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Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
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<blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 764426" data-attributes="member: 5808"><p><strong>Part the Third: </strong></p><p><em>In which, Elven curiosity is satisfied, but other mysteries are left unsolved.</em></p><p></p><p> It’s a long walk back to Dar Pykos. </p><p></p><p>As they make their way down the road, Hue tries to engage one of the newly freed slaves, Amelia, in conversation. Amelia is about fifteen years old, with washed-out blonde hair. Standing more than a head shorter than the girl, Hue catches a glimpse of her pretty gray eyes as she watches the ground in front of her. He's the only one who can tell what color her eyes are. In the time she’s been with the party, none of them have seen her make eye contact with anyone.</p><p></p><p> "So," he asks, "you’re a student at the Mage’s Academy?"</p><p></p><p> Amelia almost spits out her response. "I <em>was</em>."</p><p></p><p> "Aren’t you going to go back once we reach Dar Pykos?"</p><p></p><p> Amelia does not seem to be in a talking mood. "I hope to. If they’ll have me."</p><p></p><p> "Why wouldn’t they take you back?"</p><p></p><p> "I don’t know."</p><p></p><p> Hue is not perturbed by Amelia’s lack of forthcoming. "I tried to get into the Mage’s Academy, once. They didn’t want me. They do strange things there sometimes."</p><p></p><p> Amelia looks dubiously down at the small man walking beside her, but declines to be drawn into further conversation.</p><p></p><p> Lira listens to the exchange and turns to Reyu.</p><p></p><p> "What’s going on there?"</p><p></p><p> Reyu makes a non-committal gesture. "We’re not sure. Amelia was sold into slavery some months ago. Her first owner horribly abused her, then was found murdered. We purchased her freedom from the family that bought her at auction, the Vojers. The next day we got word that Lord Vojer had been found bludgeoned to death."</p><p></p><p> "You think she had something to do with it?"</p><p></p><p> "She denies it, but I’ve seen the scars on her back. If she did, I don’t blame her."</p><p></p><p> Amelia steadfastly refuses to open up to anyone, despite friendly overtures from most of her rescuers. The entire group makes camp for the night in a clearing a little way from the road. They set watches, but aside from some agitation from Lira’s weasel familiar, Euro, the night is quiet.</p><p></p><p> Just before sunrise, Anvil and Reyu are on watch when Reyu catches sight of a figure in the woods. "Who goes there?"</p><p></p><p> The figure takes off running. </p><p></p><p> Reyu, instead of going in pursuit, casts <em>entangle</em> on the woods in front of her where the figure was running. There is a surprised yelp from the woods, but she notices another shadowy figure leaving the writhing branches. She follows as Anvil wakes the others. </p><p></p><p>When the rest of the group catches up to Reyu they find her facing off against five elves, one of whom is just pulling his way out of the trees—having added several leaves and twigs to his hair’s traditional beads and braiding. </p><p></p><p>Reading the leader’s braids, Reyu notes that the group is from the Comin Nation, who usually stay much farther north on the peninsula.</p><p></p><p>"You’re far from your home, brethren," Reyu observes. Simultaneously, she motions for Anvil to put down his sword.</p><p></p><p>The leader of the Elves slowly lowers his bow as the party stands down. "As are you," he replies.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately for the party, the Elves aren’t interested in a fight, but wondering why Reyu is traveling with so many humans. She reassures them that she travels of her own free-will and is not enslaved or otherwise coerced by the rest of the party. Apparently satisfied, the Elves continue on, leaving the party to break camp.</p><p></p><p><em>(Note: Elves in the Halmae have a vaguely Native American tribal culture. They mix with humans occasionally, but there is still a certain amount of racial tension.)</em></p><p></p><p>The party reaches Dar Pykos the following day. Reyu never thought she would be happy to see a human city, but compared to Dar Aego, she’s thrilled to cross the threshold of the city gates.</p><p></p><p>Although Tenacious the Just (Anvil’s superior at the temple) is sorry that the party has lost the cart and mule he gave them, he is, overall, quite pleased with their work. Tenacious and Anvil are both members of an organization within the Temple of Kettenek known as the Universal Law Caucus, devoted to bringing about a single law code to the entire Darine Confederacy. The Caucus hosts a dinner for the returning heroes and especially the Pykosian citizens they have recently freed from illegal enslavement. </p><p></p><p><em>(DM’s note: This dinner was a significant event, in that it was a huge PR stunt for the Universal Law Caucus. Five Pykosian citizens had been unrighteously sold into slavery, due to unscrupulous individuals and a gross miscarriage of Justice permitted by a loophole that Kettenek never intended. This became a rallying cry for the Caucus, and put them on the political map in Dar Pykos. Tenacious played it up for everything it was worth.)