nemdori, the party was not. They explained how the six-armed snake woman they had killed was a master of magic and disguise, possibly eluding the guards with ease. The captain said anything supposedly anything was possible with magic, so why not. He signed the statement of witness prepared by Thovaas and thanked the party for their good work.
As the group exited through the outer castle gates, a loud explosion erupted in the direction of the noble district. Thick black smoke bellowed into the sky, and the party rushed toward it, fighting a sea of fleeing people. They saw one building on fire and watched as another burst into flame. From the fire itself they made out the form of a huge bird, and it swiped at Baron Thord Sulisen of Threshwindwith its fiery claw. The party saw the bright colors of the Baron of Osscourt, Tragris Lunsater, as he leapt into the air and his blade connected with the fire bird's wing. Argus Vaugn, the Baron of Marncourt, floated down from a window as the building behind him burned and shot a well-aimed arrow into one of the bird's flaming eyes. Jerrin fought his way close to the scene and doused the flames burning one building.
Baron of Velja, Yurich Silverflame brought forth a devastating blast of fire which blew the bird to ashen pieces. The foreign wizard Baron Volare Comnia of Deepmoor sifted the ashes with his feet and found a small flame, itself shaped like a bird, starting to grow from the fuel of the ashes. Baron Volare took two egg shell halves in his hands and clamped them together with the tiny fire bird inside. He sealed the egg closed with several words of magic and held it up for all to see. Marquis Hoil led the Barons back into the mansion and fighting could be heard echoing from within. City guards poured in to assist and after several minutes the Marquis was at the balcony, waving to those below. Thovaas watched at the front as the guards carried the bodies of elves from the building and carried them toward the castle. He noted that all of them seemed dead, and several of them were charred and had deep gashes across their bodies. The group discussed later that some of them had painted themselves dark to appear as drow but were obviously elves, and were probably wood elves like those from Elarith.
The party decided to make their way around the town to shop in the unique markets and to see a few free performances at the castle. They headed down to the south docks district and strolled along the water’s edge as the sun set slowly. As they did they spotted a large ship anchored and a stream of workers unloading crates, barrels, chests and sacks from it. As they got closer they could see the name on the bow: Lorleena’s Cutter.
The group moved in closer as they watched the laborers hustle along the docks. They turned the corner to look down the street where they were taking the contents and saw a huge man, twelve feet tall with long hair and full beard, watching over the men as they moved the supplies. This giant towered over them, and next to his head was a window in which a greasy man rested his folded arms on the sill. Thovaas hailed him, and the greasy man sneered, telling the party to keep moving. Thovaas mentioned that he was looking for a book that Marak was expecting, and the man nodded as if he knew Marak and the book. The giant grumbled.
Quentin peeked his head around the corner and asked about picking up the book and perhaps having a look around for a few more things. The man at the window nodded and told Quentin he could have whatever he wanted if he got rid of the paladin. Thovaas took a few steps forward into the street and the giant leveled his huge halberd to chest level. Slowly Thovaas slid his had to his sword. Thovaas estimated it would take him six or more paces to reach the giant, all the while open to its long reach. Jerrin, following the paladin's reaction, reigned back his mount and stayed around the corner. He cast a quick spell of protection and watched the muscle on the ship take notice of what was happening.
Alex darted through the line of workers and made his way around the small building. He saw a line of closed windows on the second floor and crawled his way up the side of the structure to brace himself in the window frame. He eased one of the window shutters open after easily releasing a latch and slipped into the dark room. His footsteps were soft across the wooden floor and he could see the greasy man in front of him, telling Thovaas again to pester someone else. A floorboard creaked beneath him, but the man was listening to a possible bargain.
Thovaas again mentioned the authority of the law and confiscating the book. The giant jumped into action, slashing and stabbing at Thovaas. The greasy man yelled down from the window that any of the workers who helped fight off the party would be paid double for their efforts. Thovaas paused for an opening and the giant stabbed again with its halberd to draw blood. Quentin shot the giant and it charged after him, drawing a colossal sword from a sheath on his back.
Quentin had ducked out of sight then popped up to place a well aimed arrow into the greasy man's side. At that moment Alex leapt upon the greasy man as he recoiled from the window. Alex's rapier drove deep and the surprised man spun to face him, his face distorting from shock to pure rage as he dropped his crossbow and drew his own scimitar, a gleaming blade that shimmered as the tip danced near Alex's face.
Jerrin saw the guards on the ship clambor to a plank to cross onto the dock. He cast a spell and threw a ball of fire at the dock where it burst into flames. Thovaas drew his sword and slashed at the giant repeatedly, opening gashes on its unprotected thighs. Alex struck blows against the greasy man as he stabbed wildly toward him. Quentin shot the giant from close range, an arrow driving deep into his arm. The giant chased after Quentin as he retreated and several of the laborers stabbed meekly toward him. First the giant's sword crashed into the building above Quentin's head then the rogue ducked as the sword again thundered into the structure. Alex and his opponent wondered who was knocking but neither allowed the other an opening to see outside.
The guards from the ship swarmed on Jerrin and his ally Tempest. They struck several blows before one of them fell, and Thovaas and Quentin worked in conjunction to drop the giant. Alex pierced his adversary's throat, twisted the blade to slice through vital veins, and watched as he crumpled to the floor at his feet. Seeing the gathering group of laborers from the window, Alex tossed out a magic stick that burst into smoke when it hit the street. The laborers stepped further back from the fight, and when the smoke cleared less than half were brave enough to remain. Alex picked up the greasy man's crossbow, fired it at one of the guards then leapt down into the street, drawing his rapier from his teeth.
The guards from the ship rained down blows on Thovaas, felling him, and Quentin retained a safe avenue of escape as he repeatedly attacked then withdrew. Jerrin manuvered patiently, commanding Tempest to attack his same foe. An angry guard, with no one else to attack, struck down one of the laborers and pushed him aside. One of the other laborers dived beneath an outdoor table while the others quickly fled. The guards screamed at them but continued to assault the party.
Jerrin made his way to Thovaas and healed him to consciousness. The paladin stood wearily, but shook off the drowsiness as he saw the guards had pushed the others back. Retrieving his sword, Thovaas stepped into a solid line with Jerrin, Alex and Quentin to drop many of the guards. Three of them retreated to the ship and stopped where they surrendered by the plank to the ship.
The party clambored on board and Quentin and Alex searched as Jerrin watched the few remaining laborers and three guard prisoners. Thovaas sift through the captain's quarters and found the ship's log and read over the last entries, mostly of materials to be delivered from Suln and other parts. Thovaas then took the time to again write down everything that had occured and met the city guard as they came to investigate the fight. Alex found the book Marak had sent for, the writings of Simleer, the great sage Conhenci's insane protege. Along with it were several parchments of notes pointing out useful passages and other excepts. A letter was also attached, and in it the head sage of the Order in Suln questioned why Marak had demanded the book and that he would await a reply, but there was no hurry as the book had been studied time and time again. Below decks, fresh flowers fulled the cargo hold and the whole of it was kept cool somehow. The smell was thick on the whole of the boat, and the ship's log indicated that the flowers were to be delivered to the Artisan District where they were to be part of the final games and ceremonial parade when King Gerin left Kargam.
The group explained what had happened to the city watch, and Thovaas headed across the river and to the Government District later that night. He asked around and got the name of Barister Sigrid, whose butler promised would handle the issue of the ship as property in the morning. Pleased with the answer Thovaas headed back to the ship with the others. When he arrived he saw Varekai gracefully ease his way on to the dock towards the boat.
Quentin watched the beastial form of Varekai jump up to a nearby balcony, and Alex stopped in the doorway to see the were-creature’s silhouette against the starry sky as it leapt over the rooftop. They turned to the others in the group and saw the diminutive form of Jerrin trying to assist Thovaas to his feet. They inspected the six-armed snake woman, stabbing her several more times in reaction to her tail twitching.
The voices of neighbors could be heard as they looked into the courtyard. Three sages stumbled into the courtyard, and Thovaas told one to fetch the city guard. The group investigated the creature’s weapons, Jerrin staring at them to detect if they were magically enhanced. The only thing he came across was the wand that she had used on Thovaas.
The group watched as the guards poked around, and the sergeant sent a runner to bring the lieutenant and captain after hearing the party explain what had happened. It took them a few times to get it right with the many questions the guards had, so Thovaas borrowed some parchment and began writing what he had just witnessed. Alex searched vigorously through Marak’s quarters and came up with several tomes that he had recently used. The books were of ancient days, and there were a few pages where the corners had been folded and passages underlined. In each occasion it seemed to reference a six-armed being, or mentioned an elder race.
Alex also discovered Marak’s journal. In it were the last notes of tasks and research notes, and also included a timeline of his latest meetings and appointments. Alex read through the final entries and discovered that the day after the party had arrived and talked with him, he had asked for a book to be delivered from Suln, the Kingdom’s capital. A return message stated that the book would be on its way with the next riverboat to go upstream to Kargam, a ship called Lorleena’s Cutter. By the schedule the ship would likely be arrive in Kargam within the next few days. The group decided to intercept the ship in order to collect the book on Marak’s behalf.
The party stayed a while at the row house of the Order of Conhenci, and Rian and Siakam showed up to direct events as the night finally settled down. Rian gave the group an open invitation to stay the night, to stay any night they wished as long as they were in town. The guards took the body of the six-armed woman-beast away to the castle, and the guard lieutenant asked that the party visit the castle in the morning to discuss their events with investigators there. Thovaas went to spend the night at a nicer inn, and discovered that there not many empty places to be had. The night was alive with people and merriment; entertainers seemed to be in their glory as a makeshift theater held a play despite the hour. Eventually he found a room he could share and wrote everything he could remember from the night before down on parchment.
Quentin informed them that the large river ship might arrive a bit early, since it may try to unload some extra supplies at the south docks. He and Alex made their way through the city gathering rumors of the ship, but the main topic was the assassination attempt on the King, and who was behind it. Rumors ran wild –
• Dark elves called drow were responsible, and had tried to kill the king, the marquis and all the barons in one blow. I’d heard that they tried to kill the King in Suln and that’s why he fled to Kargam so suddenly. The poor King, I hope he and the Marquis find them and take care of the wretched cretins once and for all.
• The king had summoned the barons to meet to find out which one of them was really a dark elf in disguise, and I heard it was that strange mage Volare from Deepmoor. After all he is the only foreigner to rule a barony in the entire Kingdom.
• I was at the castle crypt and saw that it was really elves that tried to kill the king, and they had painted their skin to look like drow. Ok, it wasn’t me, but my sisters-brothers-cousins-uncle says so. What?
• There was no assassination attempt; the king is still safe inside the castle because the Marquis and other Barons smelled the plot from a mile away. The way my servant wench tells it, she pegs one of the nobles for being the mastermind.
• The barons, led by the marquis, left the castle stealthily to track down the assassin at a lord’s house in the merchant district. They were spotted by my boy and his pals as they played. He says they tossed him a gold coin to stay where they were, but I ain’t seen it.
• The assassin was chased down by the Marquis’s dogs, and they tracked him back to the castle where the king himself dispatched the murderer. The man had twelve heads and was said to be a necromancer.
• The king’s chief advisor, Nemdori, was killed in cold blood in his quarters by the assassin and the king was left unharmed. The assassin wasn’t after the King at all but Nemdori.
• Nemdori saved the king’s life by jumping heroically between the assassin’s blade and the king’s throat. Then Nemdori valiantly fought the attacker to his dying breath, and the Marquis revenged him.
• I saw the barons together in the streets headed to the artisan district in the middle of the day, possibly following a lead on the assassination attempt. They stopped to take two of my clay jugs and asked to borrow my staff. I never got my staff back, and they didn’t pay for anything either! Cheapskates!
• Ogmund was the assassin and had tried to kill the king just to show that he could and get away with it. It was to prove how powerless Marquis Hoil was against him. That showoff Ogmund will be the death of him someday.
• The assassin escaped because one of the barons let him, and he ran out the front gate of the castle after killing several of the guards. He was probably hired by one of the Barons just to show off.
• The assassin wasn’t a man, but a woman, and had silver eyelashes to match her silver tongue, and any man meeting her eye would be entranced to do her bidding. I wish I’d met her, I’d show her!
• The assassin wasn’t a human, but drow intent on starting a war just to mess with the trade guilds.
After a long night of listening to everyone’s sob story, both Quentin and Alex turned in at a hideout Quentin took them to.
Everyone woke to a new day and strolled over to meet the others at the castle in the late morning. There the captain of the guard questioned them and what they knew of an assassination attempt on the King and the death of his advisor. In the middle of the discussion, horns are sounded and a large amount of knights poured out of the main gates. They were followed by an entourage of the Marquis and the five Barons of the surrounding lands, and everyone on the grounds of the castle could see them as they walked downhill from the castle and straight into the noble quarter. Marquis Hoil, each of the Barons, and all of their assistants seemed to be ready for something, as if readying for war. Alex, like the wise merchants, watched everyone else, keeping his valuables safe from wandering hands. After the war parade disappeared down the main street of the noble district everything seemed to resume. The captain explained that the sages, Marak included, never got to see the King’s advisor, Nemdori, and that they had been detained as the attack unfolded. Though he was sure Marak and the others had never seen Nemdori, the party was not. They explained how the six-armed snake woman they had killed was a master of magic and disguise, possibly eluding the guards with ease. The captain said anything supposedly anything was possible with magic, so why not. He signed the statement of witness prepared by Thovaas and thanked the party for their good work.
As the group exited through the outer castle gates, a loud explosion erupted in the direction of the noble district. Thick black smoke bellowed into the sky, and the party rushed toward it, fighting a sea of fleeing people. They saw one building on fire and watched as another burst into flame. From the fire itself they made out the form of a huge bird, and it swiped at Baron Thord Sulisen of Threshwindwith its fiery claw. The party saw the bright colors of the Baron of Osscourt, Tragris Lunsater, as he leapt into the air and his blade connected with the fire bird's wing. Argus Vaugn, the Baron of Marncourt, floated down from a window as the building behind him burned and shot a well-aimed arrow into one of the bird's flaming eyes. Jerrin fought his way close to the scene and doused the flames burning one building.
Baron of Velja, Yurich Silverflame brought forth a devastating blast of fire which blew the bird to ashen pieces. The foreign wizard Baron Volare Comnia of Deepmoor sifted the ashes with his feet and found a small flame, itself shaped like a bird, starting to grow from the fuel of the ashes. Baron Volare took two egg shell halves in his hands and clamped them together with the tiny fire bird inside. He sealed the egg closed with several words of magic and held it up for all to see. Marquis Hoil led the Barons back into the mansion and fighting could be heard echoing from within. City guards poured in to assist and after several minutes the Marquis was at the balcony, waving to those below. Thovaas watched at the front as the guards carried the bodies of elves from the building and carried them toward the castle. He noted that all of them seemed dead, and several of them were charred and had deep gashes across their bodies. The group discussed later that some of them had painted themselves dark to appear as drow but were obviously elves, and were probably wood elves like those from Elarith.
The party decided to make their way around the town to shop in the unique markets and to see a few free performances at the castle. They headed down to the south docks district and strolled along the water’s edge as the sun set slowly. As they did they spotted a large ship anchored and a stream of workers unloading crates, barrels, chests and sacks from it. As they got closer they could see the name on the bow: Lorleena’s Cutter.
The group moved in closer as they watched the laborers hustle along the docks. They turned the corner to look down the street where they were taking the contents and saw a huge man, twelve feet tall with long hair and full beard, watching over the men as they moved the supplies. This giant towered over them, and next to his head was a window in which a greasy man rested his folded arms on the sill. Thovaas hailed him, and the greasy man sneered, telling the party to keep moving. Thovaas mentioned that he was looking for a book that Marak was expecting, and the man nodded as if he knew Marak and the book. The giant grumbled.
Quentin peeked his head around the corner and asked about picking up the book and perhaps having a look around for a few more things. The man at the window nodded and told Quentin he could have whatever he wanted if he got rid of the paladin. Thovaas took a few steps forward into the street and the giant leveled his huge halberd to chest level. Slowly Thovaas slid his had to his sword. Thovaas estimated it would take him six or more paces to reach the giant, all the while open to its long reach. Jerrin, following the paladin's reaction, reigned back his mount and stayed around the corner. He cast a quick spell of protection and watched the muscle on the ship take notice of what was happening.
Alex darted through the line of workers and made his way around the small building. He saw a line of closed windows on the second floor and crawled his way up the side of the structure to brace himself in the window frame. He eased one of the window shutters open after easily releasing a latch and slipped into the dark room. His footsteps were soft across the wooden floor and he could see the greasy man in front of him, telling Thovaas again to pester someone else. A floorboard creaked beneath him, but the man was listening to a possible bargain.
Thovaas again mentioned the authority of the law and confiscating the book. The giant jumped into action, slashing and stabbing at Thovaas. The greasy man yelled down from the window that any of the workers who helped fight off the party would be paid double for their efforts. Thovaas paused for an opening and the giant stabbed again with its halberd to draw blood. Quentin shot the giant and it charged after him, drawing a colossal sword from a sheath on his back.
Quentin had ducked out of sight then popped up to place a well aimed arrow into the greasy man's side. At that moment Alex leapt upon the greasy man as he recoiled from the window. Alex's rapier drove deep and the surprised man spun to face him, his face distorting from shock to pure rage as he dropped his crossbow and drew his own scimitar, a gleaming blade that shimmered as the tip danced near Alex's face.
Jerrin saw the guards on the ship clambor to a plank to cross onto the dock. He cast a spell and threw a ball of fire at the dock where it burst into flames. Thovaas drew his sword and slashed at the giant repeatedly, opening gashes on its unprotected thighs. Alex struck blows against the greasy man as he stabbed wildly toward him. Quentin shot the giant from close range, an arrow driving deep into his arm. The giant chased after Quentin as he retreated and several of the laborers stabbed meekly toward him. First the giant's sword crashed into the building above Quentin's head then the rogue ducked as the sword again thundered into the structure. Alex and his opponent wondered who was knocking but neither allowed the other an opening to see outside.
The guards from the ship swarmed on Jerrin and his ally Tempest. They struck several blows before one of them fell, and Thovaas and Quentin worked in conjunction to drop the giant. Alex pierced his adversary's throat, twisted the blade to slice through vital veins, and watched as he crumpled to the floor at his feet. Seeing the gathering group of laborers from the window, Alex tossed out a magic stick that burst into smoke when it hit the street. The laborers stepped further back from the fight, and when the smoke cleared less than half were brave enough to remain. Alex picked up the greasy man's crossbow, fired it at one of the guards then leapt down into the street, drawing his rapier from his teeth.
The guards from the ship rained down blows on Thovaas, felling him, and Quentin retained a safe avenue of escape as he repeatedly attacked then withdrew. Jerrin manuvered patiently, commanding Tempest to attack his same foe. An angry guard, with no one else to attack, struck down one of the laborers and pushed him aside. One of the other laborers dived beneath an outdoor table while the others quickly fled. The guards screamed at them but continued to assault the party.
Jerrin made his way to Thovaas and healed him to consciousness. The paladin stood wearily, but shook off the drowsiness as he saw the guards had pushed the others back. Retrieving his sword, Thovaas stepped into a solid line with Jerrin, Alex and Quentin to drop many of the guards. Three of them retreated to the ship and stopped where they surrendered by the plank to the ship.
The party clambored on board and Quentin and Alex searched as Jerrin watched the few remaining laborers and three guard prisoners. Thovaas sift through the captain's quarters and found the ship's log and read over the last entries, mostly of materials to be delivered from Suln and other parts. Thovaas then took the time to again write down everything that had occured and met the city guard as they came to investigate the fight. Alex found the book Marak had sent for, the writings of Simleer, the great sage Conhenci's insane protege. Along with it were several parchments of notes pointing out useful passages and other excepts. A letter was also attached, and in it the head sage of the Order in Suln questioned why Marak had demanded the book and that he would await a reply, but there was no hurry as the book had been studied time and time again. Below decks, fresh flowers fulled the cargo hold and the whole of it was kept cool somehow. The smell was thick on the whole of the boat, and the ship's log indicated that the flowers were to be delivered to the Artisan District where they were to be part of the final games and ceremonial parade when King Gerin left Kargam.
The group explained what had happened to the city watch, and Thovaas headed across the river and to the Government District later that night. He asked around and got the name of Barister Sigrid, whose butler promised would handle the issue of the ship as property in the morning. Pleased with the answer Thovaas headed back to the ship with the others. When he arrived he saw Varekai gracefully ease his way on to the dock towards the boat.
Attachments
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MarauderX
Explorer
Session 22: Parades & Parties in Kargam
Alex hopped from the ship and headed to the rickety house where he had faced the greasy man. He searched through the house and found a small chest with three locks on the front. Alex spent some time with them and easily overcame them, as they were similar to those he had seen in his childhood. Inside he found some gold and a few pieces of jewelry that looked to be worth a small fortune.
The city patrol carted the bodies of the fallen away on several wagons and flushed the blood from the stone-laid street. On the ship Lorleena’s Cutter, the rest of the party set up watches after letting the three guards they had fought go. They fled into the dark alleys of the South Docks District. The city patrols came by to talk to the party members that were on watch, and mentioned the valiant Sir Thovaas and how he slew the giant.
In the morning the group read through the ship’s log which had been kept by a Captain Yuri up to now. They realized he was the greasy man they had killed the night before, and as dawn broke a half dozen men were gathered on the dock to help with the ship tasks. They recalled Alex’s offer from the night before, and as the group all woke a score of them had gathered. After a time the crew lieutenants and foremen took charge, directing the younger workers. They unloaded the rest of the food stuffs from the ship, much more than the ship would need to travel.
As they worked, Jerrin investigated the disgraced protégé Simleer’s journal. A swift feeling of nausea overtook him and he closed the book, sitting down until color returned to his cheeks. After exercising, Varekai then took the book and read through it steadily, eating an apple from one of the food baskets that one of the deck hands had brought at the direction of Thovaas.
After the crew had unloaded all of the supplies, the lieutenants guided the ship across the river to the best port to the Artisan District. Once there and settled they made contact with the flower shop owner and asked him about the delivery. The owner asked that they keep the flowers safely on board until noon the next day, as they were getting the last of the supplies out of the warehouse where they were to be delivered. The deck hands were paid, released for the rest of the day, and told that they would be paid the same rate if they showed up tomorrow to unload the flowers. They all smiled at this and each took the gold piece they were given and disappeared into the city.
Thovaas and Quentin went to see Barister Sigrid and the barrister didn't seem upset in the least that they were late. They discussed price, and settled on 100 gold if they lost the case or 10% of the ship's value if they got it. After a quick meeting to review the ship's log and a few questions about the ship they went to see the property official. His office wasn't far, and the staff was sparse probably due to the festivities. Barrister Sigrid nodded at various guards and others who seemed to know him well, and it was apparent to both party members that Sigrid was well connected. After being waved through the outer and inner secretary's offices the three entered the property official's office. At the desk was a old balding man who stoicly listened as the Barrister explained why they were there. The man thoroughly reviewed the account of the fight and the ship's log, and slowly the afternoon passed as he read. Commenting that they were moving pretty fast on staking their claim of ownership, the dusty old man told them to make all of the deliveries that were noted in the ledger. Once all deliveries were complete, they would return here and if no suitable heir could be found the ship would be theirs for the keeping. For the time being he wrote down Quentin and Thovaas's names as the current co-captains of the ship. Upon leaving the Barrister told them to be swift and rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the easy reward.
The next shipment the ship was scheduled for was for transport of many of those who had come to Kargam to see the King. The scheduled trip was to Wilheim, just to the North-NorthWest of Elarith. Most of the passengers were probably from Elarith or parts thereof, and would be on the ship all the way to Wilheim.
In the evening Quentin and Alex ventured to see Mortis, an obese man who Quentin had many dealings with. At his makeshift quarters Mortis ran a number of scams, including thievery, smuggling and robbery, and he was always a good source for turning a quick profit on stolen goods. They gave Mortis the run-down on the ship, and how they had acquired it and where they were likely to be going with it – towards Elarith. Mortis chortled and mentioned that he had the perfect passenger for them to smuggle out of Kargam. He described the fellow as quiet, wearing a mask and dressed in fine clothing. He wouldn’t bother anyone and no one must discover that he was on board the ship. Once in Wilheim, the closest river port to Elarith, he only needed a safe cover to leave the ship. When they got back, Mortis said he would pay them the rest of the agreed price. Alex and Quentin were hesitant and told Mortis to learn more about this passenger before they would take him. Mortis, seeming to be under pressure to get this man out of the city, agreed to try.
