Kulan: Knightfall's Heroes of Carnell Game [IC]

[Neurotic]

When sunset comes, it is a huge blessing. The temperature drops slowly, however, and Maur waits until the sun has gone down completely before heading out of the inn.

Aries isn't sure if Maur will let him watch the dwarf champion perform his ritual, so he doesn't follow after Maur unless the dwarf motions for him to come along.

Aureus is curious to find out more about the dwarf's faith, so she follows along with Maur if he lets her come, sit quietly, and watch. "I don't think these Mordinsamman exist on my world. The Bitran of Maran -- that's what the dwarves and gnomes call themselves -- worship a god called Maldar... or sometimes Wotan."

"Oh, they exist Aureus, they exist. The gods have many faces and many names. But the dwarves were created by Moradin The Allfather. And I can make a guess this Wotan...he is a mighty father figure, lord of his pantheon (or at least part of the ruling council), Good in disposition, stern, but just."
He looks at the bard..."How did I do for a guess? There may be differences, but basics are the same."

OOC: The Voice resounds ... the description itself says that it's audible to all, so let's go with that (in dwarven since Maur probably learned the ritual in dwarven and wouldn't bother translating it.

"Ask, Son of the Sonnthord, and we shall answer," The Voice that resounds in the air seems to come from high above on the mountain. Maur knows that it is Dugmaren who is speaking for the Mordinsamman.

Yes.
The Luckmaiden blows you a kiss.
Yes.
Yes.
Hard to see, but improbable.
Yes.
Bring the Dawnstar to Inanna.
Yes.
Yes.

After the ritual, Maurs spends a minute writing down the answers and then finishes the ritual by properly dowsing "the forge". He used several drops of his own blood in recognition of Haela Brighaxe direct reference. Making sure everything is clean and ready for use later, he got up wearily.

He looks at his audience in the darkness.

OOC: If most of the group ISN'T here, he will wait until the morning.

"Well, this was interesting. Aries, I leave the paper with you, written exactly as they spoke in dwarven. You can probably get someone to translate it for you, but I give you my word what I'm about to say is the truth."

He looks at the notes
"The questions about Star Arms - the last child is on the island and Star Arms themselves are NOT the cause of the calamities. It is their wielders, evil, and power-hungry that cause calamities. Of course, the weapons themselves don't block that so they are not blameless in that regard. But no reason to hunt US down for having them."

"The question regarding Eike yielded worrying results. He is now a demonic thing like Xander was. And we need to hurry. When Battle-sister blows you a kiss, you need to be ready to live or die in the battle and have luck doing the former. If we let Eike call upon more power, we may not have enough power to bring him down."

"Others know of Vok and his schemes, and Summerwind may be more easily available than other dragons. Also, there is a way to save those taken by bringing Dawnstar to Inana. I'm familiar with Inana, but what is Dawnstar?" he combs his fingers through his beard
"Finally, and I know this will be alarming, Aureus, Lady Pendour is still under threat. Aries, assuming you're willing to travel there to escort the townspeople and Aureus back, you could look for ways to ensure your orders access to the island and to help the town with their troubles."

He hmhms and harrumphs a couple of times thinking something over.
"My last question was a bit selfish. I am here at the surface because I have a mission to locate a lost relic of my people. It seems my next step would be to go to Blackwater But I will see this through with you. There are important relics lost, yes, but losing the world is worse. All I ask is that if I fall in the battle, you get the word to my superiors that the location of The Shield of the Resolute may be discovered in Blackwater. I will do that myself if we get somewhere civilized first. But I think looking for Eike should be our first priority - sorry, Caerth. I know family is important to you. And Phar, you put off joining the guild until now, they may understand a couple of weeks more."

 

[JustinCase]

The pool of water swirls and Caerth thinks for a moment he sees something, but then all there is in the pool is what looks like blowing sand. A moment later, the spell fails and the pool of water grows dark. The water trickles out of the hastily created pool.

