Session 1: Talent’s Journal
12th of Greening, 284
I’ve decided to start a journal. Never done one of these things before.
My name is Talent Ravenmark. Ok, ok, I was born “Fred” Ravenmark, but I really hate that name. As I am the only member of my family to ever manifest a talent for the arcane arts, I have chosen ‘Talent’ as my new name.
The Ravenmark family is extensive in the Bixwater area and reaches into Banburyport, the capital of the islands. My kin are skilled workers, farmers and merchants, but more commonly expert crafters. The “mark of the Raven” is how we got our name and how we mark our products. I’d wager that there isn’t a house in Morlanda that doesn’t have at least something with our mark on it.
I am the fifth of nine children of Eli and Mally Ravenmark, owners of a prosperous general store in Bixby, a town near the mouth of the Bixwater, a small river a days travel southwest of Banburyport. My two brothers and four of my six sisters work in the family business. Only Waysha (my financially challenged sister who is a Potter) and Tara have made their way outside my parent’s aprons. Tara is a Paladin, the pride of the family (other than myself, of course). Unfortunately, she headed off to the South Island just over a year ago and hasn’t been heard from since.
After my short visit home to Bixby, I’m back in Banburyport on a mission for the Scholam. Seems that a cousin of mine has been recruited to help recover some books and other property from the house of Eralion, a now deceased wizard and member of the Scholam. Amazingly, that cousin is Cylexia Crossiton. (May the gods have mercy on us all.) I’m supposed to meet up with her and a mutual “friend” of ours, the halfling Nok, at a less than reputable place called The Ragamuffin Rat tomorrow morning.
The Scholam is THE organization for Wizards in the Islands. We are the legally authorized possessors and workers of arcane magic. Once my abilities became clear, there was only one path for me and that was the Scholam. Fortunately, mom and dad were willing to cough up the money for my training, even over the objections of my jerkwater older brother John.
The Crossitons. *sigh* The Bixwater is thick with them. The joke is that you can’t throw a stick without hitting a Crossiton. The other joke is that if you throw that stick into a bush, you’re likely to hit TWO Crossitons getting to know each other better. They’re the largest family in the region and are related to everyone. But heck, I can’t make too many jokes about them, I have too many of them in my own family tree!
Cylexia is my cousin…of some sort. I’m sure if we sat down and worked it out, we could come up with exactly how, but I’m also sure we could find more than one way in which we are related. I don’t know her very well, but I know OF her. She’s been a wanderer and a trouble maker since an early age, or so says my Aunt Edda, herself a Crossiton. “Doesn’t have the sense to come in out of the rain” she says.
And Nok, our “mutual friend”. I’m not sure I’d go that far. I know Nok, sort of. You see, I have a gift (among my many gifts) for languages. As I grew up, I just sort of picked up a couple of them, including the Halfling tongue. And since my mother has this unfortunate tendency to treat Halflings as if they were small Human children, it usually fell to me to deal with them. If you were a Halfling, passed through Bixby and bought something at my parent’s shop, you dealt with me. This is how I know Nok.
13th of Greening, 284
I met with Cylexia and Nok this morning at the Ragamuffin Rat. Dingy place, filled with shady people. Never really sure why they allow such places to exist, but I suppose even those people have to have somewhere to go. I kept a close eye on my property while I was there.
The guy we talked to is named “Ratty”. How appropriate. Young guy who had to hide what he was doing from his mother, who runs the place I believe.
We were joined by three others that will make up our party. The first of them is a new priest of Pelor named Leothan. Seems like an upstanding fellow with a lot of road under his feet. I think I’m going to like him. The second is a young Mit girl named Xilo (pronounced She-low). Carries a great big sword. Most certainly a warrior of some type. Good, because we may need one, but I’d feel more comfortable with someone more threatening looking.
The last is Artemis d’Solique. A Behrundtishman who has the less than savory look of those whose chief aim is the acquisition of things that are not theirs, so to speak. I would object to his presence if he were not an old friend of Leothan.
We are to head to a town called Fairhill and search for the place owned by the now deceased wizard Eralion. I am to recover as many books as possible for the Scholam, which is laying claim to Eralion’s books and writings. Lex is supposed to get us there and has a means to enter the place. The rest of the party is to provide security and support.
One thing that concerns me is that there is apparently another Wizard interested in the stuff we’re going to recover. A despicable man named Vortigren. I’ve heard his name in passing, but know nothing of him. Cylexia is afraid of him, says that he may be coming after her. I suppose that means “us” as well, which may be why we’re all here. You know, I hate this “I need your help against the guy trying to kill me” bit, but since I’ve been asked to do this on behalf of the Scholam, I don‘t have a choice.
14th Greening, 284
We left Banburyport in the morning, headed west toward Mindentown. Not my favorite destination. It’s a Mit town of some bad repute. Our other choice, argued vociferously by Lex, was to head overland. Yeah….sure. You aren’t making me tramp through brush and streams for days on end when we can get there by road.
Along the way, we were warned that the Xib Muhc temple complex was not a safe place to stay, as there had been disappearances in the vicinity. What a surprise! No doubt the work of those seeking Human sacrifices or perhaps even slavers.
15th Greening, 284
We ended up heading south off the road to take one of Lex’s “shortcuts”. An hour or so later, Nox returns from scouting ahead and informs us that we’re almost two miles off course. Made me wonder where we’d be if we had taken Lex’s advice to head overland yesterday.