Lastly, Quentin and Alex asked Mortis if he knew any captains. The large man had quite a laugh at this, and mentioned there were a few. There was a captain named Galadin that was amenable to doing what he was told and could probably be found easily enough at one of the local bars. The two left Mortis to see him.
Galadin was a homely man that always seemed to be seeking approval from those around him. Since he had no ship of his own, having lost it to improper dealings, he was eager to take the job. Setting down his drink he set out with them to examine Lorleena's Cutter. He smiled as he stood on the deck and thought of Yuri being dead. He explained that there was some bad blood between the two captains and seemed gratified that he was standing at the helm of the greasy Yuri's ship. The party questioned him extensively and since he seemed competant enough they assigned him as pilot of the ship. They also asked whether he knew anyone that could be co-pilot and he said he would find his old first mate.
Jerrin ventured to the temple of Elhonna and met a man with the same wild-born background. He invited Jerrin to visit the nearest druidic grove to the city, and explained that he stationed himself in the city to learn of the local temperment and politics concerned with nature and the forests. Jerrin took the day and met the druids in the area as they conversed and welcomed him to their home. The leader, if there were one, was a frog that shifted to his born elven form for a time to reveal his long life span before changing back again. He and Jerrin exchanged some information on the elder races and what they had encountered thus far. The shaman frog croaked what he knew, and of the development of humans since he was young. He recalled his elders giving men bronze weapons, and it brought about a new age for men who quickly developed and utilized the tools in a way that the elves never did - construction & war.
*****
A day of parades and partying was had, and the Lorleena's Cutter sat lazily in the river next to the Artisan District. Galadin worked to outfit the ship, and listed out a number of problems and needed equipment that was needed. The crew was introduced to Galadin then let out into the city for one last day of festivities.
Varekai read Simleer's journal the rest of the day and into evening, and he was certain the man's brain was corrupted, but lacked a definitive time when it occured. Jerrin introduced Alex to a dozen halflings at the halfling ambassador's estate. With cheery greetings, Alex explained that he was interested in a business venture. Four halflings, good friends to one another, had a plan to make a trip to the dwarves in the shadows of the Oton peaks to gather minerals and crafts to rival those made by elven hands. All they needed was the cash to pay for guards and mules, as they had nearly everything else taken care of. A 50-50 arrangement was struck and with their new funding the halflings looked to start out immediately before the weather struck the Oton peaks.
After the day had passed a dozen temporary open theaters hosted various plays and perfomances in a large circle around the castle. The King, Marquis and the other Barons could be seen waving to the crowds below at different towers each hour, and exceptional performers were welcomed inside to entertain the King. The castle hosted the city's noteables, among them most of the city's nobles and some from the capital Suln as well. The castle grounds were open to all those that were worthy of entry, and the party was granted entrance to the great hall for their noteable deeds.
Once inside the party members split to find different social groups. Thovaas, dressed in his finest, delivered the sketches of the Lorleena's Cutter he had requested and dropped them off at one of the grand tables of gifts for the King. He then made conversation with a noblewoman from Suln and her cousin for the evening, fetching them drinks to earn favor and modestly answering their questions about his latest deeds. Rollof stumbled to visit each member, and he struggled to steady himself on this wooden foot as the alcohol complicated the matter. He hugged Alex several times and despite the man's state, Alex was unable to lift his purse for examination. Quentin took the new title of captain for all it was worth, and attracted quite a crowd of socialites as they drank through the night. Varekai sipped slowly at his drink as a complete day immersing himself into the book of the madman Simleer had exhausted him more than he knew. Jerrin partied with several of his brethen inside the great hall of the castle before joining a large contingent of dwarves outside. They seemed to be watching a tragic play with plenty of subtle interworkings, but to them the play was much more of a comedy as they added their own drunken dialogue. Jerrin asked a priest of Moradin some pretty heavy questions on the creation of the world and the dwarf answered as best he could, as he had perhaps overestimated his own tolerance of the mead they were drinking.
The night wore on, and Quentin left the castle with an entourage of his own, seven women in exquisite dresses accompanying him and at their heels another three men. Thovaas was seen leaving the castle in the company of two women, walking lazily toward the ship. Once there Thovaas gave them a quick tour and escorted them home. Jerrin, Alex and Varekai boarded the ship and the partiers woke up Galadin, who had passed out on his own, and continued to party until the sky started to light with the coming dawn.
Sleeping into the early afternoon the next day, Quentin woke up with two of the women that had joined him in the captain's quarters. The door was barred and he heard the light tapping on the door echo in his skull. He answered grogily and he and the rest of the party discussed that they would spend the rest of the day preparing the ship and would leave the next morning.
*****
Thovaas collected the sketches and paintings he had commissioned from the artists and paid them well for their time. He then found a romantic poem from one of the poets and rewrote the poem on the back of the painting and delivered it to the lady he had escorted the night before.
Alex and Quentin went to see Mortis once again. They didn't get a firm feeling about this mysterious passenger, but at least they negotiated a hefty fee for his secret travel. They agreed to meet him at midnight and told the other members of the party that they the first mate's cabin was to be off limits as that's where they would keep their treasure. The two of them met the mysterious stranger and his two servants after midnight. The stranger had a silver mask, and upon a cursory inspection they could tell the brown hood was held in place by two tiny silver horns on the top of the mask to prevent it from being pulled down. Two servants flanked him, each dressed in fine servants clothing that was typical of those in the Servant District. Ice blue eyes dazzled from the angled slits in the mask, and they walked silently to the ship together. Once on board Alex set up a crossbow trap and Quentin made provisions for sleeping in the same room with them to redirect anyone who became 'lost'.
*****
On the morning the set to leave, passengers and crew trickled in until noon. The last among the passengers was a beautiful young elven lady named Karyssa who demanded that she occupy the captain's quarters once they it was made hospitable. She had several servants and maids with her that adjusted her dress and removed any dust from her silken robes with minor magic. The party didn't see a problem with letting her have the captain's quarters, but they would have to put their charts, instruments and personal wear somewhere else. Currently they didn't know where that was.
Alex hopped from the ship and headed to the rickety house where he had faced the greasy man. He searched through the house and found a small chest with three locks on the front. Alex spent some time with them and easily overcame them, as they were similar to those he had seen in his childhood. Inside he found some gold and a few pieces of jewelry that looked to be worth a small fortune.
The city patrol carted the bodies of the fallen away on several wagons and flushed the blood from the stone-laid street. On the ship Lorleena’s Cutter, the rest of the party set up watches after letting the three guards they had fought go. They fled into the dark alleys of the South Docks District. The city patrols came by to talk to the party members that were on watch, and mentioned the valiant Sir Thovaas and how he slew the giant.
In the morning the group read through the ship’s log which had been kept by a Captain Yuri up to now. They realized he was the greasy man they had killed the night before, and as dawn broke a half dozen men were gathered on the dock to help with the ship tasks. They recalled Alex’s offer from the night before, and as the group all woke a score of them had gathered. After a time the crew lieutenants and foremen took charge, directing the younger workers. They unloaded the rest of the food stuffs from the ship, much more than the ship would need to travel.
As they worked, Jerrin investigated the disgraced protégé Simleer’s journal. A swift feeling of nausea overtook him and he closed the book, sitting down until color returned to his cheeks. After exercising, Varekai then took the book and read through it steadily, eating an apple from one of the food baskets that one of the deck hands had brought at the direction of Thovaas.
After the crew had unloaded all of the supplies, the lieutenants guided the ship across the river to the best port to the Artisan District. Once there and settled they made contact with the flower shop owner and asked him about the delivery. The owner asked that they keep the flowers safely on board until noon the next day, as they were getting the last of the supplies out of the warehouse where they were to be delivered. The deck hands were paid, released for the rest of the day, and told that they would be paid the same rate if they showed up tomorrow to unload the flowers. They all smiled at this and each took the gold piece they were given and disappeared into the city.
Thovaas and Quentin went to see Barister Sigrid and the barrister didn't seem upset in the least that they were late. They discussed price, and settled on 100 gold if they lost the case or 10% of the ship's value if they got it. After a quick meeting to review the ship's log and a few questions about the ship they went to see the property official. His office wasn't far, and the staff was sparse probably due to the festivities. Barrister Sigrid nodded at various guards and others who seemed to know him well, and it was apparent to both party members that Sigrid was well connected. After being waved through the outer and inner secretary's offices the three entered the property official's office. At the desk was a old balding man who stoicly listened as the Barrister explained why they were there. The man thoroughly reviewed the account of the fight and the ship's log, and slowly the afternoon passed as he read. Commenting that they were moving pretty fast on staking their claim of ownership, the dusty old man told them to make all of the deliveries that were noted in the ledger. Once all deliveries were complete, they would return here and if no suitable heir could be found the ship would be theirs for the keeping. For the time being he wrote down Quentin and Thovaas's names as the current co-captains of the ship. Upon leaving the Barrister told them to be swift and rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the easy reward.
The next shipment the ship was scheduled for was for transport of many of those who had come to Kargam to see the King. The scheduled trip was to Wilheim, just to the North-NorthWest of Elarith. Most of the passengers were probably from Elarith or parts thereof, and would be on the ship all the way to Wilheim.
In the evening Quentin and Alex ventured to see Mortis, an obese man who Quentin had many dealings with. At his makeshift quarters Mortis ran a number of scams, including thievery, smuggling and robbery, and he was always a good source for turning a quick profit on stolen goods. They gave Mortis the run-down on the ship, and how they had acquired it and where they were likely to be going with it – towards Elarith. Mortis chortled and mentioned that he had the perfect passenger for them to smuggle out of Kargam. He described the fellow as quiet, wearing a mask and dressed in fine clothing. He wouldn’t bother anyone and no one must discover that he was on board the ship. Once in Wilheim, the closest river port to Elarith, he only needed a safe cover to leave the ship. When they got back, Mortis said he would pay them the rest of the agreed price. Alex and Quentin were hesitant and told Mortis to learn more about this passenger before they would take him. Mortis, seeming to be under pressure to get this man out of the city, agreed to try.
Lastly, Quentin and Alex asked Mortis if he knew any captains. The large man had quite a laugh at this, and mentioned there were a few. There was a captain named Galadin that was amenable to doing what he was told and could probably be found easily enough at one of the local bars. The two left Mortis to see him.
Galadin was a homely man that always seemed to be seeking approval from those around him. Since he had no ship of his own, having lost it to improper dealings, he was eager to take the job. Setting down his drink he set out with them to examine Lorleena's Cutter. He smiled as he stood on the deck and thought of Yuri being dead. He explained that there was some bad blood between the two captains and seemed gratified that he was standing at the helm of the greasy Yuri's ship. The party questioned him extensively and since he seemed competant enough they assigned him as pilot of the ship. They also asked whether he knew anyone that could be co-pilot and he said he would find his old first mate.
Jerrin ventured to the temple of Elhonna and met a man with the same wild-born background. He invited Jerrin to visit the nearest druidic grove to the city, and explained that he stationed himself in the city to learn of the local temperment and politics concerned with nature and the forests. Jerrin took the day and met the druids in the area as they conversed and welcomed him to their home. The leader, if there were one, was a frog that shifted to his born elven form for a time to reveal his long life span before changing back again. He and Jerrin exchanged some information on the elder races and what they had encountered thus far. The shaman frog croaked what he knew, and of the development of humans since he was young. He recalled his elders giving men bronze weapons, and it brought about a new age for men who quickly developed and utilized the tools in a way that the elves never did - construction & war.
*****
A day of parades and partying was had, and the Lorleena's Cutter sat lazily in the river next to the Artisan District. Galadin worked to outfit the ship, and listed out a number of problems and needed equipment that was needed. The crew was introduced to Galadin then let out into the city for one last day of festivities.
Varekai read Simleer's journal the rest of the day and into evening, and he was certain the man's brain was corrupted, but lacked a definitive time when it occured. Jerrin introduced Alex to a dozen halflings at the halfling ambassador's estate. With cheery greetings, Alex explained that he was interested in a business venture. Four halflings, good friends to one another, had a plan to make a trip to the dwarves in the shadows of the Oton peaks to gather minerals and crafts to rival those made by elven hands. All they needed was the cash to pay for guards and mules, as they had nearly everything else taken care of. A 50-50 arrangement was struck and with their new funding the halflings looked to start out immediately before the weather struck the Oton peaks.
After the day had passed a dozen temporary open theaters hosted various plays and perfomances in a large circle around the castle. The King, Marquis and the other Barons could be seen waving to the crowds below at different towers each hour, and exceptional performers were welcomed inside to entertain the King. The castle hosted the city's noteables, among them most of the city's nobles and some from the capital Suln as well. The castle grounds were open to all those that were worthy of entry, and the party was granted entrance to the great hall for their noteable deeds.
Once inside the party members split to find different social groups. Thovaas, dressed in his finest, delivered the sketches of the Lorleena's Cutter he had requested and dropped them off at one of the grand tables of gifts for the King. He then made conversation with a noblewoman from Suln and her cousin for the evening, fetching them drinks to earn favor and modestly answering their questions about his latest deeds. Rollof stumbled to visit each member, and he struggled to steady himself on this wooden foot as the alcohol complicated the matter. He hugged Alex several times and despite the man's state, Alex was unable to lift his purse for examination. Quentin took the new title of captain for all it was worth, and attracted quite a crowd of socialites as they drank through the night. Varekai sipped slowly at his drink as a complete day immersing himself into the book of the madman Simleer had exhausted him more than he knew. Jerrin partied with several of his brethen inside the great hall of the castle before joining a large contingent of dwarves outside. They seemed to be watching a tragic play with plenty of subtle interworkings, but to them the play was much more of a comedy as they added their own drunken dialogue. Jerrin asked a priest of Moradin some pretty heavy questions on the creation of the world and the dwarf answered as best he could, as he had perhaps overestimated his own tolerance of the mead they were drinking.
The night wore on, and Quentin left the castle with an entourage of his own, seven women in exquisite dresses accompanying him and at their heels another three men. Thovaas was seen leaving the castle in the company of two women, walking lazily toward the ship. Once there Thovaas gave them a quick tour and escorted them home. Jerrin, Alex and Varekai boarded the ship and the partiers woke up Galadin, who had passed out on his own, and continued to party until the sky started to light with the coming dawn.
Sleeping into the early afternoon the next day, Quentin woke up with two of the women that had joined him in the captain's quarters. The door was barred and he heard the light tapping on the door echo in his skull. He answered grogily and he and the rest of the party discussed that they would spend the rest of the day preparing the ship and would leave the next morning.
*****
Thovaas collected the sketches and paintings he had commissioned from the artists and paid them well for their time. He then found a romantic poem from one of the poets and rewrote the poem on the back of the painting and delivered it to the lady he had escorted the night before.
Alex and Quentin went to see Mortis once again. They didn't get a firm feeling about this mysterious passenger, but at least they negotiated a hefty fee for his secret travel. They agreed to meet him at midnight and told the other members of the party that they the first mate's cabin was to be off limits as that's where they would keep their treasure. The two of them met the mysterious stranger and his two servants after midnight. The stranger had a silver mask, and upon a cursory inspection they could tell the brown hood was held in place by two tiny silver horns on the top of the mask to prevent it from being pulled down. Two servants flanked him, each dressed in fine servants clothing that was typical of those in the Servant District. Ice blue eyes dazzled from the angled slits in the mask, and they walked silently to the ship together. Once on board Alex set up a crossbow trap and Quentin made provisions for sleeping in the same room with them to redirect anyone who became 'lost'.
*****
On the morning the set to leave, passengers and crew trickled in until noon. The last among the passengers was a beautiful young elven lady named Karyssa who demanded that she occupy the captain's quarters once they it was made hospitable. She had several servants and maids with her that adjusted her dress and removed any dust from her silken robes with minor magic. The party didn't see a problem with letting her have the captain's quarters, but they would have to put their charts, instruments and personal wear somewhere else. Currently they didn't know where that was.
Attachments
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MarauderX
Explorer
Session 23: River of Tribulation
With all of the passengers safely on board, the Lorleena’s Cutter left the castle docks of Kargam. Karyssa took the longest to settle down as she found something new to complain about every minute. Her maids ran about the deck of the ship making requests for absurd things that she needed, and soon enough the party and the entire crew was ignoring them.
The party watched Galadin and his assistant Enus as they guided the large ship slowly up the river. Galadin pontificated about the number of hazards in a river, that the ship had such a deep draft that there was bound to be things they would hit on the bottom. Ships this large could usually go upstream as far as the town of Wilheim, but many did not as they feared becoming stuck on sandbars and other hidden dangers below the surface of the river.
Galadin seemed to be sipping some liquor during the day and he became increasingly worse as the afternoon waned into evening. They stopped the large ship for the night, and one lieutenant and his crew silently checked over the ship as the party members joined them in a rotating shift. They passed through the Kargam marshes and the next day it was found that there were several problems with the ship and that they would likely need to stop at Jennum, the first town outside of Kargam, for rope, nails and a few other extras for the ship.
Varekai found that many of the young members of the crew lacked the knowledge of knot tying and that the lieutenants weren’t checking over their work. He quickly changed that, teaching different groups of the crew how to use knots and which to use for tying up prisoners and the like. The stop at Jennum was to be short, but already many of the passengers were eager to spend time away from the ship. An hour visit turned into two before they could leave.
The next day the ship ran too close to a shoal that turned out to be covering a rocky bank beneath. The ship shuddered then jolted to the side. Galadin, Enus, the crew and the party all bustled to the bottom of the ship and pushed each other aside to see the broken wood of the hull pushed inward and water gushing in to fill the ship. Jerrin pushed the gawking passengers and crew aside and began casting an incantation while standing ankle-deep in water. The experienced crew members were hastily hammering nails into boards over the gap to stop the water, but still it flowed. Jerrin used his magic to meld the wood to seal the wooden hull closed. Galadin clapped the Halfling on the back and cheerfully told him he would do more than simple mending from now on.
The party agreed with Galadin and Enus that they should stop at the next town, Mestar. They arrived late just as many of the open merchants were closing, but they reopened as they saw the large ship full of passengers stop to unload them. The party, minus Alex, eased their way into the small grouping of buildings and noted that many of the trade caravans that had been in Kargam were headed upstream following the more difficult trail that followed the river. A theatrical group started setting up props for a small show when a lumbering man approached them.
He had the look and dress of a man from the northern barbarian tribes, and he spoke slowly while looking at his feet. After a few tries, the party finally understood that he was asking about the Lorleena’s Cutter and that he wanted to talk to Yuri. When he heard that Yuri was dead he seemed confused. He turned and lumbered away between a few buildings and Quentin shadowed him as he joined circle of others with the same look and dress. The barbarian talked to the obvious leader of the group, a tall strapping man with long flowing blond hair. The man was handsome and two strong barbarian women flanked him as escorts. Quentin listened to the lumbering man explain that Yuri was dead and watched the blond man’s expression change from indifferent to agitated. He shushed the stuttering man and with a motion the group fell in step behind him as he led the way to meet Thovaas.
The large blond man towered over Thovaas and buffed his chest out. His arrogance was backed up by the crowd of other barbarians that closed in behind him to form a muscled wall. The blond man asked where Yuri was, and seemed skeptical that Yuri wasn’t on the ship. The man demanded payment for the ships protection as they traveled to Kargam, and no matter who commanded the ship they would have to pay for them for their services even though there was no trouble – one ruby each. Thovaas had no idea what he was talking about.
The man’s voice grew louder and his face redder. Thovaas stood his ground just as Quentin struck the blond barbarian from behind and darted behind the nearby building. From the roof a spike bore deeply into the shoulder of one of the barbarians and Varekai stood triumphantly at the edge of the building. The barbarians attacked Thovaas at the blond man’s direction. Then the barbarian leader struck out after Quentin, followed closely by one of the women who cast a spell to close his new wound.
The barbarians closed around Thovaas and struck him several times with heavy blows as one of them targeted Varekai. Jerrin began casting and brought forth a lion which promptly sprinted to pounce on the nearest barbarian. Varekai leapt through the air at the barbarian archer, his foot leading to try to strike him down, but missing he landed on his feet and squared off with him as he drew a sword. Alex jumped from the Lorleena’s Cutter and sprinted down the dock to see the battle begin to unfold.
Quentin circled the small square building on short stilts with the barbarian leader swinging his sword in furious arcs. The woman was close behind, and Quentin saw the large man become even stronger as she invoked the strength of a bull using Kord’s name. The other barbarians had concentrated on Thovaas and many of their blows glanced off of his armor. Alex fired at them with his bow before maneuvering closer for an opening from the rear. Jerrin’s form grew to that of a leopard before charging in to attack the other female healer. Thovaas gave up some ground, swinging his sword as he stepped away from the barbarian axes.
Varekai pushed his way into the barbarian crowd, drawing their attention from the paladin. He was struck time and time again with wicked blows as he struck back with his painful fists. As they wore him down, Varekai’s eyes suddenly flickered red, then his fingers elongated into sharp claws and fur sprang up all over his body. He, Alex and Quentin dealt out damaging blows by surrounding and flanking their opponents. First one, then another and another of the barbarians fell, but the fight wasn’t through.
A crowd of onlookers in the village watched the fight, and at first a few shouted for them to stop. At the beastly changes and other creatures forming around the battle, no one dared approach to break it up. Karyssa watched from the bridge of the Lorleena’s Cutter with Fisselle at her side.
Jerrin changed back to his Halfling form to heal Thovaas as he and the blond barbarian leader cut devastating gouges into each other. The enraged man’s sword found two openings in Thovaas’s armor, and shock of pain and loss of blood knocked the paladin into unconsciousness. Tempest, at Jerrin’s command, jumped at the barbarian and drug him to the ground as the woman healed him again, and Jerrin summoned forth a hippogriff to attack. Alex and Quentin moved in to continually flank the remaining barbarians. The hippogriff sunk both of claws into the woman and flung her aside to get at the barbarian leader, tearing apart her spine in the process.
At the loss of his men and the healers, the barbarian leader surrendered, and the remaining follower dropped his axe and backed away from the party. Tempest, Varekai, Thovaas, Alex, and the hippogriff gazed down at the prone barbarian leader and watched him squirm. The villagers and travelers watched in a hushed semi-circle around the battleground, and after a minute one of the elders meekly spoke up.
Thovaas ordered the barbarians to be held as prisoners in the village’s makeshift cell, a 15’ deep mud pit several hundred yards away from the village. They were dragged there by the only two village lawmen and Thovaas sentenced them to be held in the pit for ten days time. Alex searched over the bodies and found a collection of gold and took a valuable emerald from beneath the leader’s belt. Jerrin spotted a simple silver necklace on one of the women, soiled with her blood, and detected the barbarian leader’s sword to be infused with an arcane magic. Thovaas wiped the blade on the tatters of barbarian furs before sheathing it and slinging it over his back.
Varekai waited until later to question the barbarians, throwing a bottle of wine into the pit as a peace offering. The bitter barbarian leader was suspicious but answered Varekai’s questions honestly and promised again not to seek revenge on them. As they spoke, the leader’s eyes opened wide and Varekai whirled to see a figure behind and to his left. The man smiled and introduced himself as Captain Askar, and that he had interest in the Lorleena’s Cutter. He claimed the ship was half his as he patted a piece of parchment close to his chest, and that he had been hoping the ship would come this way as Captain Yuri owed him much. Upon hearing that Yuri was dead he grinned and said that the ship would be all his. With nothing more to say Askar strolled away silently into the darkness. Varekai, spooked a little, made his way back to the others and told them of the encounter.
The group drank and ate with the townsfolk and ship passengers around the well, and new torches were sparked as a theatrical troupe put on a fine performance. The group retired to sleep on the ship and Galadin, as usual, was the first to wake and inspect the vessel before leaving. In the afternoon Karyssa asked the captains to join her and questioned them about the fight, adding her own wispy adjectives as Fisselle wrote everything on a long roll of parchment. Galadin’s demeanor had changed, and he said that they could change up shifts to travel at night, as the river was narrower but deeper. He and Enus traded six hour shifts and Galadin no longer smelled of wine or whiskey. The ship made good speed and they stopped briefly in the next town Fordham for a rest.
* * * * *
Again they traveled day and night between Fordham and Desteel, and clouds darkened the sky. A drizzle turned into a hard rain as the sun set and lightning began to draw arcs from the sky to the ground. In the flashing brightness several crew members saw something on the river behind them and called for others to confirm what they saw. A minute passed before the next streak of electricity flashed, and the silhouette stunned them all.