Kang senses Caerth's frustration and the half-orc druid can feel the sentient dagger urging him to kill... anything... anyone.

Once more the half-orc growls in powerless frustration as he watches the water cloud up and trickle away.

His father is dead, he now realizes the letter said. Of course the spell cannot find Eógan if he's dead, even if all the components, symbols and gestures were pure.

Caerth is still alone.

So tempted is he to give into Kang's urge to kill... To be the predator, to catch a prey and take its life away, to skin it and eat it in a feast of blood and savagery...

But no, that is not who he wants to be. He may not trust his former mentor now, but the lesson about living on nature's terms is well-learned; one does not kill unless necessary.

Quietly he wraps Kang in cloth again, then tucks the blade into his belt. He sits there in the heat, tears mixing with sweat on his face, silently gazing at the horizon without seeing.

He doesn't know how long he has sat there when the druid realizes a storm forms at the horizon, not bringing any relief to where he is but signifying a change in the weather soon.

Slowly Caerth gets up and starts moving back to the tavern.

OOC: I rolled a Will save to determine if Caerth would give into Kang's desire: will save: 1D20+10 = [13]+10 = 23 So no, he resists that temptation.

After the ritual, Maurs spends a minute writing down the answers and then finishes the ritual by properly dowsing "the forge". He used several drops of his own blood in recognition of Haela Brighaxe direct reference. Making sure everything is clean and ready for use later, he got up wearily.

He looks at his audience in the darkness.

OOC: If most of the group ISN'T here, he will wait until the morning.

"Well, this was interesting. Aries, I leave the paper with you, written exactly as they spoke in dwarven. You can probably get someone to translate it for you, but I give you my word what I'm about to say is the truth."

He looks at the notes
"The questions about Star Arms - the last child is on the island and Star Arms themselves are NOT the cause of the calamities. It is their wielders, evil, and power-hungry that cause calamities. Of course, the weapons themselves don't block that so they are not blameless in that regard. But no reason to hunt US down for having them."

"The question regarding Eike yielded worrying results. He is now a demonic thing like Xander was. And we need to hurry. When Battle-sister blows you a kiss, you need to be ready to live or die in the battle and have luck doing the former. If we let Eike call upon more power, we may not have enough power to bring him down."

"Others know of Vok and his schemes, and Summerwind may be more easily available than other dragons. Also, there is a way to save those taken by bringing Dawnstar to Inana. I'm familiar with Inana, but what is Dawnstar?" he combs his fingers through his beard
"Finally, and I know this will be alarming, Aureus, Lady Pendour is still under threat. Aries, assuming you're willing to travel there to escort the townspeople and Aureus back, you could look for ways to ensure your orders access to the island and to help the town with their troubles."

He hmhms and harrumphs a couple of times thinking something over.
"My last question was a bit selfish. I am here at the surface because I have a mission to locate a lost relic of my people. It seems my next step would be to go to Blackwater But I will see this through with you. There are important relics lost, yes, but losing the world is worse. All I ask is that if I fall in the battle, you get the word to my superiors that the location of The Shield of the Resolute may be discovered in Blackwater. I will do that myself if we get somewhere civilized first. But I think looking for Eike should be our first priority - sorry, Caerth. I know family is important to you. And Phar, you put off joining the guild until now, they may understand a couple of weeks more."

Just in time to hear Maur report back on his communion with his dwarven gods, Caerth only nods to his allies in greeting, embarrassed. He does not apologize or explain himself, hoping that his friends will understand.

"I don't know your gods' symbolism," the half-orc druid says, not reacting to the dwarf's reference to finding family important, "But are you sure they meant Eike is more important than other business? A goddess blowing you a kiss seems like a big deal to me, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Caerth is genuinely curious, but also hesitant to deviate from the plan of consulting the dragon first.

 

[Neurotic]

Just in time to hear Maur report back on his communion with his dwarven gods, Caerth only nods to his allies in greeting, embarrassed. He does not apologize or explain himself, hoping that his friends will understand.