</em></p><p></p><p></p><p>During the dinner, an acolyte comes up and taps Anvil on the shoulder.</p><p></p><p>"Justicar, there is a message for you."</p><p></p><p>Outside the banquet hall, Anvil meets a messenger bearing a letter from Immobile, a Justicar the party met in Dar Aego (Anvil had actually been sent to seek him out as he is one of the few members of the Universal Law Caucus in the city-state). The night after the party left the city, two of al-Assal’s men had been beaten to death, in a manner similar to all of Amelia’s former owners. Anvil sends word for Reyu, Thatch, and Hue to join him.</p><p></p><p>"Could it have had something to do with Amelia?" Thatch asks. "She was at the House of al-Assal before she was bought at auction in Dar Aego."</p><p></p><p>"I don’t see how, she was with us, halfway to Dar Pykos." Reyu replies.</p><p></p><p>"Lira was there the night before, maybe she knows something."</p><p></p><p>Anvil sends an acolyte for Lira who quickly joins them.</p><p></p><p>"What is it?" she asks.</p><p></p><p>Anvil brings her up to speed. "Do you know anything of these happenings?" he demands.</p><p></p><p>"No. I don’t think so." She squirms under the collective gaze of the party.</p><p></p><p>"Could the attackers have been looking for you?" Anvil looms over the tiny sorcerer.</p><p></p><p>"Gods, I hope not. I really don’t think they were. There was this one guy, maybe… but I wasn’t even there."</p><p></p><p>Anvil fixes her with a look he’s perfected from his years on the bench. "Are you a criminal?"</p><p></p><p>"No!" she protests, loud enough to draw a look from a passing server.</p><p></p><p>While the party is still somewhat unsure of their new companion, she does seem to be telling the truth, and the matter rests. </p><p></p><p><em>(Actual exchange went something like this: </em></p><p><em>Anvil: Are you a criminal?</em></p><p><em>Lira: No!</em></p><p><em>DM: Sense motive, anyone?)</em></p><p></p><p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lira declines Anvil’s offer of a bed at the temple, and instead goes to meet her contact in the city, a man named Devon attached to the Questors, a sect of Ehkt. The reason why she seemed so uncomfortable surrounded by Justicars starts to become more apparent when the others realize she is a follower of the god of among other things, chaos.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, the slaves freed by the party in Dar Aego return to their normal lives. Collin goes back to his own farm outside the city, along with Suaress. Amelia is quickly and quietly readmitted to the Mage’s Academy, although Reyu sends her off with a stern warning not to get into trouble. Amelia certainly doesn’t seem to be in the mood to go looking for any.</p><p></p><p>And so, with everyone safely home, the party takes a well-deserved break, all hoping that whatever trouble they might have found in Dar Aego will be content to stay there and they will be able to move on to the next chapter of their lives.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="spyscribe, post: 764426, member: 5808"] [b]Part the Third: [/b] [I]In which, Elven curiosity is satisfied, but other mysteries are left unsolved.[/I] It’s a long walk back to Dar Pykos. As they make their way down the road, Hue tries to engage one of the newly freed slaves, Amelia, in conversation. Amelia is about fifteen years old, with washed-out blonde hair. Standing more than a head shorter than the girl, Hue catches a glimpse of her pretty gray eyes as she watches the ground in front of her. He's the only one who can tell what color her eyes are. In the time she’s been with the party, none of them have seen her make eye contact with anyone. "So," he asks, "you’re a student at the Mage’s Academy?" Amelia almost spits out her response. "I [I]was[/I]." "Aren’t you going to go back once we reach Dar Pykos?" Amelia does not seem to be in a talking mood. "I hope to. If they’ll have me." "Why wouldn’t they take you back?" "I don’t know." Hue is not perturbed by Amelia’s lack of forthcoming. "I tried to get into the Mage’s Academy, once. They didn’t want me. They do strange things there sometimes." Amelia looks dubiously down at the small man walking beside her, but declines to be drawn into further conversation. Lira listens to the exchange and turns to Reyu. "What’s going on there?" Reyu makes a non-committal gesture. "We’re not sure. Amelia was sold into slavery some months ago. Her first owner horribly abused her, then was found murdered. We purchased her freedom from the family that bought her at auction, the Vojers. The next day we got word that Lord Vojer had been found bludgeoned to death." "You think she had something to do with it?" "She denies it, but I’ve seen the scars on her back. If she did, I don’t blame her." Amelia steadfastly refuses to open up to anyone, despite friendly overtures from most of her rescuers. The entire group makes camp for the night in a clearing a little way from the road. They set watches, but aside from some agitation from Lira’s weasel familiar, Euro, the night is quiet. Just before sunrise, Anvil and Reyu are on watch when Reyu catches sight of a figure in the