Headed straight toward them, only a few hundred yards away, was another ship. But this ship was a ghastly dark grey, with ripped sails and broken planks. No crew was visible, and the way it quickly closed on them was unnatural. The crew shuddered and headed inside, away from the sight and the storm. The party made their way to the deck and watched as the next flash of lightning revealed the other ship was only fifty yards away and was pulling alongside the Lorleena’s Cutter. Jerrin called upon the power of the lightning as the ghostly ship closed from the side and a lightning burst pounded the grey hull of the ship. Instead of splintering wood and the gushing of water into the other vessel, the hull disbursed in a cloud-like fashion, and that was when Varekai and the others noticed that the ship was not rippling the water like the Lorleena’s Cutter, but seemingly floating on the water.
At the helm of the ship a cackling figure materialized. Alex winced at the sight of it, a rotting ghostly form that matched the description Varekai had given them of Captain Askar. As they pulled closer and closer, Jerrin struck the ghost with a bolt of lightning before it soared through the open air between the ships to attack. A crew of skeletons sprang up from the ghostly deck and began chattering and rattling their bones to invoke fear. Thovaas invoked the power of Heironious to send many fleeing to the ghostly lower decks before the ships met. Galadin watched them approach, dumbstruck as they boarded.
Jerrin brought down lightning twice more on the ghost, and the strikes smashed through the deck of the ship. The ghostly Askar flew down and descended to try to assume control of Thovaas’s body. The paladin fought off the ghost several times before succumbing to its will. Alex struck Thovaas with a bag of gooey tanglefoot, locking him in place on the deck. Quentin and Varekai struck at the skeletons, drawing attacks away from the downed Galadin.
The skeletons tore away at Varekai’s form, and even though one had snapped its rusted blade at the hilt, it still hit Varekai with surprising force. Quentin charged one of the skeletons, hoping to knock it overboard, but ran into its shield and bounced backward. Tempest chewed first one leg then another from another of the skeletons as the others worked in tandem to deal with Askar’s ghost. A final smiting blow dispersed the ghost, and it diffused into the rainy night.
The skeletons continued their assault as the ghost ship pulled away from the Lorleena’s Cutter. Galadin was healed as the last of the skeletons was torn apart by the party. A quick fix was applied to one of the holes in the ship’s deck as fearful passengers watched from below. Galadin was taken inside where he carried on about his near-death experience, and Enus directed the crew to continue with the other repairs. Quentin returned to the quiet quarters where the mysterious guest passenger still sat quietly, and at his entrance the hooded head turned slowly to inspect him. The two servants in the room huddled together in fear on the floor, and Quentin tried to reassure them with a soft voice.
The night was long after facing the ghost ship, mostly to quell the passengers and crew. The next days passed resting from the fight and repairing the ship. Galadin advised only proceeding during the once again, as the river was becoming more difficult to navigate with the deep draft of the Lorleena’s Cutter. Soon they reached Desteel and stopped to outfit the ship as well as let the passengers and crew have some time to venture on land.
The ship left the next morning and after several days they reached Malton, a small village that had sprung up around a popular inn. Parting from there the ship made its way toward their goal, Wilheim, as the moon waxed overhead at night.
Two nights out from Malton a commotion was heard below decks. Several party members sprinted to the deck below his normal resting corner and heard a growling behind the door of a locked cabin, followed by the pleading voice of an elven woman and the commanding bark of an elven man. The growl turned into a barking wail as whatever it was inside the cabin began thrashing and throwing itself against the wall hard enough to crack the wood. If nothing was done soon it would escape, whatever it was.
Varekai raced to fetch the others, bringing Alex and Quentin as Jerrin and Thovaas were woken and gathered their things in case there was trouble. Again in the cabin the thrashing could be heard and now all the passengers and crew nearby were awake with fear. Alex picked the lock and gingerly cracked the door open to allow Jerrin to enter. Inside the party saw the huge hybrid form of a werewolf. It thrashed about more as the man and woman in the room began to argue. Jerrin calmed the beastly lycanthrope just as the man exclaimed that he had spread the disease on purpose, changed shape and moved into the hallway. Once there he howled loudly and passengers gawked in fear, but then some began a transformation of their own.
Many more werewolves appeared in the crowded hold, shedding their human fears and began attacking any others next to them, and mayhem erupted on the rest of the deck. Some passengers didn’t know where to go as their only exit was blocked by the party as they fought the werewolf man. The woman who had been arguing shifted form to attack him as well, and soon after Varekai transformed into his alternate shape. As the fighting continued many passengers were wounded and killed by the werewolves that now struck at anything that moved with a vicious frenzy. Alex used a smoke stick, and the confused targets stepped out of the cloud to face one another again.
A crocodile materialized on the open deck and bit on the head of a werewolf before spinning to pry it loose from the body. Varekai howled and struck down one of the werewolves as he launched himself into the fray, flexing and commanding respect from the other werewolves as he toppled one of the foes. The crocodile struck again to grapple and kill another. The werewolf man fell to the combined attacks of the party and the werewolf woman and soon after the others were subdued.
Varekai and the female werewolf then stared each other down, vying to be the leader of this new pack of wolves. After several tense moments Varekai controlled his anger and shifted slowly back to his human self. The elven woman did the same and inspected the dead elven man she was arguing with. Jerrin and Thovaas healed several of the passengers that had been attacked and they forced the remaining werewolves into a corner.
With all of the passengers safely on board, the Lorleena’s Cutter left the castle docks of Kargam. Karyssa took the longest to settle down as she found something new to complain about every minute. Her maids ran about the deck of the ship making requests for absurd things that she needed, and soon enough the party and the entire crew was ignoring them.
The party watched Galadin and his assistant Enus as they guided the large ship slowly up the river. Galadin pontificated about the number of hazards in a river, that the ship had such a deep draft that there was bound to be things they would hit on the bottom. Ships this large could usually go upstream as far as the town of Wilheim, but many did not as they feared becoming stuck on sandbars and other hidden dangers below the surface of the river.
Galadin seemed to be sipping some liquor during the day and he became increasingly worse as the afternoon waned into evening. They stopped the large ship for the night, and one lieutenant and his crew silently checked over the ship as the party members joined them in a rotating shift. They passed through the Kargam marshes and the next day it was found that there were several problems with the ship and that they would likely need to stop at Jennum, the first town outside of Kargam, for rope, nails and a few other extras for the ship.
Varekai found that many of the young members of the crew lacked the knowledge of knot tying and that the lieutenants weren’t checking over their work. He quickly changed that, teaching different groups of the crew how to use knots and which to use for tying up prisoners and the like. The stop at Jennum was to be short, but already many of the passengers were eager to spend time away from the ship. An hour visit turned into two before they could leave.
The next day the ship ran too close to a shoal that turned out to be covering a rocky bank beneath. The ship shuddered then jolted to the side. Galadin, Enus, the crew and the party all bustled to the bottom of the ship and pushed each other aside to see the broken wood of the hull pushed inward and water gushing in to fill the ship. Jerrin pushed the gawking passengers and crew aside and began casting an incantation while standing ankle-deep in water. The experienced crew members were hastily hammering nails into boards over the gap to stop the water, but still it flowed. Jerrin used his magic to meld the wood to seal the wooden hull closed. Galadin clapped the Halfling on the back and cheerfully told him he would do more than simple mending from now on.
The party agreed with Galadin and Enus that they should stop at the next town, Mestar. They arrived late just as many of the open merchants were closing, but they reopened as they saw the large ship full of passengers stop to unload them. The party, minus Alex, eased their way into the small grouping of buildings and noted that many of the trade caravans that had been in Kargam were headed upstream following the more difficult trail that followed the river. A theatrical group started setting up props for a small show when a lumbering man approached them.
He had the look and dress of a man from the northern barbarian tribes, and he spoke slowly while looking at his feet. After a few tries, the party finally understood that he was asking about the Lorleena’s Cutter and that he wanted to talk to Yuri. When he heard that Yuri was dead he seemed confused. He turned and lumbered away between a few buildings and Quentin shadowed him as he joined circle of others with the same look and dress. The barbarian talked to the obvious leader of the group, a tall strapping man with long flowing blond hair. The man was handsome and two strong barbarian women flanked him as escorts. Quentin listened to the lumbering man explain that Yuri was dead and watched the blond man’s expression change from indifferent to agitated. He shushed the stuttering man and with a motion the group fell in step behind him as he led the way to meet Thovaas.
The large blond man towered over Thovaas and buffed his chest out. His arrogance was backed up by the crowd of other barbarians that closed in behind him to form a muscled wall. The blond man asked where Yuri was, and seemed skeptical that Yuri wasn’t on the ship. The man demanded payment for the ships protection as they traveled to Kargam, and no matter who commanded the ship they would have to pay for them for their services even though there was no trouble – one ruby each. Thovaas had no idea what he was talking about.
The man’s voice grew louder and his face redder. Thovaas stood his ground just as Quentin struck the blond barbarian from behind and darted behind the nearby building. From the roof a spike bore deeply into the shoulder of one of the barbarians and Varekai stood triumphantly at the edge of the building. The barbarians attacked Thovaas at the blond man’s direction. Then the barbarian leader struck out after Quentin, followed closely by one of the women who cast a spell to close his new wound.
The barbarians closed around Thovaas and struck him several times with heavy blows as one of them targeted Varekai. Jerrin began casting and brought forth a lion which promptly sprinted to pounce on the nearest barbarian. Varekai leapt through the air at the barbarian archer, his foot leading to try to strike him down, but missing he landed on his feet and squared off with him as he drew a sword. Alex jumped from the Lorleena’s Cutter and sprinted down the dock to see the battle begin to unfold.
Quentin circled the small square building on short stilts with the barbarian leader swinging his sword in furious arcs. The woman was close behind, and Quentin saw the large man become even stronger as she invoked the strength of a bull using Kord’s name. The other barbarians had concentrated on Thovaas and many of their blows glanced off of his armor. Alex fired at them with his bow before maneuvering closer for an opening from the rear. Jerrin’s form grew to that of a leopard before charging in to attack the other female healer. Thovaas gave up some ground, swinging his sword as he stepped away from the barbarian axes.
Varekai pushed his way into the barbarian crowd, drawing their attention from the paladin. He was struck time and time again with wicked blows as he struck back with his painful fists. As they wore him down, Varekai’s eyes suddenly flickered red, then his fingers elongated into sharp claws and fur sprang up all over his body. He, Alex and Quentin dealt out damaging blows by surrounding and flanking their opponents. First one, then another and another of the barbarians fell, but the fight wasn’t through.
A crowd of onlookers in the village watched the fight, and at first a few shouted for them to stop. At the beastly changes and other creatures forming around the battle, no one dared approach to break it up. Karyssa watched from the bridge of the Lorleena’s Cutter with Fisselle at her side.
Jerrin changed back to his Halfling form to heal Thovaas as he and the blond barbarian leader cut devastating gouges into each other. The enraged man’s sword found two openings in Thovaas’s armor, and shock of pain and loss of blood knocked the paladin into unconsciousness. Tempest, at Jerrin’s command, jumped at the barbarian and drug him to the ground as the woman healed him again, and Jerrin summoned forth a hippogriff to attack. Alex and Quentin moved in to continually flank the remaining barbarians. The hippogriff sunk both of claws into the woman and flung her aside to get at the barbarian leader, tearing apart her spine in the process.
At the loss of his men and the healers, the barbarian leader surrendered, and the remaining follower dropped his axe and backed away from the party. Tempest, Varekai, Thovaas, Alex, and the hippogriff gazed down at the prone barbarian leader and watched him squirm. The villagers and travelers watched in a hushed semi-circle around the battleground, and after a minute one of the elders meekly spoke up.
Thovaas ordered the barbarians to be held as prisoners in the village’s makeshift cell, a 15’ deep mud pit several hundred yards away from the village. They were dragged there by the only two village lawmen and Thovaas sentenced them to be held in the pit for ten days time. Alex searched over the bodies and found a collection of gold and took a valuable emerald from beneath the leader’s belt. Jerrin spotted a simple silver necklace on one of the women, soiled with her blood, and detected the barbarian leader’s sword to be infused with an arcane magic. Thovaas wiped the blade on the tatters of barbarian furs before sheathing it and slinging it over his back.
Varekai waited until later to question the barbarians, throwing a bottle of wine into the pit as a peace offering. The bitter barbarian leader was suspicious but answered Varekai’s questions honestly and promised again not to seek revenge on them. As they spoke, the leader’s eyes opened wide and Varekai whirled to see a figure behind and to his left. The man smiled and introduced himself as Captain Askar, and that he had interest in the Lorleena’s Cutter. He claimed the ship was half his as he patted a piece of parchment close to his chest, and that he had been hoping the ship would come this way as Captain Yuri owed him much. Upon hearing that Yuri was dead he grinned and said that the ship would be all his. With nothing more to say Askar strolled away silently into the darkness. Varekai, spooked a little, made his way back to the others and told them of the encounter.
The group drank and ate with the townsfolk and ship passengers around the well, and new torches were sparked as a theatrical troupe put on a fine performance. The group retired to sleep on the ship and Galadin, as usual, was the first to wake and inspect the vessel before leaving. In the afternoon Karyssa asked the captains to join her and questioned them about the fight, adding her own wispy adjectives as Fisselle wrote everything on a long roll of parchment. Galadin’s demeanor had changed, and he said that they could change up shifts to travel at night, as the river was narrower but deeper. He and Enus traded six hour shifts and Galadin no longer smelled of wine or whiskey. The ship made good speed and they stopped briefly in the next town Fordham for a rest.
* * * * *
Again they traveled day and night between Fordham and Desteel, and clouds darkened the sky. A drizzle turned into a hard rain as the sun set and lightning began to draw arcs from the sky to the ground. In the flashing brightness several crew members saw something on the river behind them and called for others to confirm what they saw. A minute passed before the next streak of electricity flashed, and the silhouette stunned them all.
Headed straight toward them, only a few hundred yards away, was another ship. But this ship was a ghastly dark grey, with ripped sails and broken planks. No crew was visible, and the way it quickly closed on them was unnatural. The crew shuddered and headed inside, away from the sight and the storm. The party made their way to the deck and watched as the next flash of lightning revealed the other ship was only fifty yards away and was pulling alongside the Lorleena’s Cutter. Jerrin called upon the power of the lightning as the ghostly ship closed from the side and a lightning burst pounded the grey hull of the ship. Instead of splintering wood and the gushing of water into the other vessel, the hull disbursed in a cloud-like fashion, and that was when Varekai and the others noticed that the ship was not rippling the water like the Lorleena’s Cutter, but seemingly floating on the water.
At the helm of the ship a cackling figure materialized. Alex winced at the sight of it, a rotting ghostly form that matched the description Varekai had given them of Captain Askar. As they pulled closer and closer, Jerrin struck the ghost with a bolt of lightning before it soared through the open air between the ships to attack. A crew of skeletons sprang up from the ghostly deck and began chattering and rattling their bones to invoke fear. Thovaas invoked the power of Heironious to send many fleeing to the ghostly lower decks before the ships met. Galadin watched them approach, dumbstruck as they boarded.
Jerrin brought down lightning twice more on the ghost, and the strikes smashed through the deck of the ship. The ghostly Askar flew down and descended to try to assume control of Thovaas’s body. The paladin fought off the ghost several times before succumbing to its will. Alex struck Thovaas with a bag of gooey tanglefoot, locking him in place on the deck. Quentin and Varekai struck at the skeletons, drawing attacks away from the downed Galadin.
The skeletons tore away at Varekai’s form, and even though one had snapped its rusted blade at the hilt, it still hit Varekai with surprising force. Quentin charged one of the skeletons, hoping to knock it overboard, but ran into its shield and bounced backward. Tempest chewed first one leg then another from another of the skeletons as the others worked in tandem to deal with Askar’s ghost. A final smiting blow dispersed the ghost, and it diffused into the rainy night.
The skeletons continued their assault as the ghost ship pulled away from the Lorleena’s Cutter. Galadin was healed as the last of the skeletons was torn apart by the party. A quick fix was applied to one of the holes in the ship’s deck as fearful passengers watched from below. Galadin was taken inside where he carried on about his near-death experience, and Enus directed the crew to continue with the other repairs. Quentin returned to the quiet quarters where the mysterious guest passenger still sat quietly, and at his entrance the hooded head turned slowly to inspect him. The two servants in the room huddled together in fear on the floor, and Quentin tried to reassure them with a soft voice.
The night was long after facing the ghost ship, mostly to quell the passengers and crew. The next days passed resting from the fight and repairing the ship. Galadin advised only proceeding during the once again, as the river was becoming more difficult to navigate with the deep draft of the Lorleena’s Cutter. Soon they reached Desteel and stopped to outfit the ship as well as let the passengers and crew have some time to venture on land.
The ship left the next morning and after several days they reached Malton, a small village that had sprung up around a popular inn. Parting from there the ship made its way toward their goal, Wilheim, as the moon waxed overhead at night.
Two nights out from Malton a commotion was heard below decks. Several party members sprinted to the deck below his normal resting corner and heard a growling behind the door of a locked cabin, followed by the pleading voice of an elven woman and the commanding bark of an elven man. The growl turned into a barking wail as whatever it was inside the cabin began thrashing and throwing itself against the wall hard enough to crack the wood. If nothing was done soon it would escape, whatever it was.
Varekai raced to fetch the others, bringing Alex and Quentin as Jerrin and Thovaas were woken and gathered their things in case there was trouble. Again in the cabin the thrashing could be heard and now all the passengers and crew nearby were awake with fear. Alex picked the lock and gingerly cracked the door open to allow Jerrin to enter. Inside the party saw the huge hybrid form of a werewolf. It thrashed about more as the man and woman in the room began to argue. Jerrin calmed the beastly lycanthrope just as the man exclaimed that he had spread the disease on purpose, changed shape and moved into the hallway. Once there he howled loudly and passengers gawked in fear, but then some began a transformation of their own.
Many more werewolves appeared in the crowded hold, shedding their human fears and began attacking any others next to them, and mayhem erupted on the rest of the deck. Some passengers didn’t know where to go as their only exit was blocked by the party as they fought the werewolf man. The woman who had been arguing shifted form to attack him as well, and soon after Varekai transformed into his alternate shape. As the fighting continued many passengers were wounded and killed by the werewolves that now struck at anything that moved with a vicious frenzy. Alex used a smoke stick, and the confused targets stepped out of the cloud to face one another again.
A crocodile materialized on the open deck and bit on the head of a werewolf before spinning to pry it loose from the body. Varekai howled and struck down one of the werewolves as he launched himself into the fray, flexing and commanding respect from the other werewolves as he toppled one of the foes. The crocodile struck again to grapple and kill another. The werewolf man fell to the combined attacks of the party and the werewolf woman and soon after the others were subdued.
Varekai and the female werewolf then stared each other down, vying to be the leader of this new pack of wolves. After several tense moments Varekai controlled his anger and shifted slowly back to his human self. The elven woman did the same and inspected the dead elven man she was arguing with. Jerrin and Thovaas healed several of the passengers that had been attacked and they forced the remaining werewolves into a corner.
Attachments
Last edited:
MarauderX
Explorer
Session 24: Fountain of Anaphia
The Lorleena's Cutter glided along the river slowly as the lookouts on the bow scouted for rock outcroppings, shallows, and newly formed sandbars. They had left Melton in the early morning, before the fog had lifted from the river, and the ship crawled up the river all day. Galadin estimated that they should reach Wilheim, their final stop, by sundown.
The group had tied up those passengers that had been thrashing about the night before, and they didn't remember any of it as Varekai told them what had happened. The elven woman introduced herself as Aldyth, and that she and her lover, with their son, were headed towards Elarith and to a legendary fountain that might provide a cure for their condition. Now that her lover was dead after succumbing to the evil of the disease, Aldyth explained that hope for her son was fading.
In the waning daylight everyone on the ship was told that Wilheim was close as smoke was visible, wafting upward from cooking fires. The town came into view after rounding a sharp bend, and upstream they could see rolling waterfalls and rapids that would prevent their ship from going further. Wilheim looked to be a large town on the rise, as merchant shops were plentiful and the forest receded to allow new buildings to be constructed. The main street passed through the town straight from the river and disappeared into the distance toward Elarith, from which the town gained the lion's share of its commerce.
The ship pulled into the opposite shore north of town, as the south shore was too shallow for the boat. The passengers bustled down the plank from the ship and began loading onto the small ferry so they could find lodging for the night. After several ferry trips Karyssa made her graceful appearance at the bow of the ship so that she could wave to all of the elven passengers as they cheered her beauty.
Aldyth and Thovaas met two paladins, Buri and Thorgils, and Saylith, a Red Knight, on the shore as they gave the ship a cursory inspection. After a hearty greeting Aldyth burst into the circle of men and pleaded that they help her son, but would ask that they speak in private. They led her, with her son, to their semi-permanent quarters at the nearby inn and quickly she relayed what had happened on the ship, with Thovaas interjecting pertinent facts. In silence the three looked at one another then said that they knew of the healing fountain that she thought was legend and promised to take them there. Thovaas mentioned there were others and it was decided to keep them tied up on the ship for the night. The knights decided to spend the night guarding the afflicted to be certain they did not escape.
Meanwhile, Alex alerted Quentin that all of the other passengers had left the ship and it was time to move their quiet passenger. He crossed the ferry and walked through the town smoothly, headed towards Elarith along the Main street of Wilheim. As he passed out of sight, both Quentin and Alex sighed in relief. Alex then made his way to the large town's sheriff and reported that there was a stow-away on board the Lorleena's Cutter, and that he was likely a man of ill-will and those in Elarith should be wary of the silver mask. The sheriff took a few notes and promised that a runner would be sent in the morning to delivery the message.
Alex and Quentin then went about collecting passengers for the return journey and soon he had met Grimnyr, a stout barbarian with a dimpled grin that likely caught the eye of many a lady. He introduced himself and a price for the trip to Kargam was arranged between them. Grimnyr walked with Alex and Quentin, asking about their trip up the river to Wilheim, and before long they found themselves in the overcrowded ale house with many of the ships passengers and crew.
Jerrin took flight and joined the birds as an eagle soaring high over the forest canopy below. He pushed himself and arrived there around midnight, deciding to rest at the edge of the nearby druid grove. As dawn broke through the quilted clouds above Jerrin found that he had been joined by a half dozen brothers of the druidic order. They held a quick indoctrination for Jerrin in the same informal style as that near Kargam, and they stayed to discuss matters of the forest. Jerrin brought up the elder races and a possibility of a war between the elves and men. One of the druids, seeming to be comfortable in the form of a mouse, told that he had heard such speculation before. He was not aware of the political dealings of the elves and men and felt the druids had little place with which to try to sway either or both sides of the affair when the immense forest beckoned for care. Such things, he had said, will likely take care of themselves as they usually do.
For the night Thovaas took the paladins to the ship to guard those stricken with the disease and explained Varekai's condition. In the morning Thovaas and the other knights found a horse trader and talked the price of the horses down. They were also asked to deliver a message to Elarith, if they were going that way, about a man with a silver mask. Ignoring the request as they were not headed to Elarith, Thovaas, the knights, Varekai and their new companion Grimnyr mounted their horses and headed to the ruins of the fountain of Anaphia.
Lastly Jerrin learned about the Fountain of Anaphia, a deep pool of water that had been a sacred place of healing for the elves long ago. A disaster had scattered the sturdy rocks that had formed a domed structure over the well, and now it was as likely to harm those seeking help as it was to heal. Jerrin took flight again to make his way quickly back to the Lorleena's Cutter at Wilheim to meet with Alex and Quentin. Once there he told the two that he would try to be back within a day or two and not to leave on the Lorleena's cutter without him. The two rogues looked sidelong at one another and nodded. Jerrin transformed again into an eagle and rolled his eyes at the two before launching into the air to catch up with Thovaas and the troupe of lycanthropes.
They weren't hard to find, as the Red Knight Saylith led them through tall stands of birch trees. Before Jerrin landed he spotted the ruins and noted how far they were away. They would reach them before nightfall, but not by much, and he knew that tonight would be the last of three nights of a full moon.
At the ruins the group noticed two concentric circles of weather worn rock ruins in various heights and stages of decay. Moss grew over much of the site where a deep pink light pulsed slowly away from a pool of water at the center. The pool itself was ordinary, a solid rock ring a foot high which held in the moving waters in the bowl-like pool. Four metal statues of strange beasts, perhaps a cross between a mountain lion and a hound dog, stood surrounding the fountain with their mouths open. An old man sat cross-legged on a pile of stacked rocks watching the party approach. The group dismounted from the skittish horses and tenuously stepped into the outer circle near the fountain.