"I don't know your gods' symbolism," the half-orc druid says, not reacting to the dwarf's reference to finding family important, "But are you sure they meant Eike is more important than other business? A goddess blowing you a kiss seems like a big deal to me, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Caerth is genuinely curious, but also hesitant to deviate from the plan of consulting the dragon first.

Maur nods at Caerth
"Luckmaiden, Lady of the Fray or Battle-sister is the goddess of battle and specifically, luck in battle. Getting her blessing almost certainly means we face tough battle as is. The question was is it advantageous for Strandlands not to let Eike settle into the power. I'm just telling you the answers, my reading of that is that we need to stop him now. Think on what we already know. He started here for something, there are talks about ancient temple and Eike is now demonic. Temples are usually built around places of some importance and anything that is important to a demon cannot be good for the land. And letting Eike draw more power - if we assume this is what is planned - can make the fight tougher than it already will be.

I'm open to different reading of the event. The dragons are about and will not make themselves any harder to find now or in couple of weeks or months."

 

[JustinCase]

"Every day the demonic influence increases," Caerth agrees. "But not only Eike. The blessing of a goddess of battle means nothing if we only win the first strike but lose the war on Vok."

Having said his piece, the half-orc chooses to remain silent and await a consensus.

And despite his frustrations and anger before, he catches himself smiling a bit at these people he now calls 'friends'. Not so alone, really.

 

[Neurotic]

"Every day the demonic influence increases," Caerth agrees. "But not only Eike. The blessing of a goddess of battle means nothing if we only win the first strike but lose the war on Vok."

Having said his piece, the half-orc chooses to remain silent and await a consensus.

And despite his frustrations and anger before, he catches himself smiling a bit at these people he now calls 'friends'. Not so alone, really.

"But we may also lose the war if we leave the cultist festering here. We don't know. What we DO know is that others are aware of the threat and we're already in the vicinity and have power to do something about it. And also follow Aureus part-way toward Lady Pendour."

OOC: I'll stop responding here so that others can chime in. Maur is always for the battle, but in this case I (neurotic) think this is a good way to go since except equipment upgrade there is nothing totally crucial that is also time critical.

 

[Knightfall]

Once more the half-orc growls in powerless frustration as he watches the water cloud up and trickle away.

His father is dead, he now realizes the letter said. Of course the spell cannot find Eógan if he's dead, even if all the components, symbols and gestures were pure.

Caerth is still alone.

So tempted is he to give into Kang's urge to kill... To be the predator, to catch a prey and take its life away, to skin it and eat it in a feast of blood and savagery...

But no, that is not who he wants to be. He may not trust his former mentor now, but the lesson about living on nature's terms is well-learned; one does not kill unless necessary.

Quietly he wraps Kang in cloth again, then tucks the blade into his belt. He sits there in the heat, tears mixing with sweat on his face, silently gazing at the horizon without seeing.

He doesn't know how long he has sat there when the druid realizes a storm forms at the horizon, not bringing any relief to where he is but signifying a change in the weather soon.

Slowly Caerth gets up and starts moving back to the tavern.

OOC: I rolled a Will save to determine if Caerth would give into Kang's desire: will save: 1D20+10 = [13]+10 = 23 So no, he resists that temptation.

While Angus waits until Caerth is ready to return to Hillwall (and walks back with him), Aries goes ahead of time to watch Maur's ritual. The Soldier of Iron finds not only Aureus but also the others gathered to watch Maur commune with the dwarven gods.

---

"Oh, they exist Aureus, they exist. The gods have many faces and many names. But the dwarves were created by Moradin The Allfather. And I can make a guess this Wotan...he is a mighty father figure, lord of his pantheon (or at least part of the ruling council), Good in disposition, stern, but just."
He looks at the bard..."How did I do for a guess? There may be differences, but basics are the same."

