The Heroes of House Tharashk

[cdsaint]

"Ahh, You want to go see Abynnon eh. Well, I know he was in town the other night, so he's probably at his house right outside town. If he's not, that would be the place to leave a message."

Myrta leads you out to the docks, and to her boat. Moored next to it, and looking a little out of place is a dugout, with wood shavings still in the bottom. It's oviously newly made, but within a few weeks will look no different than the hundreds of others you've seen in your short tome here."She's sound, near indestructable, and has all the style and grace of a log. And she's all yours. I checked with Drade, and she said to bill m'lord, so my end is taken care of."

Once you are all settled in the boat, Myrta slips the line and easily starts the boat moving across the still brown water. "So did you want to make any other stops before Abynnon? Or did you just want to head straight there?"

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"Thank you, Myrta. I think that we'd best head there. What parts of the city will that take us through?"

 

[cdsaint]

"Well, he lives on the left bank, so we'll pass several farms on the way, but there's a few outfitters on the way too. Just about anything you might want to buy would be available. Oh, and there's the new church over there on the right."

She points to a large single story building on your right. It looks more carefully and lovingly constructed than many of the buildings, with square corners and fresh paint. The symbol of the Silver Flame is prominently painted on the front of the building, and there is a large, but mostly empty dock.

"It don't matter to me where you want to go, if it's there, I'll find it for you."

 

[Hoog]

" I think we should go to his house first, but later after that I need to stop some where and get some of the local weaponry so that I fit in better. Maybe a spear of something just when I go out on my own so I stick out carrying a rapier around when dressed as a local.

 

[cdsaint]

Myrta paddles, and the scummy brown water slides by. As you travel, buildings become more scarce, and the vegetation gets thicker. You start to see patches of land hovering at about the water level. Houses still are built on stilts, and are occasionally close to the ground, but rarely actually on it. Every available bit of ground has thickvegetation on it. Around half the land seems to be gardened, the other half looks wild, and you occasionally see some small pigs in the wild looking patches. Rice fields are planted in most of the shallows.

After awhile, there is even more land, and you see some boats, very much like your new boat only longer. The people in them have long spears, and scan the water carefully. Finally, you reach a spot where the trees completely cover the sky, and the land seems to be a bit more prevalent than the water. You haven't seen a building for some time, and the wildlife is more prevalent, and more menacing.

Around 11am Myrta pulls the boat up alongside a large tree next to one of it's larger roots. As she ties the boat off, you note that the top of the root is flat, and that cose to the trunk, it seems formed into uneven steps that lead up and around the huge trunk. Many smaller trees cluster close to the large one, forming a wall with many small gaps.

"I'll wait here. Nothing is likely to bother the boat, but I'll leave you to your business." Says Myrta.

As you follow the "stairs" around the trunk you enter a room (even without a roof it feels like a room) about 30 foot in diameter with a massive Oak in the center. The floor is covered in a thick carpet of soft green moss, and your feet sink into it without a sound. The forest canopy over the room is alive with various birds, singing softly.

Abynnon is rising to his feet as you enter. "Welcome, welcome! I'm so glad you could stop by. I rarely have visitors these days, and out of town visitors are even less likely. Please have a seat, make yourselves comfortable." He indicates several protrusions from the floor of various sizes and shapes. "Can I offer you gentlemen a drink, or something to eat? I have some wonderful pepper wine I'm terribly proud of, or of course water. Perhaps some fruit?" He has no sooner finished asking than a tiny creature mainly formed of leaves and bark walks out bearing a platter bearing 4 wooden cups and 2 wooden pitchers with condensation streaming down their sides. The water is clear and pure, the pepper wine is spicy but not unpleasant. Both are ice cold.

Once you are settled Abynnon asks "So, not that I mind either way, But is this a social call, or was there something I can help you with?" And looks at you with piercing green eyes.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Cazanjan thanks Abynnon for the wine and water. "This wine is excellent. We don't generally get things like this in the Mror Holds. I should introduce myself. I'm Cazanjan d'Kundurak. My companions," the dwarf pauses to allow the two men to introduce themselves, "and I are here on behalf of Lord Khundran d'Tornn. I'm a vault maker on loan from my house. Lord d'Tornn has asked me to scout out areas for a possible vault and compound in the city. I wanted to discuss my options with you before continuing. My concerns right now are mainly logistical -- I want to build this without disrupting or altering the natural environment as much as possible, and I figured that you might be able to suggest a location or a plan of action that could accomplish this and be pleasing to you, the citizenry, and my employer." Finished, he takes another sip of the spicy pepper wine.

 

[Hoog]

Dox will accept the wine greaciously with a bow. He will then survey the room looking very impressed by the living room. " Thsnk you for allowing us to visit you in your home, in addition to the information about the Vault. We were attacked the other night by a creature we learned were called Chokers, so we have also come to ask if you or your friends the animals and natural spirits of this land have any information as to where we could find The Cult of The Dragon Below." After saying this I will spit to the right as if trying to get a bad taste out of my mouth.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Cazanjan looks incredulously at Dox for a moment before quickly reassuming his professional demeanor. He knows exactly what was meant by the gesture, but it unnerves him a little nonetheless. The wine. He made a spitting gesture shortly after drinking the wine. We're doomed if Abynnon's at all touchy. It's almost as bad as Lord d'Tornn putting his feet up on the blasted table.

OOC: I've used color for my thoughts here as well. Should I continue doing this or just for things spoken out loud?

 

[cdsaint]

OOC: Sure Kajamba, I kind of like knowing what you're thinking sometimes, and using color makes sense to me. The lack of quotation marks lets me know that it's what you're thinking, and it was clear to me even before you mentioned it.

Chris

 

[cdsaint]

Abynnon frowns, whether at the mention of the Cults or the spitting you aren't certain. "I had heard about the choker, and I admire your willingness to take the fight to your enemies. All the more because your enemies are my enemies as well. I cannot point out to you where the Cults of the Dragon Below might be, simply because I do not know myself. There are some tribes in the swamp that venerate The Dragon Below fairly openly among themselves, but there are not any in the immediate area.

As far as your vault, I am pleased that you come to me openly and honestly seeking my advise and assent for this project rather than rushing ahead and possibly causing damage to something important. I will speak with some of my peers and together we will determine if there is a place where it would be appropriate to build your vault.

What I can offer you to help for now is this amulet." He holds out a wooden amulet carved of wood in the shape of a dragon head. The wood has tan, brown, and green bands running through it. "It may aid you in locating some of your foes. There is no way to detect those who worship The Dragon Below that I know of, But they often keep company with such foul aberrations as the choker which attacked your companion. Those foul creatures can be detected by this amulet. Simply grasp it and speak the command word "Vvaraak", the name of the dragon who taught us our craft, and for one minute, it will glow if any aberrations are within 100 feet.

I give this to you freely, as allies against the Daelkyr and their ilk, with the knowledge that The Gatekeepers may call on you as allies one day. Will you accept my offer?"