The old man stood and gathered his robes and his pet, a wolf mix breed, stood to stand at his side. The knights explained that when they had done this before the old man helped them to deal with any of those who were not cured. Aldyth ventured forth with her son and the old man covered both of their faces in a salve before crushing herbal leaves and rubbing them on their cheeks. The man looked ancient and spoke tersely, explaining that each of the stricken was to enter the pool and let the waters take them.
Aldyth volunteered to be the first to be brave for her son. She stepped in and within moments the waters stirred. The four statues suddenly spat forth jets of water that streamed steadily into the pool and slowly the water swirled downward into a whirlpool. Resisting Aldyth clutched the stone lip of the fountain as the water pulled at her. The old man struggled to kick Aldyth's fingers on the side where she clung as he muttered a few derisions before she willingly let go. Down she went, and soon she was sucked out of sight into the darkness of the water below. Just as quickly as it had started the fountain stopped and the water resumed its gentle rippling at the surface. The old man asked who would be next and the others with the disease stepped back nervously. Thovaas inquired as to how successful they were the last time, and the knights looked at one another before replying that as of yet they weren't.
Aldyth's son went next, and he was very brave for a so young an elf. Again the statues spat water forth and the waters churned downward as the boy was sucked down. The others cowered and a few gave excuses or denied being a lycanthrope. Thovaas gathered them and said a prayer before blessing them to provide them the courage they seemed to need. One by one they entered the fountain.
After half had gone down to the watery void below, one of them entered the water when the disease took over. Dark fur sprang forth and the werewolf spun around and slashed at the old bald man, digging deep gashes into his wrinkled flesh. All of the party responded and went into motion to defeat the bestial creature. Grimnyr spun a tale of poetical limericks with his powerful voice before he struck several pounding blows. Thovaas slashed deeply into the thing as the knights also closed to kill the beast. Soon the battle was over and the body of the elf floated face down in the pool, blood sullying the otherwise pristine waters.
The last two with the disease tried to saunter away quietly when they were met by Thorgils single good eye. He and Buri explained that they had lost one of their paladin friends to this disease, and had been forced to kill him themselves. Thorgils received his wicked scare as he had refused to fight at first, instead trying to placate his werewolf friend. His old friend had nearly taken his life because of it. The two were coaxed into entering the fountain, and they too were flushed downward.
Varekai asked what was next. The old man turned to him and said there was one more - him. The salve and herbs were applied before Varekai stepped into the fountain, where he first fought the whirlpool before relaxing to let the water cleanse him.
Afterward Thovaas asked the old man how long it took to realize a cure. The old man's beady eyes revealed nothing as he sat down and said that now they must wait for the results. He slipped into meditation as the others made a camp outside the ruins and took watch.
The morning light crept in slowly and still the pool was silent. Breakfast was dolled out to each as the old monk crept around the stone ruins gathering nuts and sweeping away leaves and dirt to reveal stone beneath. As they ate they heard water flowing over the lip of the fountain. The water began to froth and the group surrounded the fountain in expectation but keeping a safe distance away. The old monk sat stoicly on his pile of rocks as the party looked to him for any indication of what may happen.
The elven boy spilled over the side, naked and shivering. He was taken to the small campfire by Thorgils, wrapped in a blanket and given a warm meal before falling asleep. The boy looked to be alright, and Thovaas questioned him about what had happened, drilling him five times and getting five different stories about blacking out each time.
An hour later, water again washed over the lip of the fountain and they took the same positions. Then the water exploded from the fountain, showering them all as a figure leapt up from the middle depths. It stood in the shallow waters, a grotesque version of a werewolf with fiendish red scales, distorted fangs and dire claws larger than Buri's head. The knights and Thovaas strode forward to engage it, trying to flank it from the sides as it raged forth. Grimnyr shouted forth a song over the raspy barks it gurgled out. Jerrin summoned forth an ape that slammed down on the beast before bringing forth a crocodile to tear at its legs in the water.
Blow after blow was traded, and the ape was defeated as the screaming beast raged forth without halting. Jerrin brought forth a wolf to assist as Buri had his sheild rended from his arm before it bit deeply into his shoulder. Buri fell after several more ferocious blows came from it as its innards were spilled from a slashing blow by Grimnyr. Thovaas smote the beast time and again, and eventually it fell from their repeated blows as the pool filled with its blood, guts, sinew and other matter that had been cleaved from it after a long assault.
The party reeled back from the devastation wrought by the beast and surveyed the damage. The old man had helped seal Buri's wounds earlier, and Jerrin and Thovaas helped to heal him remove all of his wounds. It dawned on Jerrin and the others that if there were more of these they would have to change their tactics or fall to the next one.
The Lorleena's Cutter glided along the river slowly as the lookouts on the bow scouted for rock outcroppings, shallows, and newly formed sandbars. They had left Melton in the early morning, before the fog had lifted from the river, and the ship crawled up the river all day. Galadin estimated that they should reach Wilheim, their final stop, by sundown.
The group had tied up those passengers that had been thrashing about the night before, and they didn't remember any of it as Varekai told them what had happened. The elven woman introduced herself as Aldyth, and that she and her lover, with their son, were headed towards Elarith and to a legendary fountain that might provide a cure for their condition. Now that her lover was dead after succumbing to the evil of the disease, Aldyth explained that hope for her son was fading.
In the waning daylight everyone on the ship was told that Wilheim was close as smoke was visible, wafting upward from cooking fires. The town came into view after rounding a sharp bend, and upstream they could see rolling waterfalls and rapids that would prevent their ship from going further. Wilheim looked to be a large town on the rise, as merchant shops were plentiful and the forest receded to allow new buildings to be constructed. The main street passed through the town straight from the river and disappeared into the distance toward Elarith, from which the town gained the lion's share of its commerce.
The ship pulled into the opposite shore north of town, as the south shore was too shallow for the boat. The passengers bustled down the plank from the ship and began loading onto the small ferry so they could find lodging for the night. After several ferry trips Karyssa made her graceful appearance at the bow of the ship so that she could wave to all of the elven passengers as they cheered her beauty.
Aldyth and Thovaas met two paladins, Buri and Thorgils, and Saylith, a Red Knight, on the shore as they gave the ship a cursory inspection. After a hearty greeting Aldyth burst into the circle of men and pleaded that they help her son, but would ask that they speak in private. They led her, with her son, to their semi-permanent quarters at the nearby inn and quickly she relayed what had happened on the ship, with Thovaas interjecting pertinent facts. In silence the three looked at one another then said that they knew of the healing fountain that she thought was legend and promised to take them there. Thovaas mentioned there were others and it was decided to keep them tied up on the ship for the night. The knights decided to spend the night guarding the afflicted to be certain they did not escape.
Meanwhile, Alex alerted Quentin that all of the other passengers had left the ship and it was time to move their quiet passenger. He crossed the ferry and walked through the town smoothly, headed towards Elarith along the Main street of Wilheim. As he passed out of sight, both Quentin and Alex sighed in relief. Alex then made his way to the large town's sheriff and reported that there was a stow-away on board the Lorleena's Cutter, and that he was likely a man of ill-will and those in Elarith should be wary of the silver mask. The sheriff took a few notes and promised that a runner would be sent in the morning to delivery the message.
Alex and Quentin then went about collecting passengers for the return journey and soon he had met Grimnyr, a stout barbarian with a dimpled grin that likely caught the eye of many a lady. He introduced himself and a price for the trip to Kargam was arranged between them. Grimnyr walked with Alex and Quentin, asking about their trip up the river to Wilheim, and before long they found themselves in the overcrowded ale house with many of the ships passengers and crew.
Jerrin took flight and joined the birds as an eagle soaring high over the forest canopy below. He pushed himself and arrived there around midnight, deciding to rest at the edge of the nearby druid grove. As dawn broke through the quilted clouds above Jerrin found that he had been joined by a half dozen brothers of the druidic order. They held a quick indoctrination for Jerrin in the same informal style as that near Kargam, and they stayed to discuss matters of the forest. Jerrin brought up the elder races and a possibility of a war between the elves and men. One of the druids, seeming to be comfortable in the form of a mouse, told that he had heard such speculation before. He was not aware of the political dealings of the elves and men and felt the druids had little place with which to try to sway either or both sides of the affair when the immense forest beckoned for care. Such things, he had said, will likely take care of themselves as they usually do.
For the night Thovaas took the paladins to the ship to guard those stricken with the disease and explained Varekai's condition. In the morning Thovaas and the other knights found a horse trader and talked the price of the horses down. They were also asked to deliver a message to Elarith, if they were going that way, about a man with a silver mask. Ignoring the request as they were not headed to Elarith, Thovaas, the knights, Varekai and their new companion Grimnyr mounted their horses and headed to the ruins of the fountain of Anaphia.
Lastly Jerrin learned about the Fountain of Anaphia, a deep pool of water that had been a sacred place of healing for the elves long ago. A disaster had scattered the sturdy rocks that had formed a domed structure over the well, and now it was as likely to harm those seeking help as it was to heal. Jerrin took flight again to make his way quickly back to the Lorleena's Cutter at Wilheim to meet with Alex and Quentin. Once there he told the two that he would try to be back within a day or two and not to leave on the Lorleena's cutter without him. The two rogues looked sidelong at one another and nodded. Jerrin transformed again into an eagle and rolled his eyes at the two before launching into the air to catch up with Thovaas and the troupe of lycanthropes.
They weren't hard to find, as the Red Knight Saylith led them through tall stands of birch trees. Before Jerrin landed he spotted the ruins and noted how far they were away. They would reach them before nightfall, but not by much, and he knew that tonight would be the last of three nights of a full moon.
At the ruins the group noticed two concentric circles of weather worn rock ruins in various heights and stages of decay. Moss grew over much of the site where a deep pink light pulsed slowly away from a pool of water at the center. The pool itself was ordinary, a solid rock ring a foot high which held in the moving waters in the bowl-like pool. Four metal statues of strange beasts, perhaps a cross between a mountain lion and a hound dog, stood surrounding the fountain with their mouths open. An old man sat cross-legged on a pile of stacked rocks watching the party approach. The group dismounted from the skittish horses and tenuously stepped into the outer circle near the fountain.
The old man stood and gathered his robes and his pet, a wolf mix breed, stood to stand at his side. The knights explained that when they had done this before the old man helped them to deal with any of those who were not cured. Aldyth ventured forth with her son and the old man covered both of their faces in a salve before crushing herbal leaves and rubbing them on their cheeks. The man looked ancient and spoke tersely, explaining that each of the stricken was to enter the pool and let the waters take them.
Aldyth volunteered to be the first to be brave for her son. She stepped in and within moments the waters stirred. The four statues suddenly spat forth jets of water that streamed steadily into the pool and slowly the water swirled downward into a whirlpool. Resisting Aldyth clutched the stone lip of the fountain as the water pulled at her. The old man struggled to kick Aldyth's fingers on the side where she clung as he muttered a few derisions before she willingly let go. Down she went, and soon she was sucked out of sight into the darkness of the water below. Just as quickly as it had started the fountain stopped and the water resumed its gentle rippling at the surface. The old man asked who would be next and the others with the disease stepped back nervously. Thovaas inquired as to how successful they were the last time, and the knights looked at one another before replying that as of yet they weren't.
Aldyth's son went next, and he was very brave for a so young an elf. Again the statues spat water forth and the waters churned downward as the boy was sucked down. The others cowered and a few gave excuses or denied being a lycanthrope. Thovaas gathered them and said a prayer before blessing them to provide them the courage they seemed to need. One by one they entered the fountain.
After half had gone down to the watery void below, one of them entered the water when the disease took over. Dark fur sprang forth and the werewolf spun around and slashed at the old bald man, digging deep gashes into his wrinkled flesh. All of the party responded and went into motion to defeat the bestial creature. Grimnyr spun a tale of poetical limericks with his powerful voice before he struck several pounding blows. Thovaas slashed deeply into the thing as the knights also closed to kill the beast. Soon the battle was over and the body of the elf floated face down in the pool, blood sullying the otherwise pristine waters.
The last two with the disease tried to saunter away quietly when they were met by Thorgils single good eye. He and Buri explained that they had lost one of their paladin friends to this disease, and had been forced to kill him themselves. Thorgils received his wicked scare as he had refused to fight at first, instead trying to placate his werewolf friend. His old friend had nearly taken his life because of it. The two were coaxed into entering the fountain, and they too were flushed downward.
Varekai asked what was next. The old man turned to him and said there was one more - him. The salve and herbs were applied before Varekai stepped into the fountain, where he first fought the whirlpool before relaxing to let the water cleanse him.
Afterward Thovaas asked the old man how long it took to realize a cure. The old man's beady eyes revealed nothing as he sat down and said that now they must wait for the results. He slipped into meditation as the others made a camp outside the ruins and took watch.
The morning light crept in slowly and still the pool was silent. Breakfast was dolled out to each as the old monk crept around the stone ruins gathering nuts and sweeping away leaves and dirt to reveal stone beneath. As they ate they heard water flowing over the lip of the fountain. The water began to froth and the group surrounded the fountain in expectation but keeping a safe distance away. The old monk sat stoicly on his pile of rocks as the party looked to him for any indication of what may happen.
The elven boy spilled over the side, naked and shivering. He was taken to the small campfire by Thorgils, wrapped in a blanket and given a warm meal before falling asleep. The boy looked to be alright, and Thovaas questioned him about what had happened, drilling him five times and getting five different stories about blacking out each time.
An hour later, water again washed over the lip of the fountain and they took the same positions. Then the water exploded from the fountain, showering them all as a figure leapt up from the middle depths. It stood in the shallow waters, a grotesque version of a werewolf with fiendish red scales, distorted fangs and dire claws larger than Buri's head. The knights and Thovaas strode forward to engage it, trying to flank it from the sides as it raged forth. Grimnyr shouted forth a song over the raspy barks it gurgled out. Jerrin summoned forth an ape that slammed down on the beast before bringing forth a crocodile to tear at its legs in the water.
Blow after blow was traded, and the ape was defeated as the screaming beast raged forth without halting. Jerrin brought forth a wolf to assist as Buri had his sheild rended from his arm before it bit deeply into his shoulder. Buri fell after several more ferocious blows came from it as its innards were spilled from a slashing blow by Grimnyr. Thovaas smote the beast time and again, and eventually it fell from their repeated blows as the pool filled with its blood, guts, sinew and other matter that had been cleaved from it after a long assault.
The party reeled back from the devastation wrought by the beast and surveyed the damage. The old man had helped seal Buri's wounds earlier, and Jerrin and Thovaas helped to heal him remove all of his wounds. It dawned on Jerrin and the others that if there were more of these they would have to change their tactics or fall to the next one.
Attachments
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MarauderX
Explorer
Session 25: A Fount of Surprises
The group relaxed more as the day went on, and the fire was rekindled to serve a warm meal before the sun made its arc into the afternoon. Saylith, the Red Knight stood from his perch near the fountain and drew his sword. The others noticed and were on their way into positions around the fountain as it bubbled over. Suddenly a tentacle curled up from the water to lap over the side. A second tentacle came over the side and the suckers gripped the rough stone.
Buri launched himself at one of the tentacles, nearly chopping the limb from whatever body lay in the fountain. Jerrin whipped a ball of flame at the second, and the member sizzled with the impact. Before the others could close, the thing rose to break the surface of the water with its revolting head. It had the features of one of the elves, but somehow the side of its head was bulbous and hung over the side of its eye. It pulled itself out of the fountain with two more tentacles and began a slow sprint away from the fountain as it cried out for mercy from the gods.
Thovaas spurred his mount to trample the hideous creature and he pulled alongside to slash a deep gouge across its back. Blue blood sprayed from where his sword had cut deep into it, and an elven voice cried out to end the suffering. Buri strode forward, flipping his sword to stab downward, and ended the things misery. The half-elven half-monstrosity quivered for several moments before the others relaxed their guard enough to sheath their weapons.
The bodies of the slain were piled under the open sky and lit on fire. Thovaas said a prayer and recorded everything that had transpired including descriptions of the vile creatures. Grimnyr listened as the others told of their encounters at Sukyskin, Chautauqua, and Kargam. Jerrin ventured into the wild and procured food for them all from the small game and fruit-bearing plants. Settling in for the night, a double watch was established.
During the first watch Jerrin answered Grimnyr’s many questions about Elarith. Engrossed, they almost didn’t notice water again rising ever so slightly. They woke the others and moved into position as the fountain slowly overflowed. A female figure swam to the surface and floated there, eyes glowing, and Grimnyr and the others looked closely to notice that it was indeed Aldyth, but her features had changed dramatically. Thovaas strode forth and offered his hand to assist her from the fountain as she spoke prophetically in elven. Jerrin asked her several questions and each time he received a visionary response. The elven boy was told that although she looked like his mother Aldyth, she was different. He nodded and bravely met his mother as she was guided to the fire where they met once more.
Jerrin recorded many of her prophetic statements and translated them for the others.
• A new line will come to the elves where an old once was… a foundation of their own upon which was built the traditions of their ancestors.
• Each soul is the result of a union between pure good and pure evil, in the form of Sin. Each soul is charged to liberate itself from evil influence. The gods do not treat the created as children, without free will. Instead, they are held responsible for their choices and, through a cycle of lifetimes, reap the rewards or punishments for its actions.
• Danger… and a new hope approach Elarith in the form of a prince denied his birthright and shall have the full measure of his blood tested. The deepest dark he is and the untainted light. From the blackest of realms he will ascend to the purest of white.
• The Winnower has renewed his vigor to halt the evolution that must come… must come for all, and he shall either follow or be destroyed in its wake.
• Tampering with the lizard king shall bring death to the seekers.
• Sparks of the Divine Light were scattered and trapped in creation, awaiting redemption. Until all the fallen sparks of divinity are restored to their source, the world remains in a broken state. This is the very purpose of our existence and each of us has a role in its fulfillment.
• Calling upon those untainted may save us all… if they survive.
• Imperfection is inescapable since it is woven into the very fabric of creation. Each of us is given some broken piece we will have to work with in our lives and it is our job to illuminate these “dark” places within our being so that our seeming “defects” or imperfections ultimately become the cracks or openings through which our inner light can shine forth into this world.
• A vileness exists… to change the face of all who grace the surface of the world.
• As soon as something is created, its dissolution is already at hand. The shattering is an inevitable outcome of creating an embodied universe, much as error is an inevitable part of living. It seems Avasara intentionally created a flawed universe in order to give every creature a role in its restoration, and so that perfection might be reached through imperfection and wholeness through brokenness.
• Through prayer and action, a person can liberate and raise these sparks and repair our unity. That process is known as Repair--repair of the light, repair of the world, repair of the universe, repair of the multiverse.
• The goal of the created is to seek perfect dominance over evil’s influence on their essence: liberation from gluttonous desires, arrogance, and selfishness. Upon attaining perfect dominance over evil influences, a process generally regarded as the work of numerous lifetimes, creation is Liberated and gains permanent access to the Realm of Infinite Light.
The rest of the night passed without incident as each group kept vigilant watch on the fountain. In the morning a hot repast was prepared, and Aldyth seemed to have moments of lucidity the more her son and Jerrin talked to her. Jerrin spent the day within earshot, gathering food for everyone as their supplies for a one day trip vanished at breakfast. The old monk was content to feast the same way, as he had been doing such for a long time.
In the evening watches were set up again. As Thovaas adjusted his armor he heard the fountain begin to spill over once again. Hurriedly the group assembled around the fountain and waited until it exploded outward, soaking all near the fountain. Within it stood a large figure of an elf, much stronger and pulsing with energy. The elf looked as though it had its skin peeled from its body as its red muscles and veins were exposed as it stood at the fountain’s edge.
Quickly the crowd of defenders moved in as it spouted vile predictions before it began chanting a spell. It took blow after blow before the spell ended, bringing forth a spiny dog looking demon, whose piercing howl made the vile elf bellow his vile insights that much louder. It brought forth more magic and a swirling hammer appeared before it before the hammer exploded, injuring and slowing the paladins and the red knight. It giggled gleefully at the destruction it had wrought before Grimnyr, unaffected from the blast, stepped up to slash at the vile elf.
Thovaas splashed into the fountain to attack the elf again as Saylith fought off the howling beast. Jerrin brought forth a beautiful white horse with a horn atop its head, and it promptly attacked the bloody looking elf to block its exit. Jerrin brought forth a spell to enchant his claws before morphing into a black bear and moving in beside the unicorn.
The blood elf swung to the side at struck Jerrin with a poisonous blow, and only a little of the poison seeped through the thick fur to damage his stamina. The other knights worked in conjunction with Grimnyr to fell the spiny howling beast. Saylith plucked one of the spines from his thigh, wounding himself ripping it free. Thovaas chased the blood elf in the fountain, swinging his sword at him from behind as Grimnyr swung an enchanted axe that dug deeply into its flesh. Eventually it fell from the many blows after having closed several of the wounds with its magic.
Jerrin assumed his Halfling form and the unicorn bowed its horn to touch his shoulder where he had been poisoned. The unicorn healed the others as well as it could, especially Thorgils after he had removed several spines that bled profusely. Jerrin healed several times, and the paladins cured themselves of the last of their wounds. Thovaas began recording some of the blood elf’s diatribe into his journal:
• Jealous of all creation, evil, through personal exaltation (worship) will bring power so near that of all being that dominance can be asserted.
• Bowing to the Creators is the only assurance of becoming a survivor of the world to come. Join all of the others that have fallen before you in your own hell!
• A new line will come to the elves where an old once was, to ascend where he shall bring a new order to pass.
• The hidden will be revealed to all, and reclaim that which was his at the lamentation of an entire people, his people, whom had cast him aside to be raised by their ancient ancestors in the old ways.
• Purity by fire shall befit all those from the slave races, while the defiled shall be drowned in their own blood to purge their impure half.
• The traitors of the world shall be the last to perish after eons of torment and an infinite number of memories of their own betrayal.
• Gozer the Traveler will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!
Jerrin was explaining part of what the blood elf had been saying about elder races to Grimnyr just as he noticed a figure swimming upward from the dark depths. Alerting the others he stood back as the figure broke the surface. It was a werewolf.
The beast began to tread the water toward the edge but was met by Thovaas, who swing his sword with both hands. The blow crashed into the water and struck heavily into the beasts shoulder. The others moved in as it lashed back at Thovaas, striking him twice with its claws. Grimnyr brought his powerful axe down on the beast and watched as it barked viciously at them. Jerrin transformed into a panther and leapt into the pool to strike, landing several swiping blows with his paws. Buri and the others charged in to surround the werewolf. Grimnyr chopped into the water again and the body of beast came floating to the surface, where Thovaas stabbed the thing one last time just as it reverted back to its original form – Varekai.
Pulling his blade back, Thovaas and the others pulled Varekai’s body from the pool of water. The old monk walked to the edge of the fountain and, after stirring the water with his staff, said that the water had reached equilibrium once again. Jerrin told the others that he would be willing to bring Varekai back from death and into another form once he had the proper materials. They agreed that he should.
The red knight Saylith decided that he would guide Aldyth and her son to Elarith and took four of the horses with him. The others would head back to Wilheim to meet Alex, Quentin and the others to take the Lorleena’s Cutter back to Kargam. Jerrin decided to fly to Elarith then back to Wilheim to meet the others there.
At Elarith, Jerrin met his family and friends and quickly told them of his travels. Though abbreviated they seemed much impressed, and asked much about what he saw and heard. Hearing that he would be leaving with a few hours, headed to the immense city of Kargam, his family and friends wished him to return for the fall celebrations. Turning into an eagle in front of them, they gasped and pointed in amazement as he soared away through the tall trees.
Alex and Quentin had eaten heartily and were enjoying another brew when they saw an eagle glide above the town to land on the Lorleena’s Cutter. Quentin pulled his feet from their perch on the table as Tempest began barking a hello to Jerrin.
Grimnyr eventually led the paladins through the woods as they seemed to be taking a longer time than necessary. They arrived in Wilheim as Alex, Quentin and Jerrin relaxed at the tavern with the crew. Grimnyr relieved the minstrel who had told his last tale about a woman named Jill he once knew. After his performance the crew was glad that the barbarian poet would be joining them on the travel down the river to Kargam.
Jerrin joined his Halfling breathen at the half-sized tavern where they welcomed him as family and were glad to hear about any news from the city. A few wily Halflings attempted to persuade Jerrin to take a package with him to Kargam to be delivered to the Halfling Ambassador’s home there. Politely refusing, Jerrin welcomed every free drink as they kept coming.