"Wotan is a chaotic god," Aureus replies. "His followers are known to be cunning and have a strong affinity for the sky and storms. That is all I can tell you. My people don't worship Wotan."

OOC: The Voice resounds ... the description itself says that it's audible to all, so let's go with that (in dwarven since Maur probably learned the ritual in dwarven and wouldn't bother translating it.

OOC: Okay.

After the ritual, Maurs spends a minute writing down the answers and then finishes the ritual by properly dowsing "the forge". He used several drops of his own blood in recognition of Haela Brighaxe direct reference. Making sure everything is clean and ready for use later, he got up wearily.

He looks at his audience in the darkness.

OOC: If most of the group ISN'T here, he will wait until the morning.

"Well, this was interesting. Aries, I leave the paper with you, written exactly as they spoke in dwarven. You can probably get someone to translate it for you, but I give you my word what I'm about to say is the truth."

Aries waits to be handed the paper until after Maur tells the group what the dwarven gods have revealed to him.

Maur finds that all but Angus and Caerth had gathered to listen while he performed the ritual. Only Quinn knew what was said to Maur. The other were quizzical but the gladiator-knight's face was lost in thought about the answers given to Maur.

Just in time to hear Maur report back on his communion with his dwarven gods, Caerth only nods to his allies in greeting, embarrassed. He does not apologize or explain himself, hoping that his friends will understand.

The two heroes arrive several minutes after the ritual is over, drawn by the sound of the booming voice coming from the mountain. Since the voice had been responding in Dwarven, neither understood the answers being given. Of course, they were not present for the questions either.

Angus and Caerth find that the others have gathered to watch the dwarf champion perform the commune. Neither Ivoron or Mazz are present, as the doorman is busy with his duties and the old gnome is still resting.

He looks at the notes
"The questions about Star Arms - the last child is on the island and Star Arms themselves are NOT the cause of the calamities. It is their wielders, evil, and power-hungry that cause calamities. Of course, the weapons themselves don't block that so they are not blameless in that regard. But no reason to hunt US down for having them."

Aries listens silently. Passively as Maur speaks about the Star Arms. Whether or not he believes Maur is hard to judge through casual observation.

"The question regarding Eike yielded worrying results. He is now a demonic thing like Xander was. And we need to hurry. When Battle-sister blows you a kiss, you need to be ready to live or die in the battle and have luck doing the former. If we let Eike call upon more power, we may not have enough power to bring him down."

Aureus looks towards the mountain and lets out a sigh. "I guess we need to deal with him first." She pauses. "We should still send a message to the fort to let them know of the threat."

"Others know of Vok and his schemes, and Summerwind may be more easily available than other dragons. Also, there is a way to save those taken by bringing Dawnstar to Inanna. I'm familiar with Inanna, but what is Dawnstar?"

"I've never head of that name," Quinn replies.

"I have," Aureus says. "It is a weapon of legend."

"It is a relic," Aries adds. "Created by some obscure sun deity from another plane of existence. There are actually four Dawnstars. Well, four in this reality. That god exists beyond the Infinity. I believe that the Interloper God known as Boccob came from the same place."

"If the legend from my world is true, then there are only three left." Aureus waits until she is sure she has everyone's attention. "It is an obscure legend but religious study is very important to my people, so such tales were taught to me a young age. The Dawnstar of my world was a powerful morningstar that was considered to be a holy relic of the god once known as Father Sun. He was sometimes called Solarios but more often was known as Phavenar. I don't believe he was some alien god from another world. He was thought to have once been a powerful mortal being who rose to godhood alongside the other gods of Maran during ancient times."

She looks at Maur. "Phavenar was killed more than 2,000 years ago by a demon lord. I don't remember the demon's name but such creatures are now a plague on my world. The demon wasn't satisfied with just killing Phavenar. It wanted to reduce the sun god's followers to ash and destroy anything holy associated with Phavenar. It destroyed temples, killed every paladin who worshipped Father Sun, and destroyed several holy relics including the Dawnstar."