We arrived in Mindentown later in the day, having avoided the Xib Muhc temple completely. Leothan, Xilo and I headed over to the Shrine of Light to check out the merchants while Artemis and Lex visited a Mit place called The Ball & Cup, the name pertaining to a barbaric Mit religious game. Leothan and I learned that there was a group of Gnoll bandits along the low road calling themselves the Road Dogs. Great. This is just where we’re headed. We also learned that Crimmor is plagued by Stirges. Not something I want to have to deal with. Deadly little suckers.
When we met back up later that day, Artemis and Lex were telling us how they had run into hostilities in the Ball & Cup and barely escaped with their lives. Artemis claimed to have seen blood on the floor. They suggested that we return to the place in force, but wiser heads prevailed and we sought accommodations elsewhere.
16th Greening, 284
Nok met up with us early in the morning. Seems that he spent the rest of the previous day and the night at a stable, “talking to the horses” and making friends with the stable hands. He told us that there were rather vicious horses belonging to the Cerem Puri in town. They were born and raised at the temple and some of them go to live “with the smelly men” far away across the island.
We headed down the road and ended up at Bryden’s Farm, a local place known for it’s hospitality.
17th Greening
A leisurely walk took us into Sunden, Leothan’s home town. Xilo and I went out with Leothan to visit his mother, a druid of some local renown who lived several miles north of town.
Meanwhile, Lex, Artemis and Nok socialized at the Ciderhouse and made contact with some of Lex’s various extended cousins. Seems even here there are Crossitons.
When Xilo and I returned to the Ciderhouse in the afternoon, we were treated to rather fanciful takes of Earalion and the town of Fairhill. We are told that his keep collapsed about 18 months ago and is allegedly haunted, inhabited by a vampire, by evil spirits, blah blah blah. The usual superstitious nonsense that people spew when they don’t understand the nature of a Wizard’s defenses.
Fairhill, on the other hand, is more intriguing if a little disturbing. We are told that the town is run by one Shandril Deandressea, the very beautiful priestess of the West Wind, who supposedly has most of the town’s men in her thrall. She is alleged to be very sensitive to the mere mention of Eralion’s name. This concerns me, as she may try to interfere in our mission.
Sunden is not well organized and has no elected or appointed leaders. Rather, it is led by the most respected (or perhaps most opinionated, depending on your point of view). Karel and Magda seem to be the current “leaders”.
Magda was very reluctant to offer any help to Lex and this was a cause of some contention until I rolled into town. Once Magda saw that a Scholam wizard (myself) was helping Lex, she became a bit more cooperative.
We were spending a friendly evening deep in food and drinks when two young men came tearing into the Ciderhouse. The Brydens had been murdered! To the (entirely unnecessary) horror of all, they described finding young Opal, one of the Bryden children, being eaten by the family pigs. Within moments, the entire town was up in arms and ready to march on the farm.
With Leothan’s help, cooler heads prevailed and we agreed that we would go to investigate, taking only two of the local militia to assist us. We suspected the possible involvement of Vortigren, but were more worried about having an unruly mob thrashing around in the dark shooting at each other.
Just as we were preparing to leave Sunden, I heard the flapping of wings and spotted a large and suspicious bird flying off into the darkness in the general direction of the Farm. Immediately, I cut loose with my magic missile spell while Lex, noting my target, let fly with an arrow. My missile struck the bird and knocked it for a loop, during which Lex’s arrow took it in the throat and dropped it. We ran over to find and finish it.
(Note: Man, what a slap in the face. I cut loose with my best spell and barely touch it, then Lex drops the damned thing with one arrow. The first time I’ve ever cast a spell against a living target and it did almost nothing. On the other hand, I have a newfound respect for Cylexia. She may not know where she’s going or how to talk to people, but if she shoots like that, I’m much less worried about the dangers of this trip!)
Anyway, we ran over to where the bird was flapping it’s death throes on the ground, just in time to see it transform into an Imp and fade away. Damnation! An IMP??? If this is the kind of thing Vortigren associates with, then we are in a lot of trouble. Vortigren is way out of my league, way out of this group’s league.
On the positive side, the fury of the mob seemed to dissipate just like the imp. The same people who had been clamoring for blood and willing to march en-masse on the Farm were now finding various excuses to tend to their own business.
We headed off to the farm at top speed, arriving there in less than an hour. Lex and Artemis moved ahead as we got to the farm, while the rest of us hung back and waited for their signal. We had no idea if anyone was still there or was long gone, but we were taking no chances.
Next thing we know, Lex and Artemis are calling for help and the battle is engaged. So much for signals or waiting for backup! As I ran forward, I saw three magic missiles fly out and strike Artemis, knocking him flat. THREE MAGIC MISSILES!?!?! I was near to wetting my pants. This guy was definitely out of our league and one such spell could send me into the afterlife. I crept forward, intending to cast a light spell on a crossbow bolt and fire it into his vicinity, but at the same time utterly terrified to expose my position.
Leothan, Xilo and Nok closed the gap fast and charged Vortigren through the brush. If I had any questions as to Xilo’s value as a warrior, they were instantly dispelled when she suddenly grew to be over ten feet tall, with a sword to match. Incredible. The tough little girl just became a tough giant woman…with a sword. Vortigren pulled out something and spilled the contents over his head, disappearing. Thinking quickly, Nok ordered the dogs to go after him. The dogs didn’t seem to have any problem smelling the invisible wizard and soon ran him to ground where he surrendered just as we closed in.
<End of Session One>