The next morning Galadin had the crew bustling about the ship as fifty or so passengers boarded. Jerrin brought forth a magic to resurrect Varekai in another form, if his soul still wished to have a vessel. The form molded into that of a half-orc, and a surprised Varekai sat up. He strode across the deck, tentatively at first, then confidently as he became comfortable with his new form. Varekai hovered over Thovaas as the half-orc first asked for pants, which Alex promptly brought, then blamed Thovaas for his murder. Thovaas explained the situation with the others before a fight broke out, and it was clear Varekai would not be joining them on the trip to Kargam but instead joining the old man at the Fountain of Anaphia. He took the bag of gold from the passengers’ fees, minus some for his resurrection expenses, and left the ship.
With everything in place they sailed downstream toward Kargam at Galadin’s command. The party debated the elder races, the books at Chautauqua, the tapestries, and other matters at length. It was concluded that Grimnyr would attempt to use the needle Alex had found to connect it to the tapestries that Thovaas had carried on his mount for so long. Grimnyr took his time to think about any type of tapestries, magic or not, and since nothing came to mind, he decided to take his best guess with the needle on the tapestry.
As soon as Grimnyr touched the needle to the tapestry map at where Kargam now resides, it flew from his hand and began spinning furiously. It carved out Kargam at first, outlining it with pulsing golden thread, before thickly lining the Vulir River upstream to the Oton Peaks before encircling one of the mountains there and stopping. The needle popped from the tapestry back into Grimnyr’s hand, and the group marveled as the thread pulsed, from Kargam to the place in the Oton Peaks.
Over the rest of the trip the group discussed the tapestries even more. Thovaas shot several of his autographed arrows into the woods as Jerrin retreated below decks to finish constructed a few wands.
The Lorleena’s Cutter picked up plenty of wine and other supplies to keep the crew happy on their voyage home, and each night they spent in a town on the way back. The ship hosted visitors from each of the towns as Alex charged a silver piece for as much watered-down wine as they could drink. It went very well, and as they approached Jennum the crew was sad to have the days of partying almost over.
Through the swamp lands on the last leg to Kargam, Grimnyr heard something hit the hull of the ship. Alex had heard it too and called for everyone to gather on the deck to see what they could find. Quentin spotted a heavy chain on land, thicker than a man’s leg, as it rose from the water to the shore. Pointing, the party quickly understood that the slack of the chain was being taken up and soon the ship would come to a shuddering halt. The crew scurried around the ship securing anything that might move upon the sudden stop. The party examined the shore and Alex heard a high-pitched alarm above the din of activity on the ship. Jerrin relaxed and chanted, and soon the water beneath the ship swelled upward, carrying the Lorleena’s Cutter with it. The water rose to propel the ship over the thick chain and downstream away from anyone on shore. As they moved away angry shouts from between swamp trees could be heard and a lone figure was seen waving a fist in their direction.
In a few more hours they were safe as they glided into Kargam. They were told by the shouting dock hands to proceed to the South Docks before anchoring.
The group relaxed more as the day went on, and the fire was rekindled to serve a warm meal before the sun made its arc into the afternoon. Saylith, the Red Knight stood from his perch near the fountain and drew his sword. The others noticed and were on their way into positions around the fountain as it bubbled over. Suddenly a tentacle curled up from the water to lap over the side. A second tentacle came over the side and the suckers gripped the rough stone.
Buri launched himself at one of the tentacles, nearly chopping the limb from whatever body lay in the fountain. Jerrin whipped a ball of flame at the second, and the member sizzled with the impact. Before the others could close, the thing rose to break the surface of the water with its revolting head. It had the features of one of the elves, but somehow the side of its head was bulbous and hung over the side of its eye. It pulled itself out of the fountain with two more tentacles and began a slow sprint away from the fountain as it cried out for mercy from the gods.
Thovaas spurred his mount to trample the hideous creature and he pulled alongside to slash a deep gouge across its back. Blue blood sprayed from where his sword had cut deep into it, and an elven voice cried out to end the suffering. Buri strode forward, flipping his sword to stab downward, and ended the things misery. The half-elven half-monstrosity quivered for several moments before the others relaxed their guard enough to sheath their weapons.
The bodies of the slain were piled under the open sky and lit on fire. Thovaas said a prayer and recorded everything that had transpired including descriptions of the vile creatures. Grimnyr listened as the others told of their encounters at Sukyskin, Chautauqua, and Kargam. Jerrin ventured into the wild and procured food for them all from the small game and fruit-bearing plants. Settling in for the night, a double watch was established.
During the first watch Jerrin answered Grimnyr’s many questions about Elarith. Engrossed, they almost didn’t notice water again rising ever so slightly. They woke the others and moved into position as the fountain slowly overflowed. A female figure swam to the surface and floated there, eyes glowing, and Grimnyr and the others looked closely to notice that it was indeed Aldyth, but her features had changed dramatically. Thovaas strode forth and offered his hand to assist her from the fountain as she spoke prophetically in elven. Jerrin asked her several questions and each time he received a visionary response. The elven boy was told that although she looked like his mother Aldyth, she was different. He nodded and bravely met his mother as she was guided to the fire where they met once more.
Jerrin recorded many of her prophetic statements and translated them for the others.
• A new line will come to the elves where an old once was… a foundation of their own upon which was built the traditions of their ancestors.
• Each soul is the result of a union between pure good and pure evil, in the form of Sin. Each soul is charged to liberate itself from evil influence. The gods do not treat the created as children, without free will. Instead, they are held responsible for their choices and, through a cycle of lifetimes, reap the rewards or punishments for its actions.
• Danger… and a new hope approach Elarith in the form of a prince denied his birthright and shall have the full measure of his blood tested. The deepest dark he is and the untainted light. From the blackest of realms he will ascend to the purest of white.
• The Winnower has renewed his vigor to halt the evolution that must come… must come for all, and he shall either follow or be destroyed in its wake.
• Tampering with the lizard king shall bring death to the seekers.
• Sparks of the Divine Light were scattered and trapped in creation, awaiting redemption. Until all the fallen sparks of divinity are restored to their source, the world remains in a broken state. This is the very purpose of our existence and each of us has a role in its fulfillment.
• Calling upon those untainted may save us all… if they survive.
• Imperfection is inescapable since it is woven into the very fabric of creation. Each of us is given some broken piece we will have to work with in our lives and it is our job to illuminate these “dark” places within our being so that our seeming “defects” or imperfections ultimately become the cracks or openings through which our inner light can shine forth into this world.
• A vileness exists… to change the face of all who grace the surface of the world.
• As soon as something is created, its dissolution is already at hand. The shattering is an inevitable outcome of creating an embodied universe, much as error is an inevitable part of living. It seems Avasara intentionally created a flawed universe in order to give every creature a role in its restoration, and so that perfection might be reached through imperfection and wholeness through brokenness.
• Through prayer and action, a person can liberate and raise these sparks and repair our unity. That process is known as Repair--repair of the light, repair of the world, repair of the universe, repair of the multiverse.
• The goal of the created is to seek perfect dominance over evil’s influence on their essence: liberation from gluttonous desires, arrogance, and selfishness. Upon attaining perfect dominance over evil influences, a process generally regarded as the work of numerous lifetimes, creation is Liberated and gains permanent access to the Realm of Infinite Light.
The rest of the night passed without incident as each group kept vigilant watch on the fountain. In the morning a hot repast was prepared, and Aldyth seemed to have moments of lucidity the more her son and Jerrin talked to her. Jerrin spent the day within earshot, gathering food for everyone as their supplies for a one day trip vanished at breakfast. The old monk was content to feast the same way, as he had been doing such for a long time.
In the evening watches were set up again. As Thovaas adjusted his armor he heard the fountain begin to spill over once again. Hurriedly the group assembled around the fountain and waited until it exploded outward, soaking all near the fountain. Within it stood a large figure of an elf, much stronger and pulsing with energy. The elf looked as though it had its skin peeled from its body as its red muscles and veins were exposed as it stood at the fountain’s edge.
Quickly the crowd of defenders moved in as it spouted vile predictions before it began chanting a spell. It took blow after blow before the spell ended, bringing forth a spiny dog looking demon, whose piercing howl made the vile elf bellow his vile insights that much louder. It brought forth more magic and a swirling hammer appeared before it before the hammer exploded, injuring and slowing the paladins and the red knight. It giggled gleefully at the destruction it had wrought before Grimnyr, unaffected from the blast, stepped up to slash at the vile elf.
Thovaas splashed into the fountain to attack the elf again as Saylith fought off the howling beast. Jerrin brought forth a beautiful white horse with a horn atop its head, and it promptly attacked the bloody looking elf to block its exit. Jerrin brought forth a spell to enchant his claws before morphing into a black bear and moving in beside the unicorn.
The blood elf swung to the side at struck Jerrin with a poisonous blow, and only a little of the poison seeped through the thick fur to damage his stamina. The other knights worked in conjunction with Grimnyr to fell the spiny howling beast. Saylith plucked one of the spines from his thigh, wounding himself ripping it free. Thovaas chased the blood elf in the fountain, swinging his sword at him from behind as Grimnyr swung an enchanted axe that dug deeply into its flesh. Eventually it fell from the many blows after having closed several of the wounds with its magic.
Jerrin assumed his Halfling form and the unicorn bowed its horn to touch his shoulder where he had been poisoned. The unicorn healed the others as well as it could, especially Thorgils after he had removed several spines that bled profusely. Jerrin healed several times, and the paladins cured themselves of the last of their wounds. Thovaas began recording some of the blood elf’s diatribe into his journal:
• Jealous of all creation, evil, through personal exaltation (worship) will bring power so near that of all being that dominance can be asserted.
• Bowing to the Creators is the only assurance of becoming a survivor of the world to come. Join all of the others that have fallen before you in your own hell!
• A new line will come to the elves where an old once was, to ascend where he shall bring a new order to pass.
• The hidden will be revealed to all, and reclaim that which was his at the lamentation of an entire people, his people, whom had cast him aside to be raised by their ancient ancestors in the old ways.
• Purity by fire shall befit all those from the slave races, while the defiled shall be drowned in their own blood to purge their impure half.
• The traitors of the world shall be the last to perish after eons of torment and an infinite number of memories of their own betrayal.
• Gozer the Traveler will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!
Jerrin was explaining part of what the blood elf had been saying about elder races to Grimnyr just as he noticed a figure swimming upward from the dark depths. Alerting the others he stood back as the figure broke the surface. It was a werewolf.
The beast began to tread the water toward the edge but was met by Thovaas, who swing his sword with both hands. The blow crashed into the water and struck heavily into the beasts shoulder. The others moved in as it lashed back at Thovaas, striking him twice with its claws. Grimnyr brought his powerful axe down on the beast and watched as it barked viciously at them. Jerrin transformed into a panther and leapt into the pool to strike, landing several swiping blows with his paws. Buri and the others charged in to surround the werewolf. Grimnyr chopped into the water again and the body of beast came floating to the surface, where Thovaas stabbed the thing one last time just as it reverted back to its original form – Varekai.
Pulling his blade back, Thovaas and the others pulled Varekai’s body from the pool of water. The old monk walked to the edge of the fountain and, after stirring the water with his staff, said that the water had reached equilibrium once again. Jerrin told the others that he would be willing to bring Varekai back from death and into another form once he had the proper materials. They agreed that he should.
The red knight Saylith decided that he would guide Aldyth and her son to Elarith and took four of the horses with him. The others would head back to Wilheim to meet Alex, Quentin and the others to take the Lorleena’s Cutter back to Kargam. Jerrin decided to fly to Elarith then back to Wilheim to meet the others there.
At Elarith, Jerrin met his family and friends and quickly told them of his travels. Though abbreviated they seemed much impressed, and asked much about what he saw and heard. Hearing that he would be leaving with a few hours, headed to the immense city of Kargam, his family and friends wished him to return for the fall celebrations. Turning into an eagle in front of them, they gasped and pointed in amazement as he soared away through the tall trees.
Alex and Quentin had eaten heartily and were enjoying another brew when they saw an eagle glide above the town to land on the Lorleena’s Cutter. Quentin pulled his feet from their perch on the table as Tempest began barking a hello to Jerrin.
Grimnyr eventually led the paladins through the woods as they seemed to be taking a longer time than necessary. They arrived in Wilheim as Alex, Quentin and Jerrin relaxed at the tavern with the crew. Grimnyr relieved the minstrel who had told his last tale about a woman named Jill he once knew. After his performance the crew was glad that the barbarian poet would be joining them on the travel down the river to Kargam.
Jerrin joined his Halfling breathen at the half-sized tavern where they welcomed him as family and were glad to hear about any news from the city. A few wily Halflings attempted to persuade Jerrin to take a package with him to Kargam to be delivered to the Halfling Ambassador’s home there. Politely refusing, Jerrin welcomed every free drink as they kept coming.
The next morning Galadin had the crew bustling about the ship as fifty or so passengers boarded. Jerrin brought forth a magic to resurrect Varekai in another form, if his soul still wished to have a vessel. The form molded into that of a half-orc, and a surprised Varekai sat up. He strode across the deck, tentatively at first, then confidently as he became comfortable with his new form. Varekai hovered over Thovaas as the half-orc first asked for pants, which Alex promptly brought, then blamed Thovaas for his murder. Thovaas explained the situation with the others before a fight broke out, and it was clear Varekai would not be joining them on the trip to Kargam but instead joining the old man at the Fountain of Anaphia. He took the bag of gold from the passengers’ fees, minus some for his resurrection expenses, and left the ship.
With everything in place they sailed downstream toward Kargam at Galadin’s command. The party debated the elder races, the books at Chautauqua, the tapestries, and other matters at length. It was concluded that Grimnyr would attempt to use the needle Alex had found to connect it to the tapestries that Thovaas had carried on his mount for so long. Grimnyr took his time to think about any type of tapestries, magic or not, and since nothing came to mind, he decided to take his best guess with the needle on the tapestry.
As soon as Grimnyr touched the needle to the tapestry map at where Kargam now resides, it flew from his hand and began spinning furiously. It carved out Kargam at first, outlining it with pulsing golden thread, before thickly lining the Vulir River upstream to the Oton Peaks before encircling one of the mountains there and stopping. The needle popped from the tapestry back into Grimnyr’s hand, and the group marveled as the thread pulsed, from Kargam to the place in the Oton Peaks.
Over the rest of the trip the group discussed the tapestries even more. Thovaas shot several of his autographed arrows into the woods as Jerrin retreated below decks to finish constructed a few wands.
The Lorleena’s Cutter picked up plenty of wine and other supplies to keep the crew happy on their voyage home, and each night they spent in a town on the way back. The ship hosted visitors from each of the towns as Alex charged a silver piece for as much watered-down wine as they could drink. It went very well, and as they approached Jennum the crew was sad to have the days of partying almost over.
Through the swamp lands on the last leg to Kargam, Grimnyr heard something hit the hull of the ship. Alex had heard it too and called for everyone to gather on the deck to see what they could find. Quentin spotted a heavy chain on land, thicker than a man’s leg, as it rose from the water to the shore. Pointing, the party quickly understood that the slack of the chain was being taken up and soon the ship would come to a shuddering halt. The crew scurried around the ship securing anything that might move upon the sudden stop. The party examined the shore and Alex heard a high-pitched alarm above the din of activity on the ship. Jerrin relaxed and chanted, and soon the water beneath the ship swelled upward, carrying the Lorleena’s Cutter with it. The water rose to propel the ship over the thick chain and downstream away from anyone on shore. As they moved away angry shouts from between swamp trees could be heard and a lone figure was seen waving a fist in their direction.
In a few more hours they were safe as they glided into Kargam. They were told by the shouting dock hands to proceed to the South Docks before anchoring.
Attachments
Last edited:
MarauderX
Explorer
Session 26: Riverside Negotiations
With their tensions of returning the ship into the city safely, the party relaxed as the ship was secured in the South Docks. The crew offloaded after being paid, and many were glad to be safely returned to the city they knew. Galadin and half a dozen others stayed on board, still overseeing many of the duties to ensure the ship’s wellbeing. The party went into the city, splitting up to each take care of some personal business.
Quentin and Alex saw the obese Mortis just as he was sitting down to eat a stuffed quail, and it became apparent what the large man spent most of his money on – chefs to bring him rich food equal to that of the Marquis. He made them watch as he ate before wrapping up the business of the silver-masked man. Once they were paid handsomely, Mortis grinned with pleasure that their delivery went well.
Grimnyr roamed into the city and was welcomed at a fine establishment that seemed much too quiet and empty. With a few tales of the northern men and their heroic exploits, Grimnyr pulled in the attention of the bar patrons and got the beer flowing freely. Within an hour he had earned a full stay at the bar with meals and free mead.
Jerrin ventured back out of the city to visit the closest druid grove, and once there he heard many of the same concerns that others had – assisting the forest to recover from its receding line as more people expanded their holds, helping woodland creatures, and holding a funeral for an ancient dying oak.
Thovaas was regaled at the barracks in which he had housed his belongings. He heard much about the crimes of the last several weeks, whether petty or vial, as there was usually an unreasonable villain with which to be dealt.
In the morning, Thovaas went to see Barrister Sigrid, but he was not at home since he went down to see a man about a ship. Thovaas then hustled back to the ship and met Grimnyr and Alex on board just as they saw an entourage coming along the docks. A man dressed in the finest clothes was striding haughtily and with him Barrister Sigrid kept pace. Sigrid had his scribe with him, and this rich man had at least ten attendants of various sorts walking with him. They approached the ship and Sigrid was heard loudly explaining that the ship was for sale by the ship’s new owners, Captain Thovaas and Captain Quentin. Sigrid talked mostly to the well-dressed man, but it was clear he was explaining the circumstance to the party as well.
Two inspectors were given permission to board the Lorleena’s Cutter and quickly they started to note every last thing that seemed to be wrong with the ship, from incorrectly sized rope to poor rigging and several loose boards that might cause leaks. Galadin sprang to his feet in defense of the ship’s condition and began a running debate with the finely dressed inspectors as they perused the ship. Galadin stopped arguing when they entered the captain’s quarters to discover disheveled piles of paper, cloth and tools. In the middle of mess Quentin stirred awake and asked Galadin who the men were. Upon explanation Quentin quickly pulled on his trousers and emerged a few minutes later to help discuss the matters of selling the ship.
The rich man was introduced as Ibeli, a noble who already had over a dozen ships working under him. Ibeli, under the direction of the inspectors, made his first offer of 12,000 gold. Not pleased with the first offer, the party waited patiently for him to raise the amount. After much debate the party lowered their price to 16,500, but Ibeli remained firm at 14,000. The party looked at Sigrid, who seemed to be indicating to raise the price, so the party stayed at 16,500. In a huff Ibeli spun away from them and left the ship.
Barrister Sigrid returned an hour later and was upset that the party had misinterpreted his signal to take the offer of 14,000, not try to raise it. He said he would try to talk Ibeli into revisiting the ship the next day if the party would lower the price even more, to which they agreed. Jerrin inspected the ship and did what he could magically while Galadin directed the others to properly fix even the untidiest of items. Jerrin also found an inspector of his own to review the ship and provide another professional opinion on the value of the vessel.
The party agreed that they would settle for 15,000 gold for the ship. The day passed into evening and the party set up a double watch to look out for anything suspicious. While Alex and Quentin were discussing a few techniques for crossbow traps, they noticed the glow of torches reflecting from the water. Several hundred yards down the docks a mob of almost a dozen men walked towards them, and each of them bore a torch. In the front were two men dressed in robes that Alex recognized as belonging to a mercenary guild in the city. They approached the ship as Quentin woke the others.
Just as the rest of the party was grabbing arms they heard a loud bang that resounded throughout the ship. On the deck they saw Alex holding his ringing ears as the men on the pier called out again and again to negotiate with the temporarily deaf Alex. The party drew their weapons as the already hostile discussions deteriorated, and Jerrin cast a commanding spell to give him control over lightning.
The Halfling strode forth to stand on the edge of the gangplank, ready to call forth the lightning, when a volley of acid soared over his head to land in the river. The other burly torchbearers scrambled up the gangplank towards them and swung at the Halfling. Two crossbowmen fired at Quentin while two archers fired at Thovaas. Alex, Quentin and Thovaas quickly pelted the acid-throwing mage with deadly arrows, and Thovaas struck him last with an arrow that went through his left eye to emerge with a splatter from the other side of his skull.
The raiding mercenaries continued their attack, and Jerrin’s companion Tempest pulled one from his feet, knocking him sideways on the plank before he lost his grip and fell into the river. Another launched himself onto the boat and was dragged to his knees by the large dog. His attention affixed on Tempest, the man began to stand only to have his head separated from his body by Thovaas. The other raiders looked more determined and swung their swords violently to dig at the paladin. Grimnyr called for several sound bursts on the archers and remaining mage as he pulled his sword.
Quentin maneuvered around the battle after being hit several times by crossbow bolts. Suddenly one of the mercenaries appeared carrying a clay pot in each massive hand, and with a grunt he tossed them both onto the ship. Then he pulled two flasks of oil from a pouch and grinned.
Grimnyr, whose melodic voice was usually so southing, let out a crazed bellow as he ran straight through the flames to charge one of the boarders. He and Thovaas slashed at the man several times, carving deep gouges in his flesh before he fell. Jerrin then raced forward and stood at the top of the gangplank and called down another devastating blast of lightning on the man with the flasks of oil. The flasks erupted, exploding in his palm to spray him with burning oil, and the party watched as the lit oil cascaded down the man’s arm as he howled in pain.
Repeatedly the archers and crossbowmen pelted Alex with their missiles while the remaining mage sank bolts of blue light into Thovaas, Jerrin and Alex. Grimnyr frothed as they brought down another boarder and the last was knocked into the water between the ship and the docks. Grimnyr launched himself down the gangplank, charging wildly toward the archers. They stepped back and fired at him before dropping their longbows to draw short swords. The mage was terrified as he cast yet another spell, but it wasn’t enough as Grimnyr swung his sword deep into the mage’s side to drop him to the ground.
The four mercenaries stepped back and called for a truce, or at the least mercy, pleading for sympathy from the approaching paladin. It was of no use to Grimnyr, whose berserker bloodlust made him deaf to their pleas. He struck one of the archers solidly in the chest, burying his sword deep into his lungs after slashing through his weak leather armor. Jerrin told the other three to play dead if they wanted to survive, but it was of no use; the remaining men dropped their weapons and fled as fast as they could.
Meanwhile, Alex stepped over another of the fallen men to see if he was carrying anything of value. Again he came up short, as they all had likely left whatever valuables they owned somewhere safe, but the biggest of the attackers wore a fine looking belt of some type.
Jerrin, mounted on Tempest, pursued one of the panicked men down the docks and stabbed him several times before he jumped into the river between two boats. Jerrin leapt from Tempest in mid-stride and before he hit the river his form had changed to that of a crocodile. Swimming downward Jerrin realized the man was unconscious and sinking fast toward the bottom. Climbing out of the river, Jerrin swapped forms several more times to help close his wounds.
On the docks, the rest of the party had determined that one of the archers had a magical quiver that could hold up to four times as many arrows or bolts or other long thing items such as wands. Grimnyr, having caught his breath, replied that the cloak the first mage had worn was also enhanced, his smooth voice run ragged from the fight. The belt was determined to provide aid in protection, and later the cloak was learned to grant the wearer with resistive powers.
Afterward, the group set the bodies of the attackers in a line along the dock before returning to their watch. During the last watch with Thovaas and Grimnyr, a voice startled them as they scanned the river. On the dock below them was a man dressed in grey stood straight and smiled politely. He asked if the ship was still for sale, as said he had heard an offer of 14,000 was refused. He offered 15,000, and could only give 5,00 cash at the moment, but offered to pay as much as 500 per month until the debt was settled. After some discussion the man was politely rejected and he melted into the darkness.
At dawn Jerrin busily masked the evidence of the fight from the night before, and Galadin and the other ship hands scrubbed the blood from the deck. Jerrin swam around the underside of the ship to examine the hull for hidden weaknesses, growth or other abnormalities but found none of any significance. Barrister Sigrid bustled down the dock to tell them that Ibeli would be visiting again, and to consider lowering their offer. When they told him they would sell at 15,000, he was pleased and left. Soon afterward Ibeli strode down the edge of the river towards them.