She glances at Aries for a moment before turning back the dwarf champion. "There were rumors of other Dawnstars that were thought to exist on other worlds, but since life was filled with the constant threat of evil warlords finding our mountain home, our elders were more worried about keeping isolated and protected. Being brought to Kulan was seen as a blessing by Vaflar."

"Here on Harqual, a Dawnstar was once kept in the Temple of Apollo in Ambra," Aries adds. "However, that was a long time ago. The rumor I've heard is that the temple was looted by pirates around two hundred years ago and that the relic was stolen and taken to the pirate stronghold of Thunderport on Blackhound Island." He muses for a moment. "While I know there are supposed to be others that exist, I don't know if they exist on Kulan." He shakes his head. "Cosmology is not something I've studied."

he combs his fingers through his beard
"Finally, and I know this will be alarming, Aureus, Lady Pendour is still under threat. Aries, assuming you're willing to travel there to escort the townspeople and Aureus back, you could look for ways to ensure your orders access to the island and to help the town with their troubles."

Aureus looks skyward and swears in her language. "Of course she is..." the hutaakan doesn't seem surprised, just frustrated. "I don't know what else we can do to help her without more knowledge."

"Your question was about the blackmailer... and the wererats," Quinn says to Maur before Aries can answer. "Your god said that both could still be a threat to Lady Pendour. She must be told."

"I'm willing to go and tell her that this blackmailer is still out there," Aries replies. "I have to go back that way, regardless. I'll need to charter passage through Belporte back to Stonn."

Aureus puts her hands on her hips and looks at Maur. "And, I go where Phar goes," she insists. "Unless he feels we should go our separate ways." She looks to Phar to see what he thinks.

He hmhms and harrumphs a couple of times thinking something over.
"My last question was a bit selfish. I am here at the surface because I have a mission to locate a lost relic of my people. It seems my next step would be to go to Blackwater But I will see this through with you. There are important relics lost, yes, but losing the world is worse. All I ask is that if I fall in the battle, you get the word to my superiors that the location of The Shield of the Resolute may be discovered in Blackwater. I will do that myself if we get somewhere civilized first. But I think looking for Eike should be our first priority - sorry, Caerth. I know family is important to you. And Phar, you put off joining the guild until now, they may understand a couple of weeks more."

"It seems you must find two relics now," Aries notes. "This shield your people and the Dawnstar."

"I don't know your gods' symbolism," the half-orc druid says, not reacting to the dwarf's reference to finding family important, "But are you sure they meant Eike is more important than other business? A goddess blowing you a kiss seems like a big deal to me, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Caerth is genuinely curious, but also hesitant to deviate from the plan of consulting the dragon first.

Maur nods at Caerth
"Luckmaiden, Lady of the Fray or Battle-sister is the goddess of battle and specifically, luck in battle. Getting her blessing almost certainly means we face tough battle as is. The question was is it advantageous for Strandlands not to let Eike settle into the power. I'm just telling you the answers, my reading of that is that we need to stop him now. Think on what we already know. He started here for something, there are talks about ancient temple and Eike is now demonic. Temples are usually built around places of some importance and anything that is important to a demon cannot be good for the land. And letting Eike draw more power - if we assume this is what is planned - can make the fight tougher than it already will be.

I'm open to different reading of the event. The dragons are about and will not make themselves any harder to find now or in couple of weeks or months."

"All the more reason for us all to stick together," Aureus says. "If he's that dangerous, you'll need my arrows and chants against him."

"Every day the demonic influence increases," Caerth agrees. "But not only Eike. The blessing of a goddess of battle means nothing if we only win the first strike but lose the war on Vok."

Having said his piece, the half-orc chooses to remain silent and await a consensus.

And despite his frustrations and anger before, he catches himself smiling a bit at these people he now calls 'friends'. Not so alone, really.

