There's more...
Episode 24: "All Cute Titles Shall Pass"
Tiesa and Alamar are out walking and enjoying the sights of the city of Merelin, capital of Rellenor. As they look out over the harbor, Alamar leans in toward Tiesa, looking deep into her eyes.
"Um, why are you so close to me?" asks Tiesa. There is a long, awkward pause. Tiesa blushes. "Oh." She takes a step back, as Alamar does the same, looking away.
"I-I mean, you're a great guy and all, but...not like that," she says hurriedly. "Besides, you're...human."
"But you kept spending all this time with me, looking at me like you were waiting for something..." ventures Alamar.
"I was!" she cries, stamping her foot. "I was waiting for you to summon that arrowhawk again so I could use it to get back at you for trapping me in that bramble tree!"
Alamar is taken back. "You..." His eyes narrow. "What exactly were you going to do with the arrowhawk?"
Despite herself, Tiesa smiles. "Well...don't you worry about it. I'll let it drop-for now."
"Very well," replies Alamar.
"Is...is this how it works with humans? I never-well, it works differently where I come from, but...oh, never mind. Let's just get past this, alright?"
Alamar nods, looking relieved. "Can we keep this between the two of us?"
"Absolutely!" Together, they return to the tavern, each deep in their own maelstrom of thoughts.
Meanwhile, Magnimiliar, always the long-term thinker, starts looking for a moderately wealthy establishment to further educate him in the fine art of second-story work. After a few days of earnest research, he locates, scouts, and burgles a respectable merchant's home. The take is small-time, but it's the experience Mags was after.
The evening of April 8th, as Alamar is completing his fifth day of work, a light knock comes on Jonetello's door. He opens it to see Nip, Rose's henchman. Resisting the urge to run him through, Jonetello invites Nip in and listens to his story. Nip, it seems, is out of work, and has burned most of his bridges in Rellenor. His new dream is to open a tavern, but he needs starting capital. If Jonetello were to provide some, Nip would be happy to give some information regarding his former (now "vanished mysteriously") employer. When he sees Rose's journal, his smile grows a bit wider. Jonetello promises he will consider the deal. "Unless I just turn you in for your activities in Leston."
"No need to get nasty," Nip counters. "After all, I'd hate for those Blaumeres to find out where you are. Wouldn't you?"
Touché.
When Nip returns the following night, the group agrees to his deal -- but they only want to pay him half until he provides the information. "No problem," he says, pocketing the loot and slitting open the cover of Rose's journal in one smooth motion. Out falls a map, a very curious map depicting Rellenor, but drawn with an accuracy far beyond the grasp of any cartographer in Mordallend. A red rectangle encompasses most of the kingdom, while circles in southwest Loxham seem to have no explanation. Moreover, many of the place names are misspelled, with the proper spellings added in a precise hand afterward. The city names of Merelin and Leston are drawn in, with an arrow pointing to the location of each. The group puzzles over the map until Nip reminds them of the second half of his payment. "Stop by any time!" he promises on his way out.
Thorald decides to scry on their old foe Emil, who seems to be busily recruiting a new wave of thugs to take on the group. Emil does not notice the psionic sensor hovering nearby, but his angry tirades against those who support Prince Loxham get old pretty fast, so he cancels the spell before it expires. As it fades, he hears Emil swearing to come north soon, "demons or no demons." Hm.
The next night, the group is visited by Terithiel, a sinister man escorted by a full troop of soldiers in service to the Marquis of the Dragon. Terithiel introduces himself as a representative of the dragon Sygwerdan (a fact which, by the looks from the soldiers, is the only thing keeping him alive). Before the group can flee, Terithiel assures them they have not transgressed against the treaty between the dragon and the human lands. In fact, they are victims. Sygwerdan is concerned (claims Terithiel) that the group might decide to make a legal issue out of the fact that a hill giant formally in Sygwerdan's service attacked them without provocation. Instead, he would prefer to reach an informal arrangement that will preserve everyone's dignity. Terithiel promises to return the next night to hear any proposals.
The group argues into the night over what they should ask for. Treasure is voted down pretty fast. In the end, the debate comes down to information: how many questions should they demand? When Terithiel returns, they settle for three questions; two to be answered now, the other later. These questions are of such importance that they cannot be recorded here (unless one of my players wrote them down
).
The group departs Merelin, wisely giving different names at the gate, and heads south into Kinfeld, seeking adventure. They encounter some more of the pale, hairless humanoids in the hills east of Feldenburg, but think nothing of it... for now.