Ibeli sauntered around the deck of the ship looking for damages that may have occurred during the night, and his face was red when he saw that there were none. Jerrin’s personal advisor, the shipbuilder, arrived shortly after and gave his credentials to which Ibeli could no longer refute. When Ibeli’s advisors mentioned that there might be serious damage to the hull Jerrin offered to take them all on a walk along the river bottom. It took some encouragement, but Ibeli decided to try it, as breathing underwater held most of his curiosity. Once in the river, Jerrin pointed out the fine lines of the Lorleena’s Cutter for some time before they came back to the docks.
Once on the docks, Ibeli began stripping his clothing and cursing the Halfling for trying to kill him with a cold. Two of his servants bustled around him to hide his exposed legs as he walked back onto the ship. Ibeli mentioned his offer of 14,000 again, and seemed steadfast at first. Then, when Quentin, Grimnyr and the others told of the adventuring tales that he would also claim when he owned the ship, he seemed very pleased. The party told him they wanted 15,000, and after pausing for several minutes he agreed. Immediately afterward, Ibeli started ordering that everything on the ship be removed, and that the painters and craftsmen were to be sent the following day. The party quickly grabbed their things and a giggling Sigrid shook their hands and told them he would see them the next morning.
Grimnyr took the party to the inn at which he had been performing, and when they learned he would be back they upgraded his room to fit them all comfortably. In the morning the group headed to Barrister Sigrid’s home, where his butler instructed them to enter. The butler asked if they would prefer gold or gems, and the party choose gold, figuring that Alex and Quentin could find gems at a better rate than those given.
The group left and went back to the inn where they divvied the gold. For the next few nights the group talked about their future plans, where they should visit and when. It was decided unanimously to go in the direction of the mountains once spring arrived, as they all could easily wait until then. One by one they headed their separate ways and agreed to meet after the spring thaw in Kargam.
With their tensions of returning the ship into the city safely, the party relaxed as the ship was secured in the South Docks. The crew offloaded after being paid, and many were glad to be safely returned to the city they knew. Galadin and half a dozen others stayed on board, still overseeing many of the duties to ensure the ship’s wellbeing. The party went into the city, splitting up to each take care of some personal business.
Quentin and Alex saw the obese Mortis just as he was sitting down to eat a stuffed quail, and it became apparent what the large man spent most of his money on – chefs to bring him rich food equal to that of the Marquis. He made them watch as he ate before wrapping up the business of the silver-masked man. Once they were paid handsomely, Mortis grinned with pleasure that their delivery went well.
Grimnyr roamed into the city and was welcomed at a fine establishment that seemed much too quiet and empty. With a few tales of the northern men and their heroic exploits, Grimnyr pulled in the attention of the bar patrons and got the beer flowing freely. Within an hour he had earned a full stay at the bar with meals and free mead.
Jerrin ventured back out of the city to visit the closest druid grove, and once there he heard many of the same concerns that others had – assisting the forest to recover from its receding line as more people expanded their holds, helping woodland creatures, and holding a funeral for an ancient dying oak.
Thovaas was regaled at the barracks in which he had housed his belongings. He heard much about the crimes of the last several weeks, whether petty or vial, as there was usually an unreasonable villain with which to be dealt.
In the morning, Thovaas went to see Barrister Sigrid, but he was not at home since he went down to see a man about a ship. Thovaas then hustled back to the ship and met Grimnyr and Alex on board just as they saw an entourage coming along the docks. A man dressed in the finest clothes was striding haughtily and with him Barrister Sigrid kept pace. Sigrid had his scribe with him, and this rich man had at least ten attendants of various sorts walking with him. They approached the ship and Sigrid was heard loudly explaining that the ship was for sale by the ship’s new owners, Captain Thovaas and Captain Quentin. Sigrid talked mostly to the well-dressed man, but it was clear he was explaining the circumstance to the party as well.
Two inspectors were given permission to board the Lorleena’s Cutter and quickly they started to note every last thing that seemed to be wrong with the ship, from incorrectly sized rope to poor rigging and several loose boards that might cause leaks. Galadin sprang to his feet in defense of the ship’s condition and began a running debate with the finely dressed inspectors as they perused the ship. Galadin stopped arguing when they entered the captain’s quarters to discover disheveled piles of paper, cloth and tools. In the middle of mess Quentin stirred awake and asked Galadin who the men were. Upon explanation Quentin quickly pulled on his trousers and emerged a few minutes later to help discuss the matters of selling the ship.
The rich man was introduced as Ibeli, a noble who already had over a dozen ships working under him. Ibeli, under the direction of the inspectors, made his first offer of 12,000 gold. Not pleased with the first offer, the party waited patiently for him to raise the amount. After much debate the party lowered their price to 16,500, but Ibeli remained firm at 14,000. The party looked at Sigrid, who seemed to be indicating to raise the price, so the party stayed at 16,500. In a huff Ibeli spun away from them and left the ship.
Barrister Sigrid returned an hour later and was upset that the party had misinterpreted his signal to take the offer of 14,000, not try to raise it. He said he would try to talk Ibeli into revisiting the ship the next day if the party would lower the price even more, to which they agreed. Jerrin inspected the ship and did what he could magically while Galadin directed the others to properly fix even the untidiest of items. Jerrin also found an inspector of his own to review the ship and provide another professional opinion on the value of the vessel.
The party agreed that they would settle for 15,000 gold for the ship. The day passed into evening and the party set up a double watch to look out for anything suspicious. While Alex and Quentin were discussing a few techniques for crossbow traps, they noticed the glow of torches reflecting from the water. Several hundred yards down the docks a mob of almost a dozen men walked towards them, and each of them bore a torch. In the front were two men dressed in robes that Alex recognized as belonging to a mercenary guild in the city. They approached the ship as Quentin woke the others.
Just as the rest of the party was grabbing arms they heard a loud bang that resounded throughout the ship. On the deck they saw Alex holding his ringing ears as the men on the pier called out again and again to negotiate with the temporarily deaf Alex. The party drew their weapons as the already hostile discussions deteriorated, and Jerrin cast a commanding spell to give him control over lightning.
The Halfling strode forth to stand on the edge of the gangplank, ready to call forth the lightning, when a volley of acid soared over his head to land in the river. The other burly torchbearers scrambled up the gangplank towards them and swung at the Halfling. Two crossbowmen fired at Quentin while two archers fired at Thovaas. Alex, Quentin and Thovaas quickly pelted the acid-throwing mage with deadly arrows, and Thovaas struck him last with an arrow that went through his left eye to emerge with a splatter from the other side of his skull.
The raiding mercenaries continued their attack, and Jerrin’s companion Tempest pulled one from his feet, knocking him sideways on the plank before he lost his grip and fell into the river. Another launched himself onto the boat and was dragged to his knees by the large dog. His attention affixed on Tempest, the man began to stand only to have his head separated from his body by Thovaas. The other raiders looked more determined and swung their swords violently to dig at the paladin. Grimnyr called for several sound bursts on the archers and remaining mage as he pulled his sword.
Quentin maneuvered around the battle after being hit several times by crossbow bolts. Suddenly one of the mercenaries appeared carrying a clay pot in each massive hand, and with a grunt he tossed them both onto the ship. Then he pulled two flasks of oil from a pouch and grinned.
Grimnyr, whose melodic voice was usually so southing, let out a crazed bellow as he ran straight through the flames to charge one of the boarders. He and Thovaas slashed at the man several times, carving deep gouges in his flesh before he fell. Jerrin then raced forward and stood at the top of the gangplank and called down another devastating blast of lightning on the man with the flasks of oil. The flasks erupted, exploding in his palm to spray him with burning oil, and the party watched as the lit oil cascaded down the man’s arm as he howled in pain.
Repeatedly the archers and crossbowmen pelted Alex with their missiles while the remaining mage sank bolts of blue light into Thovaas, Jerrin and Alex. Grimnyr frothed as they brought down another boarder and the last was knocked into the water between the ship and the docks. Grimnyr launched himself down the gangplank, charging wildly toward the archers. They stepped back and fired at him before dropping their longbows to draw short swords. The mage was terrified as he cast yet another spell, but it wasn’t enough as Grimnyr swung his sword deep into the mage’s side to drop him to the ground.
The four mercenaries stepped back and called for a truce, or at the least mercy, pleading for sympathy from the approaching paladin. It was of no use to Grimnyr, whose berserker bloodlust made him deaf to their pleas. He struck one of the archers solidly in the chest, burying his sword deep into his lungs after slashing through his weak leather armor. Jerrin told the other three to play dead if they wanted to survive, but it was of no use; the remaining men dropped their weapons and fled as fast as they could.
Meanwhile, Alex stepped over another of the fallen men to see if he was carrying anything of value. Again he came up short, as they all had likely left whatever valuables they owned somewhere safe, but the biggest of the attackers wore a fine looking belt of some type.
Jerrin, mounted on Tempest, pursued one of the panicked men down the docks and stabbed him several times before he jumped into the river between two boats. Jerrin leapt from Tempest in mid-stride and before he hit the river his form had changed to that of a crocodile. Swimming downward Jerrin realized the man was unconscious and sinking fast toward the bottom. Climbing out of the river, Jerrin swapped forms several more times to help close his wounds.
On the docks, the rest of the party had determined that one of the archers had a magical quiver that could hold up to four times as many arrows or bolts or other long thing items such as wands. Grimnyr, having caught his breath, replied that the cloak the first mage had worn was also enhanced, his smooth voice run ragged from the fight. The belt was determined to provide aid in protection, and later the cloak was learned to grant the wearer with resistive powers.
Afterward, the group set the bodies of the attackers in a line along the dock before returning to their watch. During the last watch with Thovaas and Grimnyr, a voice startled them as they scanned the river. On the dock below them was a man dressed in grey stood straight and smiled politely. He asked if the ship was still for sale, as said he had heard an offer of 14,000 was refused. He offered 15,000, and could only give 5,00 cash at the moment, but offered to pay as much as 500 per month until the debt was settled. After some discussion the man was politely rejected and he melted into the darkness.
At dawn Jerrin busily masked the evidence of the fight from the night before, and Galadin and the other ship hands scrubbed the blood from the deck. Jerrin swam around the underside of the ship to examine the hull for hidden weaknesses, growth or other abnormalities but found none of any significance. Barrister Sigrid bustled down the dock to tell them that Ibeli would be visiting again, and to consider lowering their offer. When they told him they would sell at 15,000, he was pleased and left. Soon afterward Ibeli strode down the edge of the river towards them.
Ibeli sauntered around the deck of the ship looking for damages that may have occurred during the night, and his face was red when he saw that there were none. Jerrin’s personal advisor, the shipbuilder, arrived shortly after and gave his credentials to which Ibeli could no longer refute. When Ibeli’s advisors mentioned that there might be serious damage to the hull Jerrin offered to take them all on a walk along the river bottom. It took some encouragement, but Ibeli decided to try it, as breathing underwater held most of his curiosity. Once in the river, Jerrin pointed out the fine lines of the Lorleena’s Cutter for some time before they came back to the docks.
Once on the docks, Ibeli began stripping his clothing and cursing the Halfling for trying to kill him with a cold. Two of his servants bustled around him to hide his exposed legs as he walked back onto the ship. Ibeli mentioned his offer of 14,000 again, and seemed steadfast at first. Then, when Quentin, Grimnyr and the others told of the adventuring tales that he would also claim when he owned the ship, he seemed very pleased. The party told him they wanted 15,000, and after pausing for several minutes he agreed. Immediately afterward, Ibeli started ordering that everything on the ship be removed, and that the painters and craftsmen were to be sent the following day. The party quickly grabbed their things and a giggling Sigrid shook their hands and told them he would see them the next morning.
Grimnyr took the party to the inn at which he had been performing, and when they learned he would be back they upgraded his room to fit them all comfortably. In the morning the group headed to Barrister Sigrid’s home, where his butler instructed them to enter. The butler asked if they would prefer gold or gems, and the party choose gold, figuring that Alex and Quentin could find gems at a better rate than those given.
The group left and went back to the inn where they divvied the gold. For the next few nights the group talked about their future plans, where they should visit and when. It was decided unanimously to go in the direction of the mountains once spring arrived, as they all could easily wait until then. One by one they headed their separate ways and agreed to meet after the spring thaw in Kargam.
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MarauderX
Explorer
Session 26 Interlude: Waiting for Spring
This is the news from the fall, winter and spring's onset that stands out from the ordinary, and is known by nearly everyone in the Kingdom of Correl.
Elarith & Kargam news
The matriarch of Elarith, Lady Emmoeve, stepped aside as the proven rightful heir to the sacred Wooded Throne had returned. This new elven ruler returned from places unknown after he was informed that he was of the noble blood line. He is known as Lord Dor’baun, and his motives are not yet clear. His hair has turned pure white and he wears it over the scarred right side of his face. His black robes are layered deep and his sinuous arms protrude to starkly contrast his milky skin against the dark cloth. He wears a face full of tension and bellows questions as though they were commands. To the elves he is a spitting image of the last royal ruler of the elves, Litaniliri, who had died fifty years ago.
The old elven ambassador, Minister Mayrith, had many a story to tell about Elarith, but it was a rare occasion such as this that he did. Mayrith’s eyes seemed dark and hollowed, and his face was of resigned duty and sadness. His shoulders drooped and he often leaned on his staff. Crowds had gathered around the castle to hear him speak.
“I remember it as if it were only a ten-day ago. The elven queen Litaseania gave birth to twins, fairly common for our people, but a grave omen of division by any seer’s account. For fear of the elven nation’s future she divided them shortly after their birth. Knowing that if the lost twin was to ever return and the truth would be known the consequences would be severe, she spoiled the right side of the baby’s face with fire, scarring him forever. With a face so marred she had hoped he would never be recognized as an heir to the Wooded Throne. She was so afraid of him that she had also refused to give him a name. I dubbed him castaway, or Sa’maw.
“I was the one who was responsible for hiding him far away from the world, far from any who might see through his marred face to his inner destiny. For it I gave up my home of Elarith for a languid lifestyle in Kargam, a city full of vibrant humans. I got exactly what I wanted, to get away from the twisted Queen and her corrupting influence, and to live my days in carefree joy.
“Where would I send him, you might ask. I sought out our brethren beneath the earth, those in the everlasting dark of caves and tunnels. An agent of mine found them locked in their own affairs far beneath the surface. And so to them I had Sa’maw delivered. I received a gesture that the deed had been done, and that they knew he was of the royal bloodline. And then I tried to forget what I had done. For five centuries I had begged for my memory of it to fade while I immersed myself in the affairs of men and their strife with the world and each other.
“Queen Litaseania died two centuries after I left and her remaining son, Litaniliri, ascended to replace her. After a century he was joined with Lady Emmoeve and they lived for a long time together before starting to part after no heir was had. It was then that he became ill with a wasting disease, nothing which the high priests could cure. Litaniliri’s body decayed in front of all to see, though he tried to remain strong by appearing daily in Elarith for all to see. Finally he could no longer stand as his skin turned yellow and red and he spent his last few months behind white veils.
Fifty years ago he died, with no heir, and Lady Emmoeve was given the title of matriarch for the elven realm. Strong magical ceremonies were used to seek out the next heir, but it was determined that although there were many bloodlines, none were sufficient to be appointed the next heir. I knew why the magic failed, that there was another still alive that still had claim to the Wooded Throne. And he was stowed far beneath the earth.
“Under Lady Emmoeve the elves lived peacefully for fifty years as they had little concern for a centralized governorship. None of the royal descendants challenged her rule, and every year or so the same ritual was performed to see if a new successor would be named. Nothing changed and many were content with Lady Emmoeve’s soft rule. Trade negotiations and dealings with other races were often postponed repeatedly as she had never felt responsible to make decisions that should be left to the royal bloodline.
“Lord Dor’baun hid his face from all under a silver mask, and he had returned to find his ancestry. Allegedly he came through Kargam on his way to Elarith. He revealed himself in the elven city as seeking out why magic wracked his body annually for the last fifty years. He had traced the source to Elarith and now demanded that his condition be cured. Dor’baun was recognized by some before the magical ceremony was performed once again. Magic light surrounded his body, and he was immediately declared the rightful heir, much to everyone’s surprise. Loyal to ancient magic, Lady Emmoeve rose from the Wooded Throne and granted Dor’baun his rightful place.
“Now, what morals does this new King Dor’baun have after centuries in the dark? Who raised this elf from an infant child to become the man he is today? It is our dark brethren, the Drow. And there is none more responsible for this than me. I had given up on my people long ago, turning one wicked deed to another, and now we will see what our sins have sown.”
Minister Mayrith then slumped out of sight and the noise of the crowd rose slowly with speculation.
In the days following, many in the whole of Kargam took a paranoid stance, thinking that the elves would finally unveil their secrets of war and magic. Marquis Hoil gave several speeches on the matter, exclaiming that he and the other barons did not hold sway over a people who govern themselves. He openly admitted that he did not know what was happening or what would come of it, but that he would be patient until the new Lord Dor’baun was ready to talk.
Since then it has been over four months and the elves continue to trade with Kargam and other human towns freely. Elarith is still a peaceful place as many of the dark rumors about Dor’baun had dried up. Many of the nomadic elven tribes settled through the winter and it seems as though Lord Dor’baun was learning much about his own people. His mentality was much different from the rest of the elves, as his hunger for knowledge seemed to be insatiable. The elven lord hasn’t revealed anything about future plans or political dealings with the barons, and it doesn’t seem as though he will for some time to come.
News from Suln
The Kingdom’s Capital increased shipping trade again as a new shipyard was completed on the north side of the city. The nearby high elves assisted with several new ships to create vessels with sleeker lines to assist with speed. Halfling crews have turned out to be more profitable as savvy entrepreneurs and small crews to load a ship with more materials since piracy has been dormant along the coast. Suln and many of the other trade cities along the coast have been shipping steadily to many islands in the southwest.
The King has finally decided to wed, and the woman is outside of the nobility of Suln which has caused a stir. In the coming spring a celebration is planned to be held in Suln, though the exact date has yet to be made official. His bride-to-be is called a barbarian by some, as she was raised by her father in the northlands. The church of Pelor and Heironious have grumbled about wedding the King with such a 'heathen' though they still vie to perform the ceremony.
Shen Jin & Beyond
The Empire of Shen Jin, east of the Oton Peaks, has remained constant, and it is heard that they are attempting to purge many of the monstrous threats that are in the shadow of the mountains. Their trade with the dwarves of silk and hops for gems and metals continues to slightly increase.
This is the news from the fall, winter and spring's onset that stands out from the ordinary, and is known by nearly everyone in the Kingdom of Correl.
Elarith & Kargam news
The matriarch of Elarith, Lady Emmoeve, stepped aside as the proven rightful heir to the sacred Wooded Throne had returned. This new elven ruler returned from places unknown after he was informed that he was of the noble blood line. He is known as Lord Dor’baun, and his motives are not yet clear. His hair has turned pure white and he wears it over the scarred right side of his face. His black robes are layered deep and his sinuous arms protrude to starkly contrast his milky skin against the dark cloth. He wears a face full of tension and bellows questions as though they were commands. To the elves he is a spitting image of the last royal ruler of the elves, Litaniliri, who had died fifty years ago.
The old elven ambassador, Minister Mayrith, had many a story to tell about Elarith, but it was a rare occasion such as this that he did. Mayrith’s eyes seemed dark and hollowed, and his face was of resigned duty and sadness. His shoulders drooped and he often leaned on his staff. Crowds had gathered around the castle to hear him speak.
“I remember it as if it were only a ten-day ago. The elven queen Litaseania gave birth to twins, fairly common for our people, but a grave omen of division by any seer’s account. For fear of the elven nation’s future she divided them shortly after their birth. Knowing that if the lost twin was to ever return and the truth would be known the consequences would be severe, she spoiled the right side of the baby’s face with fire, scarring him forever. With a face so marred she had hoped he would never be recognized as an heir to the Wooded Throne. She was so afraid of him that she had also refused to give him a name. I dubbed him castaway, or Sa’maw.
“I was the one who was responsible for hiding him far away from the world, far from any who might see through his marred face to his inner destiny. For it I gave up my home of Elarith for a languid lifestyle in Kargam, a city full of vibrant humans. I got exactly what I wanted, to get away from the twisted Queen and her corrupting influence, and to live my days in carefree joy.
“Where would I send him, you might ask. I sought out our brethren beneath the earth, those in the everlasting dark of caves and tunnels. An agent of mine found them locked in their own affairs far beneath the surface. And so to them I had Sa’maw delivered. I received a gesture that the deed had been done, and that they knew he was of the royal bloodline. And then I tried to forget what I had done. For five centuries I had begged for my memory of it to fade while I immersed myself in the affairs of men and their strife with the world and each other.
“Queen Litaseania died two centuries after I left and her remaining son, Litaniliri, ascended to replace her. After a century he was joined with Lady Emmoeve and they lived for a long time together before starting to part after no heir was had. It was then that he became ill with a wasting disease, nothing which the high priests could cure. Litaniliri’s body decayed in front of all to see, though he tried to remain strong by appearing daily in Elarith for all to see. Finally he could no longer stand as his skin turned yellow and red and he spent his last few months behind white veils.
Fifty years ago he died, with no heir, and Lady Emmoeve was given the title of matriarch for the elven realm. Strong magical ceremonies were used to seek out the next heir, but it was determined that although there were many bloodlines, none were sufficient to be appointed the next heir. I knew why the magic failed, that there was another still alive that still had claim to the Wooded Throne. And he was stowed far beneath the earth.
“Under Lady Emmoeve the elves lived peacefully for fifty years as they had little concern for a centralized governorship. None of the royal descendants challenged her rule, and every year or so the same ritual was performed to see if a new successor would be named. Nothing changed and many were content with Lady Emmoeve’s soft rule. Trade negotiations and dealings with other races were often postponed repeatedly as she had never felt responsible to make decisions that should be left to the royal bloodline.
“Lord Dor’baun hid his face from all under a silver mask, and he had returned to find his ancestry. Allegedly he came through Kargam on his way to Elarith. He revealed himself in the elven city as seeking out why magic wracked his body annually for the last fifty years. He had traced the source to Elarith and now demanded that his condition be cured. Dor’baun was recognized by some before the magical ceremony was performed once again. Magic light surrounded his body, and he was immediately declared the rightful heir, much to everyone’s surprise. Loyal to ancient magic, Lady Emmoeve rose from the Wooded Throne and granted Dor’baun his rightful place.
“Now, what morals does this new King Dor’baun have after centuries in the dark? Who raised this elf from an infant child to become the man he is today? It is our dark brethren, the Drow. And there is none more responsible for this than me. I had given up on my people long ago, turning one wicked deed to another, and now we will see what our sins have sown.”
Minister Mayrith then slumped out of sight and the noise of the crowd rose slowly with speculation.
In the days following, many in the whole of Kargam took a paranoid stance, thinking that the elves would finally unveil their secrets of war and magic. Marquis Hoil gave several speeches on the matter, exclaiming that he and the other barons did not hold sway over a people who govern themselves. He openly admitted that he did not know what was happening or what would come of it, but that he would be patient until the new Lord Dor’baun was ready to talk.
Since then it has been over four months and the elves continue to trade with Kargam and other human towns freely. Elarith is still a peaceful place as many of the dark rumors about Dor’baun had dried up. Many of the nomadic elven tribes settled through the winter and it seems as though Lord Dor’baun was learning much about his own people. His mentality was much different from the rest of the elves, as his hunger for knowledge seemed to be insatiable. The elven lord hasn’t revealed anything about future plans or political dealings with the barons, and it doesn’t seem as though he will for some time to come.
News from Suln
The Kingdom’s Capital increased shipping trade again as a new shipyard was completed on the north side of the city. The nearby high elves assisted with several new ships to create vessels with sleeker lines to assist with speed. Halfling crews have turned out to be more profitable as savvy entrepreneurs and small crews to load a ship with more materials since piracy has been dormant along the coast. Suln and many of the other trade cities along the coast have been shipping steadily to many islands in the southwest.
The King has finally decided to wed, and the woman is outside of the nobility of Suln which has caused a stir. In the coming spring a celebration is planned to be held in Suln, though the exact date has yet to be made official. His bride-to-be is called a barbarian by some, as she was raised by her father in the northlands. The church of Pelor and Heironious have grumbled about wedding the King with such a 'heathen' though they still vie to perform the ceremony.
Shen Jin & Beyond
The Empire of Shen Jin, east of the Oton Peaks, has remained constant, and it is heard that they are attempting to purge many of the monstrous threats that are in the shadow of the mountains. Their trade with the dwarves of silk and hops for gems and metals continues to slightly increase.
