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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1609482" data-attributes="member: 6294">"One Day's Journey Into Night" / "Manifesting" - Part 1Following their battle with the vampire spawn who had once been Brother Durham, the adventurers at the monastery send word for the rest of the Company to join them there.  Despite their initial bravado, the creature's final words: "None can stand before the Ebon Court!" are troubling.  It suggests a greater force at work, one of which none of them have previously heard.The decision is made to travel north, toward Marikest, chief city of the Hidden Coast.  Other than the capital city of Tarkamul, this is the largest settlement in the Duchy, and the nearest place at which they are likely to find any information about the Ebon Court.  The journey will still take a week or more, but there are plenty of villages along the way, including Poisson, where some of the group hope to visit the bee-keeping wizard, Sionaas.  After all, Twinkle has already half-finished the jar of honey he gave her.In the end, however, the gnome is not one of the first members of the group to set out.  Instead it is decided that five of them will go ahead with the wagon, which can only travel slowly, for it is massively weighed down with suits of scale mail pillaged from the orcs in the caves below the monastery.  The rest of the group will wait at the monastery for a few days, until the catacombs have been properly repaired, and the cave entrance sealed, and then follow behind.The 'advance party' consists of the Padre - probably to stop his tiresome theological disputes with the Pelorites - Ming Li, Rose, Sirdros and Briar.  Leaving the monastery at dawn, the five travel all day with their wagon and its overworked horse, making camp just before dusk   They spend an uneventful night, but awaken the next morning to see a thick cloud of smoke arising to the north.  This could only come from a large, fierce fire: probably a burning building.A spirited argument follows about whether and how to investigate."It'll all be over by the time we get the wagon there." The Padre shrugs, shading his eyes as he stares at the smoke."Then we should leave the wagon." Ming Li folds her arms, "People's lives may be in danger.  We should help.""Leave the wagon!" the Priest of St Cuthbert sputters, "All our treasure is in there!""Four hundred pounds of smelly orc armour is not treasure." The monk sniffs."The rest of your could go ahead, and I'll come up behind with the wagon." Sirdros offers. "I'm the only one who can get it moving at more than a crawl, anyway.""Not much more than a crawl." Briar mutters."We don't have time for this." Ming Li persists, "Sirdros can come behind.  The rest of us should go."It proves that the smoke is indeed from a burning building: about a half mile up the road, the four adventurers reach a tiny hamlet, of no more than a dozen homes.  The largest building - probably the inn and town hall - is aflame, with a bucket brigade doing its best to douse the fire.  Off to one side, two people lie sprawled on the ground, with one of the locals crouched over them."You three help the bucket brigade." The Padre takes charge, "I'll see if those two over there need any help."  Striding over, he slaps the crouching peasant on the shoulder, "You there!  Do these folk still live?""Aye, they do." The peasant - a human male in his middle years - gives the Priest little notice, his attention on the two people on the ground. "They've breathed ina  lot o' smoke, and passed out, t'pair of 'em.  Ma Wilberry was caught inside t'inn when it lit up, and young 'un here went in to get her."'Ma Wilberry' is stout, grey-haired woman with startlingly bushy eyebrows.  The 'young un' is a handsome human, wearing a slightly charred tabard, emblazoned with the symbol of Heironeous."Stand clear." The Padre orders.  The older man looks up in annoyance, then - catching sight of the holy symbol of St Cuthbert - hurriedly makes room for the priest.  The Padre invokes his god, channelling healing energy into the young man"Ugh." The young opens his eyes and grimaces, wiping his soot-stained mouth on the cuff of his shirt, "That could have gone better.  Ah!  Is Madam Wilberry alright?""She will be once I have tended to her, as well." The Padre replies, doing exactly that."Splendid.  I'm Khore Vlentyne by the way." The young man smiles and offers his hand.  He has the most even, white teeth the Padre has ever seen, "I'm a holy knight of Heironeous.""Padre Wolfgang Priem, of the Company of the Random Encounter."Khore's smile fades, and his hand drops to his side."Oh." He grimaces slightly, "Adventurers."</blockquote>

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