Episode 24: "All Cute Titles Shall Pass"
Tiesa and Alamar are out walking and enjoying the sights of the city of Merelin, capital of Rellenor. As they look out over the harbor, Alamar leans in toward Tiesa, looking deep into her eyes.
"Um, why are you so close to me?" asks Tiesa. There is a long, awkward pause. Tiesa blushes. "Oh." She takes a step back, as Alamar does the same, looking away.
"I-I mean, you're a great guy and all, but...not like that," she says hurriedly. "Besides, you're...human."
"But you kept spending all this time with me, looking at me like you were waiting for something..." ventures Alamar.
"I was!" she cries, stamping her foot. "I was waiting for you to summon that arrowhawk again so I could use it to get back at you for trapping me in that bramble tree!"
Alamar is taken back. "You..." His eyes narrow. "What exactly were you going to do with the arrowhawk?"
Despite herself, Tiesa smiles. "Well...don't you worry about it. I'll let it drop-for now."
"Very well," replies Alamar.
"Is...is this how it works with humans? I never-well, it works differently where I come from, but...oh, never mind. Let's just get past this, alright?"
Alamar nods, looking relieved. "Can we keep this between the two of us?"
"Absolutely!" Together, they return to the tavern, each deep in their own maelstrom of thoughts.
Meanwhile, Magnimiliar, always the long-term thinker, starts looking for a moderately wealthy establishment to further educate him in the fine art of second-story work. After a few days of earnest research, he locates, scouts, and burgles a respectable merchant's home. The take is small-time, but it's the experience Mags was after.
The evening of April 8th, as Alamar is completing his fifth day of work, a light knock comes on Jonetello's door. He opens it to see Nip, Rose's henchman. Resisting the urge to run him through, Jonetello invites Nip in and listens to his story. Nip, it seems, is out of work, and has burned most of his bridges in Rellenor. His new dream is to open a tavern, but he needs starting capital. If Jonetello were to provide some, Nip would be happy to give some information regarding his former (now "vanished mysteriously") employer. When he sees Rose's journal, his smile grows a bit wider. Jonetello promises he will consider the deal. "Unless I just turn you in for your activities in Leston."
"No need to get nasty," Nip counters. "After all, I'd hate for those Blaumeres to find out where you are. Wouldn't you?"
Touché.
When Nip returns the following night, the group agrees to his deal -- but they only want to pay him half until he provides the information. "No problem," he says, pocketing the loot and slitting open the cover of Rose's journal in one smooth motion. Out falls a map, a very curious map depicting Rellenor, but drawn with an accuracy far beyond the grasp of any cartographer in Mordallend. A red rectangle encompasses most of the kingdom, while circles in southwest Loxham seem to have no explanation. Moreover, many of the place names are misspelled, with the proper spellings added in a precise hand afterward. The city names of Merelin and Leston are drawn in, with an arrow pointing to the location of each. The group puzzles over the map until Nip reminds them of the second half of his payment. "Stop by any time!" he promises on his way out.
Thorald decides to scry on their old foe Emil, who seems to be busily recruiting a new wave of thugs to take on the group. Emil does not notice the psionic sensor hovering nearby, but his angry tirades against those who support Prince Loxham get old pretty fast, so he cancels the spell before it expires. As it fades, he hears Emil swearing to come north soon, "demons or no demons." Hm.
The next night, the group is visited by Terithiel, a sinister man escorted by a full troop of soldiers in service to the Marquis of the Dragon. Terithiel introduces himself as a representative of the dragon Sygwerdan (a fact which, by the looks from the soldiers, is the only thing keeping him alive). Before the group can flee, Terithiel assures them they have not transgressed against the treaty between the dragon and the human lands. In fact, they are victims. Sygwerdan is concerned (claims Terithiel) that the group might decide to make a legal issue out of the fact that a hill giant formally in Sygwerdan's service attacked them without provocation. Instead, he would prefer to reach an informal arrangement that will preserve everyone's dignity. Terithiel promises to return the next night to hear any proposals.
The group argues into the night over what they should ask for. Treasure is voted down pretty fast. In the end, the debate comes down to information: how many questions should they demand? When Terithiel returns, they settle for three questions; two to be answered now, the other later. These questions are of such importance that they cannot be recorded here (unless one of my players wrote them down
).The group departs Merelin, wisely giving different names at the gate, and heads south into Kinfeld, seeking adventure. They encounter some more of the pale, hairless humanoids in the hills east of Feldenburg, but think nothing of it... for now.
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