MarauderX
Explorer
Session 27: Journey through the Borderlands
The winter snows receded and the group gathered in Kargam to celebrate the Festival of Spring during the second week of April. The party caught up on many of the affairs they each had during the winter and each relayed what they had separately investigated during the break.
The halflings that Alex had struck a deal with in the summer were planning to leave soon for their first trip back to the trading town of Kyrill. The party decided to accompany them on their journey east along the river, as this was along the way to their next objective - to investigate the area where tapestry map had led. Thovaas managed to find a faithful squire to accompany the group on their travels, and also decided to find a professional cook that was willing to prepare all their meals in exchange for his travel expenses.
The journey took some time as they travelled with three wagons, stopping at each town or country outpost to make repairs to broken wagon wheels and the like. The group pondered going to visit the Tower of Chautauqua, but decided against it in order to stay with the halflings.
At the town of Numera the halflings conducted their first trades in order to get fresh food and get the group their first taste of fresh dwarven ale that had brewed over the winter. In the next days the halflings traded only a portion of their goods, anticipating that they would get more money once in Kyrill.
The trip to Kyrill was the first taste of the hills to the east of Kargam, and they steadily rolled up and down, forest covering much of them. The hills became steadily steeper as they went, and the horses had a greater trouble dragging the wagons up the hills in the deep ruts. Snow still covered much of the bare ground and trees, and in the places where it had melted made muddy patches in the road. By the time they arrived at Kyrill they were ready to relax after getting a hot bath.
Kyrill was a near-lawless town, run by gangs and shady merchants. There are five gangs in the town, each responsible for certain commodities and each has their own signature methods of conducting business. For the Blue Sash gang, it was shear ferocity and violence that they became the largest, toughest gang in town. When the party stepped inside the gate they were greeted by Durkil, a dwarf that Alex's business partners had done dealings with. With quick introductions and synopsis of the town, the party made their way toward the town square.
When they came down the largest market street, word began buzzing in the locals' ears about the new meat. The looks they garnered told them that they wouldn't make fast friends or survive long without being associated with a gang. At the edge of the town square the group halted, and two of the halflings took in the view with the party.
The town crier was half-shouting the news to a few dozen onlookers, most of them groups of dwarves that lounged on the steps in front of several of the buildings. A halfling dressed in black with a blue bandana tied to each of his ankles stood and strode towards the group with two dwarves at his flank. The halfling asked if the group had paid the toll to get into Kyrill, and if they had paid their merchant guild dues recently. The party responded innocently all at once, causing a bit of confusion as more dwarves with blue pants gathered in a semi-circle around them.
Grimnyr began speaking to the halfling, telling him a fascinating tale about the exploits of the party from last summer as they repeled an attack on the Lorleena's Cutter. The halfling followed the story intently, fixed on Grimnyr. Then Grimnyr asked that the halfling simply leave them alone, accidently insinuating that the same would happen to them if they didn't. A dwarf nudged the halfling and he snapped out of his stupor to tell his fellow Blue Sash thugs to charge.
Quentin tried to dodge through several of the dwarves but was struck several times as he pulled up his bow to shoot at the halfling. The shot went wide as the halfling read a scroll. The scroll began to immolate, then the fire washed over the halfling's arms and seemed to consume him, but still he stood, now wreathed in burning flames. Jerrin commanded Tempest into battle with the dwarves as Thovaas and Alex worked against the other side to drop a dwarf to the muddy ground. One of the halflings took a severe blow before the other ran to hide and watch from behind the horses. Grimnyr strode forward chanting a poem of war and triumph to enhance the others. Jerrin assumed the form of a dire ape to help deal with the dwarves as he pulled the severly wounded Tempest to run from the fight.
Quentin was about to dodge out away from a dwarven attack but the short dwarf's reach was misleading and he caught an axe in the abdomen. His life flashed before his eyes, and surely he thought he was dead, beyond any type of healing no matter how much he repented. He crumpled into the mud, counting away the seconds as he looked at the beautiful sky above.
The halfling held out his hands to shoot flames at Alex who dodged them entirely as he swung to flank another dwarf. Thovaas stood his ground and hacked away at their chainmail armor. Jerrin was making steady progress through the dwarves, grabbing one by the head to twist him out of the way, but with his unbridled strength Jerrin tore his head free of the dwarf's body. Several more fell as they each tried to sink a blow into his thick hide.
The halfling had enlarged himself somehow to stand at Thovaas's height before launching a burst of flame at the paladin. The dwarves around Thovaas were defeated, and so he stepped up to striked the halfling. When he hit him, a streak of flame errupted along Thovaas's arm, searing him as he recoiled. Alex poured a potion of healing down the throat of his bleeding halfling partner as Grimnyr made his way over to aid Quentin. Jerrin made quick work of the last of the dwarves as Thovaas healed himself as he was struck by the halfling's flaming morning star.
Grimnyr gritted his teeth and went berserk, swinging wildly at the flaming halfling as the others moved around him strategically. Quentin blinked, glad to be alive and grabbed his rapier. He saw the flames licking around the halfling and still he attacked, feeling the magical burning as his blade sunk deeply into the enlarged halfling to make him fall.
After the fight Grimnyr came out of his rage to hear clapping. Several dwarves that had watched from the stoop of their building applauded the party's success, and offered them a brew if they'd like. Grimnyr then approached the town crier, whose face went suddenly pale. Thovaas walked around the bodies with his sword half-drawn to identify the magical armor and weapon the flaming halfling had carried while Alex looted the rest of the bodies. The group gazed around to see if there would be anyone else to challenge them today, to which no one looked them in the eyes.
Some of the party went to hang out with the Red Rooster gang, a loose cartel that relied heavily on stealth and diplomacy to earn their share of the market. They also had strong ties to two of the five town council members and were one of the few gangs that could stand up to the Blue Sash gang.
The next week flew by as the party helped keep a good watch on the halflings' sales as they bought up large amounts of ore, most of it refined, in order to bring back to Kargam to sell. The halflings had made an extra three hundred gold that they offered Alex, but Alex decided that the money should be used to pay for their protection, as the party was looking to go further north-east. They parted ways, and the group kept one wagon for the cook and squire as well as haul a decent amount of food and ale from there to the next stop: Rodya.
The thirty-foot tall walls of Rodya could be seen a good distance away as the hills seemed to suddenedly grow into the mountains of the Oton Peaks right were the town lay. Rodya was a mostly dwarven town, and it was not as lawless as the dwarves respected their actions as a reflection on their clan. In this town, humans were considered vagrants and treated with much suspicion. They paid the single gold piece toll to enter into the town and quietly they made their way to the two-level hostel made for travelers. The place was poorly kept compared to many of the other solidly built homes in the town, but at least it was warm.
The town had no inns per se, but instead the people had to be invited to stay at a dwarven home. Given they had no dwarven friends and no one recognized them, Quentin and Grimnyr were invited to only the lowest of homes to share ale for a price. They found out much about the mountain of Thermoleth, where it was so cold at the top that not even snow fell there, and how many dwarven expeditions had never returned. Meanwhile Thovaas and his hired hands groomed the horses and prepared to leave early the next morning.
Quentin and Grimnyr woke up outside the home where they last remembered anything, and Thovaas was standing over them kicking the bottoms of their feet to wake them up. A light snow had fallen over them, dusting their clothes, and it was clear that they looked like the lowest of the low as they groggily stood. A dwarf that they vaguely recalled awoke when they did, and hopped to his feet sober and unaffected by the hearty amount of ale they all had consumed.
It was noon before the group left Rodya out the east gate then turned north. A guard from on top of the wall called down to them not to go north, as that way was cursed. Ignoring him, they pressed onward after inspecting the tapestry map. Grimnyr and Quentin began to remember that the way north had two human keeps at one time, the Keep of Yatu and the Keep of Nemirka. They were assumed to be abandoned, but then they heard a dwarf say that his old uncle went up to Yatu once and was turned away. This is also the same dwarf that claimed he had outran a dragon on his donkey and mined two tons of silver with his left hand in one day. Or it could have something to do with how sober the two were at the time.
The group proceeded on, leaving behind the cook and squire to look after the wagon. They pressed on through the snow, and sometimes their horses sank so far in the snow it was up the rider's knees. Clearly this path had not been blazed for a long time. The day wore on, and they set up camp without a fire. The group shivered through the night, and the horses looked haggard as morning came. Thovaas and Jerrin decided to cast enchantments to protect everyone, including the horses and Tempest, from the nasty weather sure to come.
They traveled three more days north before they saw a faint wisp of smoke in the clear mountain air, and it was another two days before they rounded a wide bend to see where it was coming from. Ahead of them where the path was straight, they could see a shack along the steadily climbing glacier path. Blocking the way in the middle of the snowy path was a figure clad in heavy armor with symbols of Fharlanghn. When the group approached within earshot he told them they had come far enough, and now they had to go back down the mountain.
The group was adament about continuing, but he was just as stubborn, telling them that they would go no further. He said that for their own good the group should travel back from where they had come, marry a fat wench and raise piglet children. Two knights emerged from the cabin, summoned horses and mounted up. Three others came out to stand in front of the cabin while an older man in robes walked up a ladder to stand on top of the cabin next to a man with a crossbow. Grimnyr spoke up, engaging the first man in conversation about needing to explore further beyond to Mount Thermoleth. They scoffed, then Grimnyr followed up with a charm that befriended the first guard. The mage, clearly witnessing what had occurred, shouted that the party was attacking.
The group went into action, Alex and Thovaas heaving forth through the snow while Jerrin transformed into a lion to hold his ground with Tempest. The mounted knights galloped forward and soon they clashed with Thovaas and Alex as the robed mage called forth a storm of sleet to descend upon those in the back of the group. Grimnyr chanted a limerick of righteousness as he continued to occupy the first man in the heavy armor.
Thovaas charged forward and stabbed the mage with his lance, nearly pulling the man off of his feet with the blow. The three footmen strode forward to wait for anyone to emerge from the sleet storm as their mounted comrades turned to charge Thovaas. Alex walked out from the other side and the crossbowman shot him as soon as he emerged. Grimnyr could be heard still talking to the man to keep him from attacking. Quentin emerged to fire an arrow at the mage, which struck but seemed not to harm him.
Tempest took several hard blows and Jerrin motioned him to withdraw so he could pounce upon them one at a time. The mage conjured forth a rolling ball of flame to strike the enlarged Jerrin as he mauled another of the footmen. Thovaas and the other knights traded blows, and Thovaas's mount struck heavily with its hooves. Quentin and Alex helped to bring down the footmen as Grimnyr pledged peace and asked that everyone put down their weapons. The mage stepped up to blast Jerrin with a bolt of lightning, wounding him. The crossbowman shot at Thovaas several times while he was distracted with the other knights.
Then the mage cast an enchantment to prevent Thovaas from moving, holding him fast to his mount and unable to act. Soon the other mounted knights would be able to close and strike a final blow. Jerrin sprang into action, jumping over a prone footman to pounce on one of the knights. Grimnyr silenced the area near the mage, preventing him from casting any further spells while on top of the cabin, and Thovaas's mount backed carefully out of the line of fire from the other knight.
Shaking himself free of the possession, Thovaas turned to see that the wizard had jumped down from the top of the cabin. He turned his mount and strode forth, slicing the wizard down with a single blow. The crossbowman, who had dropped his weapon to the ground below, leapt upon Thovaas from the top of the cabin, dragging them both into a snowy drift.
The first guardian Grimnyr had charmed broke free once Grimnyr had stopped talking to him, and he turned and charged. The others ganged up on him, striking blow after blow until he fell. They turned to see Thovaas and Grimnyr standing over a patch of red snow, in the middle of which was the body of the crossbowman. Relieved, the group began to search the bodies and around the cabin.
The winter snows receded and the group gathered in Kargam to celebrate the Festival of Spring during the second week of April. The party caught up on many of the affairs they each had during the winter and each relayed what they had separately investigated during the break.
The halflings that Alex had struck a deal with in the summer were planning to leave soon for their first trip back to the trading town of Kyrill. The party decided to accompany them on their journey east along the river, as this was along the way to their next objective - to investigate the area where tapestry map had led. Thovaas managed to find a faithful squire to accompany the group on their travels, and also decided to find a professional cook that was willing to prepare all their meals in exchange for his travel expenses.
The journey took some time as they travelled with three wagons, stopping at each town or country outpost to make repairs to broken wagon wheels and the like. The group pondered going to visit the Tower of Chautauqua, but decided against it in order to stay with the halflings.
At the town of Numera the halflings conducted their first trades in order to get fresh food and get the group their first taste of fresh dwarven ale that had brewed over the winter. In the next days the halflings traded only a portion of their goods, anticipating that they would get more money once in Kyrill.
The trip to Kyrill was the first taste of the hills to the east of Kargam, and they steadily rolled up and down, forest covering much of them. The hills became steadily steeper as they went, and the horses had a greater trouble dragging the wagons up the hills in the deep ruts. Snow still covered much of the bare ground and trees, and in the places where it had melted made muddy patches in the road. By the time they arrived at Kyrill they were ready to relax after getting a hot bath.
Kyrill was a near-lawless town, run by gangs and shady merchants. There are five gangs in the town, each responsible for certain commodities and each has their own signature methods of conducting business. For the Blue Sash gang, it was shear ferocity and violence that they became the largest, toughest gang in town. When the party stepped inside the gate they were greeted by Durkil, a dwarf that Alex's business partners had done dealings with. With quick introductions and synopsis of the town, the party made their way toward the town square.
When they came down the largest market street, word began buzzing in the locals' ears about the new meat. The looks they garnered told them that they wouldn't make fast friends or survive long without being associated with a gang. At the edge of the town square the group halted, and two of the halflings took in the view with the party.
The town crier was half-shouting the news to a few dozen onlookers, most of them groups of dwarves that lounged on the steps in front of several of the buildings. A halfling dressed in black with a blue bandana tied to each of his ankles stood and strode towards the group with two dwarves at his flank. The halfling asked if the group had paid the toll to get into Kyrill, and if they had paid their merchant guild dues recently. The party responded innocently all at once, causing a bit of confusion as more dwarves with blue pants gathered in a semi-circle around them.
Grimnyr began speaking to the halfling, telling him a fascinating tale about the exploits of the party from last summer as they repeled an attack on the Lorleena's Cutter. The halfling followed the story intently, fixed on Grimnyr. Then Grimnyr asked that the halfling simply leave them alone, accidently insinuating that the same would happen to them if they didn't. A dwarf nudged the halfling and he snapped out of his stupor to tell his fellow Blue Sash thugs to charge.
Quentin tried to dodge through several of the dwarves but was struck several times as he pulled up his bow to shoot at the halfling. The shot went wide as the halfling read a scroll. The scroll began to immolate, then the fire washed over the halfling's arms and seemed to consume him, but still he stood, now wreathed in burning flames. Jerrin commanded Tempest into battle with the dwarves as Thovaas and Alex worked against the other side to drop a dwarf to the muddy ground. One of the halflings took a severe blow before the other ran to hide and watch from behind the horses. Grimnyr strode forward chanting a poem of war and triumph to enhance the others. Jerrin assumed the form of a dire ape to help deal with the dwarves as he pulled the severly wounded Tempest to run from the fight.
Quentin was about to dodge out away from a dwarven attack but the short dwarf's reach was misleading and he caught an axe in the abdomen. His life flashed before his eyes, and surely he thought he was dead, beyond any type of healing no matter how much he repented. He crumpled into the mud, counting away the seconds as he looked at the beautiful sky above.
The halfling held out his hands to shoot flames at Alex who dodged them entirely as he swung to flank another dwarf. Thovaas stood his ground and hacked away at their chainmail armor. Jerrin was making steady progress through the dwarves, grabbing one by the head to twist him out of the way, but with his unbridled strength Jerrin tore his head free of the dwarf's body. Several more fell as they each tried to sink a blow into his thick hide.
The halfling had enlarged himself somehow to stand at Thovaas's height before launching a burst of flame at the paladin. The dwarves around Thovaas were defeated, and so he stepped up to striked the halfling. When he hit him, a streak of flame errupted along Thovaas's arm, searing him as he recoiled. Alex poured a potion of healing down the throat of his bleeding halfling partner as Grimnyr made his way over to aid Quentin. Jerrin made quick work of the last of the dwarves as Thovaas healed himself as he was struck by the halfling's flaming morning star.
Grimnyr gritted his teeth and went berserk, swinging wildly at the flaming halfling as the others moved around him strategically. Quentin blinked, glad to be alive and grabbed his rapier. He saw the flames licking around the halfling and still he attacked, feeling the magical burning as his blade sunk deeply into the enlarged halfling to make him fall.
After the fight Grimnyr came out of his rage to hear clapping. Several dwarves that had watched from the stoop of their building applauded the party's success, and offered them a brew if they'd like. Grimnyr then approached the town crier, whose face went suddenly pale. Thovaas walked around the bodies with his sword half-drawn to identify the magical armor and weapon the flaming halfling had carried while Alex looted the rest of the bodies. The group gazed around to see if there would be anyone else to challenge them today, to which no one looked them in the eyes.
Some of the party went to hang out with the Red Rooster gang, a loose cartel that relied heavily on stealth and diplomacy to earn their share of the market. They also had strong ties to two of the five town council members and were one of the few gangs that could stand up to the Blue Sash gang.
The next week flew by as the party helped keep a good watch on the halflings' sales as they bought up large amounts of ore, most of it refined, in order to bring back to Kargam to sell. The halflings had made an extra three hundred gold that they offered Alex, but Alex decided that the money should be used to pay for their protection, as the party was looking to go further north-east. They parted ways, and the group kept one wagon for the cook and squire as well as haul a decent amount of food and ale from there to the next stop: Rodya.
The thirty-foot tall walls of Rodya could be seen a good distance away as the hills seemed to suddenedly grow into the mountains of the Oton Peaks right were the town lay. Rodya was a mostly dwarven town, and it was not as lawless as the dwarves respected their actions as a reflection on their clan. In this town, humans were considered vagrants and treated with much suspicion. They paid the single gold piece toll to enter into the town and quietly they made their way to the two-level hostel made for travelers. The place was poorly kept compared to many of the other solidly built homes in the town, but at least it was warm.
The town had no inns per se, but instead the people had to be invited to stay at a dwarven home. Given they had no dwarven friends and no one recognized them, Quentin and Grimnyr were invited to only the lowest of homes to share ale for a price. They found out much about the mountain of Thermoleth, where it was so cold at the top that not even snow fell there, and how many dwarven expeditions had never returned. Meanwhile Thovaas and his hired hands groomed the horses and prepared to leave early the next morning.
Quentin and Grimnyr woke up outside the home where they last remembered anything, and Thovaas was standing over them kicking the bottoms of their feet to wake them up. A light snow had fallen over them, dusting their clothes, and it was clear that they looked like the lowest of the low as they groggily stood. A dwarf that they vaguely recalled awoke when they did, and hopped to his feet sober and unaffected by the hearty amount of ale they all had consumed.
It was noon before the group left Rodya out the east gate then turned north. A guard from on top of the wall called down to them not to go north, as that way was cursed. Ignoring him, they pressed onward after inspecting the tapestry map. Grimnyr and Quentin began to remember that the way north had two human keeps at one time, the Keep of Yatu and the Keep of Nemirka. They were assumed to be abandoned, but then they heard a dwarf say that his old uncle went up to Yatu once and was turned away. This is also the same dwarf that claimed he had outran a dragon on his donkey and mined two tons of silver with his left hand in one day. Or it could have something to do with how sober the two were at the time.
The group proceeded on, leaving behind the cook and squire to look after the wagon. They pressed on through the snow, and sometimes their horses sank so far in the snow it was up the rider's knees. Clearly this path had not been blazed for a long time. The day wore on, and they set up camp without a fire. The group shivered through the night, and the horses looked haggard as morning came. Thovaas and Jerrin decided to cast enchantments to protect everyone, including the horses and Tempest, from the nasty weather sure to come.
They traveled three more days north before they saw a faint wisp of smoke in the clear mountain air, and it was another two days before they rounded a wide bend to see where it was coming from. Ahead of them where the path was straight, they could see a shack along the steadily climbing glacier path. Blocking the way in the middle of the snowy path was a figure clad in heavy armor with symbols of Fharlanghn. When the group approached within earshot he told them they had come far enough, and now they had to go back down the mountain.
The group was adament about continuing, but he was just as stubborn, telling them that they would go no further. He said that for their own good the group should travel back from where they had come, marry a fat wench and raise piglet children. Two knights emerged from the cabin, summoned horses and mounted up. Three others came out to stand in front of the cabin while an older man in robes walked up a ladder to stand on top of the cabin next to a man with a crossbow. Grimnyr spoke up, engaging the first man in conversation about needing to explore further beyond to Mount Thermoleth. They scoffed, then Grimnyr followed up with a charm that befriended the first guard. The mage, clearly witnessing what had occurred, shouted that the party was attacking.
The group went into action, Alex and Thovaas heaving forth through the snow while Jerrin transformed into a lion to hold his ground with Tempest. The mounted knights galloped forward and soon they clashed with Thovaas and Alex as the robed mage called forth a storm of sleet to descend upon those in the back of the group. Grimnyr chanted a limerick of righteousness as he continued to occupy the first man in the heavy armor.
Thovaas charged forward and stabbed the mage with his lance, nearly pulling the man off of his feet with the blow. The three footmen strode forward to wait for anyone to emerge from the sleet storm as their mounted comrades turned to charge Thovaas. Alex walked out from the other side and the crossbowman shot him as soon as he emerged. Grimnyr could be heard still talking to the man to keep him from attacking. Quentin emerged to fire an arrow at the mage, which struck but seemed not to harm him.
Tempest took several hard blows and Jerrin motioned him to withdraw so he could pounce upon them one at a time. The mage conjured forth a rolling ball of flame to strike the enlarged Jerrin as he mauled another of the footmen. Thovaas and the other knights traded blows, and Thovaas's mount struck heavily with its hooves. Quentin and Alex helped to bring down the footmen as Grimnyr pledged peace and asked that everyone put down their weapons. The mage stepped up to blast Jerrin with a bolt of lightning, wounding him. The crossbowman shot at Thovaas several times while he was distracted with the other knights.
Then the mage cast an enchantment to prevent Thovaas from moving, holding him fast to his mount and unable to act. Soon the other mounted knights would be able to close and strike a final blow. Jerrin sprang into action, jumping over a prone footman to pounce on one of the knights. Grimnyr silenced the area near the mage, preventing him from casting any further spells while on top of the cabin, and Thovaas's mount backed carefully out of the line of fire from the other knight.
Shaking himself free of the possession, Thovaas turned to see that the wizard had jumped down from the top of the cabin. He turned his mount and strode forth, slicing the wizard down with a single blow. The crossbowman, who had dropped his weapon to the ground below, leapt upon Thovaas from the top of the cabin, dragging them both into a snowy drift.
The first guardian Grimnyr had charmed broke free once Grimnyr had stopped talking to him, and he turned and charged. The others ganged up on him, striking blow after blow until he fell. They turned to see Thovaas and Grimnyr standing over a patch of red snow, in the middle of which was the body of the crossbowman. Relieved, the group began to search the bodies and around the cabin.
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MarauderX
Explorer
Session 28: The Keeps of Yatu and Nemirka
Investigating the aftermath of the battle, the group poured over the bodies of the fallen Fharlanghn knights. Finding several items of value that they would no longer use, the group removed them and buried the bodies deep within the snow, chizeling into the ice beneath their feet to find a proper place for them.
The small hut that they had inhabited had animal skins strapped to the rickety walls, and a hole in one corner was used to pull small fish from the river below. Instead of staying the party used the last few hours of daylight to set out travelling once more.
The trail narrowed even more, and the mountains towered above them on either side. Wildlife and foliage had nearly disappeared, something that Jerrin had thought strange. They continued for another four days, steadily ascending along the trail next to where the frozen river lay. Enchantments shielded the group and their mounts from the elements, and progress was steady through the snow-bound trail.
On the fourth day they turned around the edge of a mountain to see a keep high up along where a rivulet split from the small river. It loomed over the trail at the base of the intersection and a quick scan revealed there were no tracks along the path to the keep. Slow movement caught their eye, as a slender metal spear tip protruded over the wall and glided from one side of the gate to the other. Alex scampered up to the wall quietly, and quickly he circled around the keep investigating for any other entrances. The party moved up the steep path to the keep and as they reached the flat grade a voice boomed out, calling for them to halt.