woods. "Who goes there?" The figure takes off running. Reyu, instead of going in pursuit, casts [i]entangle[/i] on the woods in front of her where the figure was running. There is a surprised yelp from the woods, but she notices another shadowy figure leaving the writhing branches. She follows as Anvil wakes the others. When the rest of the group catches up to Reyu they find her facing off against five elves, one of whom is just pulling his way out of the trees—having added several leaves and twigs to his hair’s traditional beads and braiding. Reading the leader’s braids, Reyu notes that the group is from the Comin Nation, who usually stay much farther north on the peninsula. "You’re far from your home, brethren," Reyu observes. Simultaneously, she motions for Anvil to put down his sword. The leader of the Elves slowly lowers his bow as the party stands down. "As are you," he replies. Fortunately for the party, the Elves aren’t interested in a fight, but wondering why Reyu is traveling with so many humans. She reassures them that she travels of her own free-will and is not enslaved or otherwise coerced by the rest of the party. Apparently satisfied, the Elves continue on, leaving the party to break camp. [I](Note: Elves in the Halmae have a vaguely Native American tribal culture. They mix with humans occasionally, but there is still a certain amount of racial tension.)[/I] The party reaches Dar Pykos the following day. Reyu never thought she would be happy to see a human city, but compared to Dar Aego, she’s thrilled to cross the threshold of the city gates. Although Tenacious the Just (Anvil’s superior at the temple) is sorry that the party has lost the cart and mule he gave them, he is, overall, quite pleased with their work. Tenacious and Anvil are both members of an organization within the Temple of Kettenek known as the Universal Law Caucus, devoted to bringing about a single law code to the entire Darine Confederacy. The Caucus hosts a dinner for the returning heroes and especially the Pykosian citizens they have recently freed from illegal enslavement. [I](DM’s note: This dinner was a significant event, in that it was a huge PR stunt for the Universal Law Caucus. Five Pykosian citizens had been unrighteously sold into slavery, due to unscrupulous individuals and a gross miscarriage of Justice permitted by a loophole that Kettenek never intended. This became a rallying cry for the Caucus, and put them on the political map in Dar Pykos. Tenacious played it up for everything it was worth.)[/I] During the dinner, an acolyte comes up and taps Anvil on the shoulder. "Justicar, there is a message for you." Outside the banquet hall, Anvil meets a messenger bearing a letter from Immobile, a Justicar the party met in Dar Aego (Anvil had actually been sent to seek him out as he is one of the few members of the Universal Law Caucus in the city-state). The night after the party left the city, two of al-Assal’s men had been beaten to death, in a manner similar to all of Amelia’s former owners. Anvil sends word for Reyu, Thatch, and Hue to join him. "Could it have had something to do with Amelia?" Thatch asks. "She was at the House of al-Assal before she was bought at auction in Dar Aego." "I don’t see how, she was with us, halfway to Dar Pykos." Reyu replies. "Lira was there the night before, maybe she knows something." Anvil sends an acolyte for Lira who quickly joins them. "What is it?" she asks. Anvil brings her up to speed. "Do you know anything of these happenings?" he demands. "No. I don’t think so." She squirms under the collective gaze of the party. "Could the attackers have been looking for you?" Anvil looms over the tiny sorcerer. "Gods, I hope not. I really don’t think they were. There was this one guy, maybe… but I wasn’t even there." Anvil fixes her with a look he’s perfected from his years on the bench. "Are you a criminal?" "No!" she protests, loud enough to draw a look from a passing server. While the party is still somewhat unsure of their new companion, she does seem to be telling the truth, and the matter rests. [I](Actual exchange went something like this: Anvil: Are you a criminal? Lira: No! DM: Sense motive, anyone?)[/I] Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lira declines Anvil’s offer of a bed at the temple, and instead goes to meet her contact in the city, a man named Devon attached to the Questors, a sect of Ehkt. The reason why she seemed so uncomfortable surrounded by Justicars starts to become more apparent when the others realize she is a follower of the god of among other things, chaos. Slowly, the slaves freed by the party in Dar Aego return to their normal lives. Collin goes back to his own farm outside the city, along with Suaress. Amelia is quickly and quietly readmitted to the Mage’s Academy, although Reyu sends her off with a stern warning not to get into trouble. Amelia certainly doesn’t seem to be in the mood to go looking for any. And so, with everyone safely home, the party takes a well-deserved break, all hoping that whatever trouble they might have found in Dar Aego will be content to stay there and they will be able to move on to the next chapter of their lives. [/QUOTE]
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