Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Old One" data-source="post: 86394" data-attributes="member: 83">InterludeRowan's JournalThe following are excerpts from Rowan's Journal covering the final leg of the trip to Oar, his thoughts on the city and his capture...Enjoy<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />!On the way to Oar we encountered a farmer.  Actually we first thought we were coming upon a fight of some sort.  From ahead of us came the sounds of cursing and metal ringing on metal and wood.  I scouted ahead along the side of the road and cannot express the joy I took in discovering the fight to be merely a farmer having some trouble with a wagon wheel.  I stepped out from the roadside brush and asked him if he needed help.  The way he flung that hammer over his shoulder in startled panic it's good I was standing back and to the left or surely I'd have a third eye and have seen no end of stars!  It was all I could do not to laugh at how the poor fellow jumped when I spoke up.  I'm sure the grin splitting my face had to have my companions wondering what I had found as they were coming up the road.  Once he realized I was no bandit I was able to wave the rest of the group forward. His wagon wheel was a bit out of sorts and not being the mechanical type I felt it best to leave the others to offer what skills they might possess toward solving the fellow's plight. Quintus, ever resourceful, and always looking for advantage in everything, managed to fix the wheel with what seemed little effort.  The farmer was delighted, but I'm sure the wainright who told him it was fixed before will hear a thing or two about workmanship.He was more than agreeable to the idea of allowing Drusilla to ride along with him on the wagon as we accompanied him the rest of the way to Oar.  As nightfall hit we still had a half day's travel ahead of us and no real idea what to expect.  A grove of trees to the roadside served as our camp and we were told about some strange disappearances of some of the families in the area.  Thinking back on that tale, I feel in my gut that this is the work of Ashai cultists and allies of "R".  The talkative fellow chewed our ears off with chatter on all sorts of topics between first meeting and arrival at Oar. In the morning as we were breaking camp, our new traveling companion seemed to be having trouble with his back.  He asked if we had anyone among us in the service of the Light and Sextus pointed out Lew.  Poor Lew, he did the right thing, but he must be cursed because it came back to haunt him later.  With a little pushing and prodding he managed to straighten out the man's back.  "Miracle Worker" he called Lew.  Lew the “Miracle Worker” was now in Oar and it wasn't even a day before what must have been every cripple in town was in the Cathedral crying out, begging for Lew to heal them too.  Sometimes all it takes to have things start going wrong are a couple of good deeds, like fixing a wheel, or straightening a farmer's back.We reached the gates to the city and discovered that not only were lodgings affordable only by the rich, but that the city makes its cut of everything and everyone by charging money just to enter.  Makes me wonder why anyone would go there, especially now that I know that 1 denarii bought my way into a den of trouble. Adding a third good deed into the pot of trouble stew, Sextus inquired with a gate guard as to how much it would cost the good farmer and his wagonload of radishes and corn to get into the city.  Three denarii. Sextus slipped the farmer the coins to cover his costs and apparently that was the thrice damned charm needed to set things in motion.Lew was able to get us lodging on the grounds of the Cathedral of Osirian.  The place is big enough to hold most of Glynden within the sanctified walls.  Well, at least it seemed that way, since the smaller of the two rectory buildings is as big as the entire abbey in Glynden.  We dined with the abbot and several holy figures that night.  There was talk of the goings on around Glynden, and discussions of other matters related to the church. I pay only a little mind to these things.  I'm a believer, and follower of the Light, but give me my bow and a good day along the paths Corelian walks and I'm happy. The next morning as we were waking and making ready for breakfast one of the aspirants came calling a commotion, asking for Lew to come quickly to the chapel nave.  Most of us thought maybe he'd been running late to some minor observance, but it turned out to be a small horde of cripples seeking him out for healing miracles.  It wasn't long before the aspirant came running back, pale and frightened looking, begging our help, saying something about Lew being in dire trouble.  The sight I was about to witness brought me near to tears with laughter.  We arrived in the temple nave, weapons in hand only to see Lew swarmed under by the miracle seekers and passing out for lack of breath under the crush.  Once we managed to free him from his admirers and get them calmed and on their way, that's when we saw the humor in Lew's sudden rise to near sainthood.  That humor faded quickly when we found that Drusilla slipped away during the commotion.  There has been nothing funny about our stay in this city since.  Seems his mending of a back caused quite a stir in the Cathedral.The next few days are a blur. With church help we managed to locate someone that could determine the value of the items and "blessings" Lathan had bestowed upon us in that brief meeting.  We sold a couple of the items for a great sum of money, a sum soon to dwindle rapidly.  I found out the sword the Old Man gave me is infused with magic. Apparently it is what is called a "bonded" weapon.  I have to perform some small ritual to awaken the powers it grants for my use alone.  I'll find out more of what this means. We also managed to buy horses and tack with our newfound wealth and I'll be happy when we find our way clear of Oar to ride them home.  Let's hope the church can help us get free of the city as well.There's something to be said for the big city. It stinks, and it's full of filth.  Not just garbage and fish guts, but human filth.  At first I was amazed and awed by the huge buildings, the many sites and sounds, and all of the different things one could involve oneself with in Oar.  Now all I want to do is get some payback and go home.  I'm out of place here.  The city is large, chaotic, and dangerous. We've been in town for less than a week and already people are trying to have us killed, and based on how easily we were captured by some of them, unless we leave soon, they likely will succeed.  I'm sure this has everything to do with the cult of Ashai and surely that means the cult has a greater hold here in Oar than even around Glynden.  We have to find those involved and kill them, or at least expose their darkness to the light of Osirian and the view of what few good souls might exist in this wretched place.We were ambushed and rapidly taken down when we went to what was supposed to be a meeting in the dock quarter with Drusilla.  Quintus is the only one of us that managed to slip away from harm and in the end it was he who brought help to get the other four of us out of the hole we were being held prisoner in by someone unknown.  I know I've heard the sound of that person's footsteps before, but where.  I cannot yet place where I heard the footsteps of our captor.  I will though, you can bet on it, and when I do.  Well, if I'm to have payback that person will know my blade.  As sure as his people ambushed us, so will I surprise him and the persons responsible for putting a reward on our heads.~ Rowan</blockquote>

Verification