The party saw a man peeking over the battlements. He was thin and had visible yellow spots on his cheeks. After a quick introduction the gate opened and one by one the group entered. Alex crept up to his horse to grab his grappling hook and rope, but as he went to pull them off without anyone watching the whole saddlebag slumped loudly to the ground. The dozen or so men inside watched as the group entered, and Alex decided to go in with the others after the guards had seen him.
Inside the gates the group felt a stench settle into their clothing and Grimnyr coughed for several minutes as he breathed in the vile air. The men inside were thin and haggard, and all of them had a yellowish tinge to their skin with off-color patches on their faces. The guards sized them up and seemed to be eyeing the horses and the packs on them. Thovaas spoke to them and asked to see their leader or whoever was in charge. The lead guard scoffed and replied that it would be a few days before they could see him, as he was likely indisposed at the moment. Alex gave away ten days' worth of rations to the hungry guards, most of which devoured the dry food in a few minutes. The leader of the guards told them they would probably be sorry, that the Lord would see to a fit punishment for them.
The group was led to a guardhouse and again they asked to see the Lord of the keep promptly. Again the guards exchanged glances and finally led the party to the large central inner keep. The horses were taken to the stables and most of the famished guards went with them to ensure their... safety. As they approached Thovaas called forth the power to cure the illness that had settled into Grimnyr's chest.
The party entered the main doors and walked into a carpeted lobby. The deep red carpet had seen wear, but was still very clean by most standards. A robed man greeted them there and told them to come back in a few days to make an appointment. The party grumbled and he finally looked up from his ledger to scan them over, then said that he could schedule the appointment now if they wished. Again the party told the thin man that waiting would not do, that they needed to see his lord now. The man explained that the lord, not just his, would not see them now, but he would check to see if there was an opening tomorrow. His head disappeared behind a curtain and he was heard asking about the Lord's schedule. He turned to the party and smiled, saying that they could meet with their Lord at dawn tomorrow. The party again told him that their schedule indicated now was a good time. Again the man's head disappeared behind the curtain and returned to say that there would be a few rules they should obey when visiting the Lord.
First, they were to look him in the eye at all times, as the Lord did not trust those who could not do this. Second, everyone was to refer to the Lord as Lord and nothing else. Third, they were to remove their shoes to keep the inner chambers sacred and clean. And last, there were to be no mongrels, pets, or other shaggy or feathered beasts allowed to intrude into the inner sanctum.
The party paused. They reflected what they were doing at the keep, why they had come this far, and why they were even insisting to see the Lord. They knew that they couldn't wait around in the keep to catch a disease or be ambushed by the inhabitants. Eventually they decided to see if they could help the inhabitants there by finding out if the Lord was indeed keeping the people captive at the keep. It was determined that they would not take off their shoes, nor would Jerrin comply to keep Tempest outside. The robed man attempted to stop them, but a quick look made him wimper.
The party sauntered into a gallery, fully carpeted with tapestries along the walls. At the other side was a wide corridor and a set of doors that likely led to see the Lord. Grimnyr gazed at some of the tapestries and recognized a few house symbols relating to the baronies of ages past. The tapestries were worn but still retained much of their original color. Two more robed men stood on either side of the hall to the door with stoic faces as they saw the defiant party stride in. A voice boomed out to open the doors and the robed men complied.
As soon as the doors swung open, the party and the being inside took battle stances. Before them a dried husk of a man stood on a raised platform with a decorated throne. The floor and walls were mosaic works of art that would have taken centuries to construct, and large, round purple tiles covered the floor. In the center a small pool of water reflected the light of the mummy's hand as a magical flame sprouted from it.
Alex was the first to react, and he washed off a wave of fear that threatened to overwealm him. An arrow zipped by the mummy just before it threw the ball of flame to explode on the party, throwing the robed servants to the floor in a burning masses. Jerrin summoned forth an arrowhawk and it swept forward to strike the mummy with lightning. Grimnyr noticed that Quentin was frozen with fright and he cast an enchantment to counteract the effect, then cast an enchantment to enhance everyone's focus.
The mummy cast a spell that called upon dark powers and he stepped upward into the air of the 30' room. The rest of the group entered the room to bring their attacks to bear, and Jerrin enhanced Thovaas with the same spell the mummy had so he could walk upward on thin air to challenge it. Grimnyr circled out of an area of silence that the mummy had put in place and leapt upward into the air to strike him heavily across its back, bringing its focus from the airwalking Thovaas.
Jerrin commanded a rolling ball of flame to bounce up at the mummy several times and it finally connected as Thovaas was struck with a heavy blow. Instead of striking back again Thovaas reached out and grabbed the thing's skull before calling for the healing power of Heironious. A blue flash and a searing flame left the paladin's hand print on the skull before the mummy dived downward to take advantage of Grimnyr below him. Thovaas followed him downward as both Alex and Quentin circled firing arrows into the fray.
Tempest gripped a leg of the mummy dangling in the air and thought to drag him prone, but the magic keeping him suspended in the air held him fast. Jerrin had morphed into a huge dire ape, strutting his way into the room after ducking his head in the corridor, something he was very unaccustomed to doing. The mummy struck out several times, and the group traded blows with him as he tried to walk upward out of range of those on the ground. Thovaas smote him once again, creating another streak of black across the dry bandages.
Before he could learch upward out of reach, Jerrin grabbed a leg with one heavy arm and the mummy's rib cage with the other and began to tear. His mouth locked around its neck and wrenched the skull free of the body just as the other limbs gave way and were torn from the trunk. The skull fell toward the corner of the room and stopped to rest facing the party, the black hand print boldly visable.
Alex investigated the throne and Quentin assisted to scan over the room for the next half an hour. They saw much of the mosaics were firmly in place and likely worth a good amount in the artisans market, but here in the mountains they would be nearly impossible to uproot and move.
Thovaas took the skull from the corner and walked down the hallway three feet from the carpeted floor and through to the lobby. The greeter had been watching the fight and cowered as Thovaas parted the curtains he had hid behind. The paladin then walked out to the front of the small building to address the inhabitants as they gathered, still standing three feet above the ground. Murmurs could be heard, and it wasn't clear to those looking at him what had happened. A few were heard to say that Thovaas had stolen the Lord's power, that he had taken it in some vile manner. All of the people were emaciated and brownish spots were scattered across their yellow tinged skin. Clearly they were all striken with whatever disease the mummy had given them.
Once they had gathered it was clear the keep housed around ninety men and women. Thovaas noticed that there were no elderly or young children. He told them that he had defeated their evil master and were free to go. Talking ensued again and a bold man asked why they should trust the paladin that the loard was dead. Thovaas showed them the skull and they seemed dumbfounded. He explained what had happened inside, and the small crowd seemed to shake their heads and talk again. Someone asked Thovaas where he was from and who he paid homage to. He responded that he was first a servant of Heironious and a knight of the Kingdom of Correl. They stared, as if expecting an explanation. Thovaas continued that he had come from Kargam, that he had passed through many towns on his way there and was now on a task for the Kingdom. They again stared, not knowing what the Kingdom of Correl was, and a few asked which Baron he really served. Instead Thovaas asked how long they had been there and how long they had lived with the Lord. The crowd exchanged glances and words once again, each of them trying to recall the last time they had seen their Lord, which phase the moon was in, and how many seasons had passed. They were at a loss.
Meanwhile Alex had discovered that there was a mostly hidden entrance to a room behind the throne, as it appeared to have undergone constant traffic by the mummy. A closer inspection revealed that the door was trapped somehow and that there was likely a means to disable it. With Quentin's aid they discovered that the throne itself, when turned, deactivated whatever trap was in place. Pushing the door open, the two were washed in a golden light from the room they had discovered.
Grimnyr and Jerrin appeared at the entrance to join Thovaas. Grimnyr was certain from what he heard and the tapestries inside that they had lived in these mountains for over five hundred years. One of the men in the crowd told the party that they had moved here with their Lord Fistandantilus when he wanted to get away from the tyranny of the other Barons. He said the that the mountains were his domain, that the only one who shared them was the Lord of Keep Nemirka. Further questions revealed that the children and elderly who were the most suseptable to illness had died long ago, and that Lord Fistandantilus had sustained them up to this point. As he got a tingling from his spiritual mount, Thovaas decided to check on the horses and bring them back.
Jerrin and Grimnyr returned inside to see Alex and Quentin gazing at a gold-filled room. Inside the room were many gold crafted items, and many parts of the wall were lined with a thin layer of gold foil to make the room glow that much brighter. A large golden pitcher sat on a stone pedistal in the center, and a few gems were inlaid into other items in the room. Alex picked up the pitcher to assess it's value and felt a thin, clear substance coating it. He could feel the illness that pervaded the keep try to wrack his health once more but managed to drop the pitcher and cover his mouth to ward it off. Grimnyr examined a pile of gold pieces on the floor and recognized that they predated the Kingdom of Correl, most likely by several hundred years. It suddenly struck him that perhaps the man pictured on the pieces was supposed to be this mummy creature, as each barony used to manufacture their own gold piece standard. It also seemed as though each gold piece in the piles had a thin film of clear slime on it.
Thovaas returned and the group began discussing the fate of those in the keep as well as a possible solution to cleansing the gold of the diseased slime left behind by the mummy. Thovaas mentioned that he had expended his ability to relieve disease on Grimnyr, and Jerrin said it would be a long time for him to lift the disease from the inhabitants. The people of the keep also asked how they would be provided food, and Jerrin decided to investigate a solution.
As the group moved their things to the outside of the keep walls, they were again thankful for the enchantment that protected them from the weather as the wind whipped about the mountains. Jerrin took flight as an eagle and scanned the mountainsides for food and trees that could be used for warmth. Further and further he glided west until he saw the forest begin abruptly at the bottom of a sixty foot cliff. Investigating a bit more, Jerrin realized that the forest and wildlife within a two-day radius was eradicated and only snow covered barren rock. Returning to the keep he learned that the people of keep had already scoured the land for as much lumber and food as they could, eventually falling shorter year after year until Lord Fistandantilus was their sole provider and they were beholden to him. Jerrin offered the location of lumber at the bottom of a cliff to the west and an outspoken leader mentioned two men getting killed trying to drag the logs up to the keep.
The group mentioned trekking down the slopes to the dwarven town they had stopped in, saying that it was about ten days travel. Jerrin found a bird messenger and sent a quick message to the squire Thovaas had left behind in the dwarven town. The message was brief and relayed the situation that the inhabitants of the Keep of Yatu were in. It was then decided that they should fend for themselves and that the party needed to keep going on to the Keep of Nemirka.
The party could see occasionally see the Keep of Nemirka from two days away, as it was situated in a highly visable location on the top of a lower mountain. As they approached the party could see no smoke rising nor see any movement. When they did get to the base of the Keep, Quentin noticed that the door was ajar. The other squinted to see what he did and it wasn't until they started up the path to the keep that they saw he was right. Cautiously they approached.
Scanning the area inside and out the party saw that the place was indeed empty. Inside the ground was terraced upward towards the largest house, large to the others in the keep by comparison but still small to most from where the party had seen. Inspecting the entire keep yielded a common thread: whoever had lived here had packed up and left abruptly. As Grimnyr pulled out a chair to rest, the party saw something just outside the open door. A tiger was watching them from outside.
Turning with his bow in hand, Quentin launched first one, then another arrow at the beast outside the door. Thovaas could hardly believe that it was there as his mount had given no indication of an intruder. The tiger leapt into the air, recoiling from the arrow wounds, and sprinted towards the gate of the keep. Grimnyr and the others began to give chase, but soon the last they saw of it was its striped tail as it darted beyond the walls of the keep. Jerrin shuddered as he realized how intelligent those eyes seemed. To him, this was no ordinary tiger. The others trusted the small druid's instincts and discussed what it could possibly be.
Investigating the aftermath of the battle, the group poured over the bodies of the fallen Fharlanghn knights. Finding several items of value that they would no longer use, the group removed them and buried the bodies deep within the snow, chizeling into the ice beneath their feet to find a proper place for them.
The small hut that they had inhabited had animal skins strapped to the rickety walls, and a hole in one corner was used to pull small fish from the river below. Instead of staying the party used the last few hours of daylight to set out travelling once more.
The trail narrowed even more, and the mountains towered above them on either side. Wildlife and foliage had nearly disappeared, something that Jerrin had thought strange. They continued for another four days, steadily ascending along the trail next to where the frozen river lay. Enchantments shielded the group and their mounts from the elements, and progress was steady through the snow-bound trail.
On the fourth day they turned around the edge of a mountain to see a keep high up along where a rivulet split from the small river. It loomed over the trail at the base of the intersection and a quick scan revealed there were no tracks along the path to the keep. Slow movement caught their eye, as a slender metal spear tip protruded over the wall and glided from one side of the gate to the other. Alex scampered up to the wall quietly, and quickly he circled around the keep investigating for any other entrances. The party moved up the steep path to the keep and as they reached the flat grade a voice boomed out, calling for them to halt.
The party saw a man peeking over the battlements. He was thin and had visible yellow spots on his cheeks. After a quick introduction the gate opened and one by one the group entered. Alex crept up to his horse to grab his grappling hook and rope, but as he went to pull them off without anyone watching the whole saddlebag slumped loudly to the ground. The dozen or so men inside watched as the group entered, and Alex decided to go in with the others after the guards had seen him.
Inside the gates the group felt a stench settle into their clothing and Grimnyr coughed for several minutes as he breathed in the vile air. The men inside were thin and haggard, and all of them had a yellowish tinge to their skin with off-color patches on their faces. The guards sized them up and seemed to be eyeing the horses and the packs on them. Thovaas spoke to them and asked to see their leader or whoever was in charge. The lead guard scoffed and replied that it would be a few days before they could see him, as he was likely indisposed at the moment. Alex gave away ten days' worth of rations to the hungry guards, most of which devoured the dry food in a few minutes. The leader of the guards told them they would probably be sorry, that the Lord would see to a fit punishment for them.
The group was led to a guardhouse and again they asked to see the Lord of the keep promptly. Again the guards exchanged glances and finally led the party to the large central inner keep. The horses were taken to the stables and most of the famished guards went with them to ensure their... safety. As they approached Thovaas called forth the power to cure the illness that had settled into Grimnyr's chest.
The party entered the main doors and walked into a carpeted lobby. The deep red carpet had seen wear, but was still very clean by most standards. A robed man greeted them there and told them to come back in a few days to make an appointment. The party grumbled and he finally looked up from his ledger to scan them over, then said that he could schedule the appointment now if they wished. Again the party told the thin man that waiting would not do, that they needed to see his lord now. The man explained that the lord, not just his, would not see them now, but he would check to see if there was an opening tomorrow. His head disappeared behind a curtain and he was heard asking about the Lord's schedule. He turned to the party and smiled, saying that they could meet with their Lord at dawn tomorrow. The party again told him that their schedule indicated now was a good time. Again the man's head disappeared behind the curtain and returned to say that there would be a few rules they should obey when visiting the Lord.
First, they were to look him in the eye at all times, as the Lord did not trust those who could not do this. Second, everyone was to refer to the Lord as Lord and nothing else. Third, they were to remove their shoes to keep the inner chambers sacred and clean. And last, there were to be no mongrels, pets, or other shaggy or feathered beasts allowed to intrude into the inner sanctum.
The party paused. They reflected what they were doing at the keep, why they had come this far, and why they were even insisting to see the Lord. They knew that they couldn't wait around in the keep to catch a disease or be ambushed by the inhabitants. Eventually they decided to see if they could help the inhabitants there by finding out if the Lord was indeed keeping the people captive at the keep. It was determined that they would not take off their shoes, nor would Jerrin comply to keep Tempest outside. The robed man attempted to stop them, but a quick look made him wimper.
The party sauntered into a gallery, fully carpeted with tapestries along the walls. At the other side was a wide corridor and a set of doors that likely led to see the Lord. Grimnyr gazed at some of the tapestries and recognized a few house symbols relating to the baronies of ages past. The tapestries were worn but still retained much of their original color. Two more robed men stood on either side of the hall to the door with stoic faces as they saw the defiant party stride in. A voice boomed out to open the doors and the robed men complied.
As soon as the doors swung open, the party and the being inside took battle stances. Before them a dried husk of a man stood on a raised platform with a decorated throne. The floor and walls were mosaic works of art that would have taken centuries to construct, and large, round purple tiles covered the floor. In the center a small pool of water reflected the light of the mummy's hand as a magical flame sprouted from it.
Alex was the first to react, and he washed off a wave of fear that threatened to overwealm him. An arrow zipped by the mummy just before it threw the ball of flame to explode on the party, throwing the robed servants to the floor in a burning masses. Jerrin summoned forth an arrowhawk and it swept forward to strike the mummy with lightning. Grimnyr noticed that Quentin was frozen with fright and he cast an enchantment to counteract the effect, then cast an enchantment to enhance everyone's focus.
The mummy cast a spell that called upon dark powers and he stepped upward into the air of the 30' room. The rest of the group entered the room to bring their attacks to bear, and Jerrin enhanced Thovaas with the same spell the mummy had so he could walk upward on thin air to challenge it. Grimnyr circled out of an area of silence that the mummy had put in place and leapt upward into the air to strike him heavily across its back, bringing its focus from the airwalking Thovaas.
Jerrin commanded a rolling ball of flame to bounce up at the mummy several times and it finally connected as Thovaas was struck with a heavy blow. Instead of striking back again Thovaas reached out and grabbed the thing's skull before calling for the healing power of Heironious. A blue flash and a searing flame left the paladin's hand print on the skull before the mummy dived downward to take advantage of Grimnyr below him. Thovaas followed him downward as both Alex and Quentin circled firing arrows into the fray.
Tempest gripped a leg of the mummy dangling in the air and thought to drag him prone, but the magic keeping him suspended in the air held him fast. Jerrin had morphed into a huge dire ape, strutting his way into the room after ducking his head in the corridor, something he was very unaccustomed to doing. The mummy struck out several times, and the group traded blows with him as he tried to walk upward out of range of those on the ground. Thovaas smote him once again, creating another streak of black across the dry bandages.
Before he could learch upward out of reach, Jerrin grabbed a leg with one heavy arm and the mummy's rib cage with the other and began to tear. His mouth locked around its neck and wrenched the skull free of the body just as the other limbs gave way and were torn from the trunk. The skull fell toward the corner of the room and stopped to rest facing the party, the black hand print boldly visable.
Alex investigated the throne and Quentin assisted to scan over the room for the next half an hour. They saw much of the mosaics were firmly in place and likely worth a good amount in the artisans market, but here in the mountains they would be nearly impossible to uproot and move.
Thovaas took the skull from the corner and walked down the hallway three feet from the carpeted floor and through to the lobby. The greeter had been watching the fight and cowered as Thovaas parted the curtains he had hid behind. The paladin then walked out to the front of the small building to address the inhabitants as they gathered, still standing three feet above the ground. Murmurs could be heard, and it wasn't clear to those looking at him what had happened. A few were heard to say that Thovaas had stolen the Lord's power, that he had taken it in some vile manner. All of the people were emaciated and brownish spots were scattered across their yellow tinged skin. Clearly they were all striken with whatever disease the mummy had given them.
Once they had gathered it was clear the keep housed around ninety men and women. Thovaas noticed that there were no elderly or young children. He told them that he had defeated their evil master and were free to go. Talking ensued again and a bold man asked why they should trust the paladin that the loard was dead. Thovaas showed them the skull and they seemed dumbfounded. He explained what had happened inside, and the small crowd seemed to shake their heads and talk again. Someone asked Thovaas where he was from and who he paid homage to. He responded that he was first a servant of Heironious and a knight of the Kingdom of Correl. They stared, as if expecting an explanation. Thovaas continued that he had come from Kargam, that he had passed through many towns on his way there and was now on a task for the Kingdom. They again stared, not knowing what the Kingdom of Correl was, and a few asked which Baron he really served. Instead Thovaas asked how long they had been there and how long they had lived with the Lord. The crowd exchanged glances and words once again, each of them trying to recall the last time they had seen their Lord, which phase the moon was in, and how many seasons had passed. They were at a loss.
Meanwhile Alex had discovered that there was a mostly hidden entrance to a room behind the throne, as it appeared to have undergone constant traffic by the mummy. A closer inspection revealed that the door was trapped somehow and that there was likely a means to disable it. With Quentin's aid they discovered that the throne itself, when turned, deactivated whatever trap was in place. Pushing the door open, the two were washed in a golden light from the room they had discovered.
Grimnyr and Jerrin appeared at the entrance to join Thovaas. Grimnyr was certain from what he heard and the tapestries inside that they had lived in these mountains for over five hundred years. One of the men in the crowd told the party that they had moved here with their Lord Fistandantilus when he wanted to get away from the tyranny of the other Barons. He said the that the mountains were his domain, that the only one who shared them was the Lord of Keep Nemirka. Further questions revealed that the children and elderly who were the most suseptable to illness had died long ago, and that Lord Fistandantilus had sustained them up to this point. As he got a tingling from his spiritual mount, Thovaas decided to check on the horses and bring them back.
Jerrin and Grimnyr returned inside to see Alex and Quentin gazing at a gold-filled room. Inside the room were many gold crafted items, and many parts of the wall were lined with a thin layer of gold foil to make the room glow that much brighter. A large golden pitcher sat on a stone pedistal in the center, and a few gems were inlaid into other items in the room. Alex picked up the pitcher to assess it's value and felt a thin, clear substance coating it. He could feel the illness that pervaded the keep try to wrack his health once more but managed to drop the pitcher and cover his mouth to ward it off. Grimnyr examined a pile of gold pieces on the floor and recognized that they predated the Kingdom of Correl, most likely by several hundred years. It suddenly struck him that perhaps the man pictured on the pieces was supposed to be this mummy creature, as each barony used to manufacture their own gold piece standard. It also seemed as though each gold piece in the piles had a thin film of clear slime on it.
Thovaas returned and the group began discussing the fate of those in the keep as well as a possible solution to cleansing the gold of the diseased slime left behind by the mummy. Thovaas mentioned that he had expended his ability to relieve disease on Grimnyr, and Jerrin said it would be a long time for him to lift the disease from the inhabitants. The people of the keep also asked how they would be provided food, and Jerrin decided to investigate a solution.
As the group moved their things to the outside of the keep walls, they were again thankful for the enchantment that protected them from the weather as the wind whipped about the mountains. Jerrin took flight as an eagle and scanned the mountainsides for food and trees that could be used for warmth. Further and further he glided west until he saw the forest begin abruptly at the bottom of a sixty foot cliff. Investigating a bit more, Jerrin realized that the forest and wildlife within a two-day radius was eradicated and only snow covered barren rock. Returning to the keep he learned that the people of keep had already scoured the land for as much lumber and food as they could, eventually falling shorter year after year until Lord Fistandantilus was their sole provider and they were beholden to him. Jerrin offered the location of lumber at the bottom of a cliff to the west and an outspoken leader mentioned two men getting killed trying to drag the logs up to the keep.
The group mentioned trekking down the slopes to the dwarven town they had stopped in, saying that it was about ten days travel. Jerrin found a bird messenger and sent a quick message to the squire Thovaas had left behind in the dwarven town. The message was brief and relayed the situation that the inhabitants of the Keep of Yatu were in. It was then decided that they should fend for themselves and that the party needed to keep going on to the Keep of Nemirka.
The party could see occasionally see the Keep of Nemirka from two days away, as it was situated in a highly visable location on the top of a lower mountain. As they approached the party could see no smoke rising nor see any movement. When they did get to the base of the Keep, Quentin noticed that the door was ajar. The other squinted to see what he did and it wasn't until they started up the path to the keep that they saw he was right. Cautiously they approached.
Scanning the area inside and out the party saw that the place was indeed empty. Inside the ground was terraced upward towards the largest house, large to the others in the keep by comparison but still small to most from where the party had seen. Inspecting the entire keep yielded a common thread: whoever had lived here had packed up and left abruptly. As Grimnyr pulled out a chair to rest, the party saw something just outside the open door. A tiger was watching them from outside.
Turning with his bow in hand, Quentin launched first one, then another arrow at the beast outside the door. Thovaas could hardly believe that it was there as his mount had given no indication of an intruder. The tiger leapt into the air, recoiling from the arrow wounds, and sprinted towards the gate of the keep. Grimnyr and the others began to give chase, but soon the last they saw of it was its striped tail as it darted beyond the walls of the keep. Jerrin shuddered as he realized how intelligent those eyes seemed. To him, this was no ordinary tiger. The others trusted the small druid's instincts and discussed what it could possibly be.
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