"But we may also lose the war if we leave the cultist festering here. We don't know. What we DO know is that others are aware of the threat and we're already in the vicinity and have power to do something about it. And also follow Aureus part-way toward Lady Pendour."

OOC: I'll stop responding here so that others can chime in. Maur is always for the battle, but in this case I (neurotic) think this is a good way to go since except equipment upgrade there is nothing totally crucial that is also time critical.

Aureus is perturbed by Maur's insistence that she leave the group on a solo mission. She is soon glaring at him with her arms crossed. "You do not speak for me, Maur Deepdelver," she insists again. "And, Sir Quinn has more of a reason than me to return to Carnell to tell her about the blackmailer and the risk of more wererats." She pauses. "But if the group votes for me to go back to Carnell to speak to Lady Pendour, then I will."

"We should not divide our forces," Quinn says. "Aries has said he will go and tell Lady Pendour of the threat. If he gives his word, I will trust him to do so."

"I will tell her. I promise. I owe you that much," the Soldier of Iron replies. "After that, I must go back to the brotherhood and tell them... everything. And, I will speak on your behalf to the elders and show them this." He holds up the results of the commune that Maur has given to him. "Hopefully, they will trust in the gods."

"I will go find the horses," Aureus says. "Caerth, I could use your help."

The hutaakan stalks off into the night to hunt for the lost horses.

 

[Neurotic]

"I have," Aureus says. "It is a weapon of legend."
"It is a relic," Aries adds. "Created by some obscure sun deity from another plane of existence. There are actually four Dawnstars. Well, four in this reality. That god exists beyond the Infinity. I believe that the Interloper God known as Boccob came from the same place."

"It is an obscure legend but religious study is very important to my people, so such tales were taught to me a young age. The Dawnstar of my world was a powerful morningstar ...holy relic of the god once known as Father Sun. He was sometimes called Solarios but more often was known as Phavenar.

She looks at Maur. "Phavenar was killed more than 2,000 years ago by a demon lord. ...and destroyed several holy relics including the Dawnstar."

"Here on Harqual, a Dawnstar was once kept in the Temple of Apollo in Ambra," Aries adds. "However, that was a long time ago. The rumor I've heard is that the temple was looted by pirates around two hundred years ago and that the relic was stolen and taken to the pirate stronghold of Thunderport on Blackhound Island."

"Thank you, both. We may need some more divination after that." Maur nods

Aureus looks skyward and swears in her language. "Of course she is..." the hutaakan doesn't seem surprised, just frustrated. "I don't know what else we can do to help her without more knowledge."
"Your question was about the blackmailer... and the wererats," Quinn says to Maur before Aries can answer. "Your god said that both could still be a threat to Lady Pendour. She must be told."

"I can prepare Sendings for jer and for the fort in the morning. It will be much faster than anything we can send on foot, but the information is limited to a sentence or two."

"I'm willing to go and tell her that this blackmailer is still out there," Aries replies. "I have to go back that way, regardless. I'll need to charter passage through Belporte back to Stonn."

"Thank you. That will help with the details of the threat."

Aureus puts her hands on her hips and looks at Maur. "And, I go where Phar goes," she insists. "Unless he feels we should go our separate ways." She looks to Phar to see what he thinks.

Aureus is perturbed by Maur's insistence that she leave the group on a solo mission. She is soon glaring at him with her arms crossed. "You do not speak for me, Maur Deepdelver," she insists again. "And, Sir Quinn has more of a reason than me to return to Carnell to tell her about the blackmailer and the risk of more wererats." She pauses. "But if the group votes for me to go back to Carnell to speak to Lady Pendour, then I will."

Maur nods and holds his arms up in surrender.
"I wouldn't dream of speaking for you, lass, you mentioned earlier that you're doubting the wisdom of coming with us and when we talked about using Qi and her preferences for quiet life I got the impression you're about to return to Carnell."

"We should not divide our forces," Quinn says. "Aries has said he will go and tell Lady Pendour of the threat. If he gives his word, I will trust him to do so."

"I will tell her. I promise. I owe you that much," the Soldier of Iron replies. "After that, I must go back to the brotherhood and tell them... everything. And, I will speak on your behalf to the elders and show them this." He holds up the results of the commune that Maur has given to him. "Hopefully, they will trust in the gods."
[/QUOTE

"We need to agree upon the next few steps, but it may be better to sleep on all of this first. We should consider buying a wand of endure elements among other things. I can prepare couple of spells for that, but it takes from my other options."

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Angus nods.

Angus says, "I could do with a little rest. Let's sleep on it, and approach it with fresh minds in the morning. But I must agree with Quinn, I am loathe to be splittin' up the party."

 

[JustinCase]

Caerth is not sure how sleep can help him and his turbulent emotions, but at the very least it refreshes the spells he can cast. The half-orc druid merely nods and follows Aureus to find the horses.

 

[Knightfall]

"Thank you, both. We may need some more divination after that." Maur nods

"I can prepare Sendings for her and for the fort in the morning. It will be much faster than anything we can send on foot, but the information is limited to a sentence or two."

"Magic must play its role," Quinn says. "Best to warn Lady Pendour that way."

"Thank you. That will help with the details of the threat."

"Yes, your sending should let her know I am heading back to the village with more information," Aries replies.

Maur nods and holds his arms up in surrender.
"I wouldn't dream of speaking for you, lass, you mentioned earlier that you're doubting the wisdom of coming with us and when we talked about using Qi and her preferences for quiet life I got the impression you're about to return to Carnell."

"My doubts were about.. him," Aureus motions to Aries with a tilt of her head. She looks at the Soldier of Iron. "Try not to be too offended."

"I gave you all plenty of reason to distrust me," Aries replies to the hutaakan. "For now, I must go my own way... after I deliver your message to Lady Pendour. I hope that if we meet again, there won't be any need for anger."

"We will see," Aureus says.

"We need to agree upon the next few steps, but it may be better to sleep on all of this first. We should consider buying a wand of endure elements among other things. I can prepare couple of spells for that, but it takes from my other options."

"A good night's rest is a good idea." Aries nods in agreement. "I will set out early in the morning before the sun rises and ride for Carnell."

Angus nods.

Angus says, "I could do with a little rest. Let's sleep on it, and approach it with fresh minds in the morning. But I must agree with Quinn, I am loathe to be splittin' up the party."

"I am with you until the end," Aureus assures. "We find Eike."

Caerth is not sure how sleep can help him and his turbulent emotions, but at the very least it refreshes the spells he can cast. The half-orc druid merely nods and follows Aureus to find the horses.

While Aureus and Caerth search for the horses in the scrublands, the rest of the group heads back to the inn to get some much needed sleep. It has been a while since you've been able to sleep well for two nights, and it takes a bit of time for each of you to relax. Quinn and Ivoron wait up for the hutaakan and the half-orc to return with the horses.

Mazz wakes in the middle of the evening and he and Maur stay up for another two hours swapping stories about the Underearth and sharing three fine bottles of mushroom wine. It has deep earthy taste but doesn't have a mule's kick. The old deep gnome tells Maur several interesting stories from their homeland, as well as his time in Deepwater on the other side of the continent. He speaks of the Shining City with some longing.

"I'd love to go back for one more visit," Mazz says while sipping his wine.

Eventually, Aureus and Caerth return with the horses. They didn't run into any trouble in the wilderness, although they did hear coyotes in the distance. The duo even found the villagers' other two draft horses that hadn't been killed by the ogre and goblin orcs.

"If we leave the coyotes alone, they'll leave us alone," Ivoron notes as he takes the horses into the stables, cleans them up, and waters them. The horses had found each other -- well, most of them -- and hid under an outcropping to beat the heat. It had been near a small watering hole. Screech helped find the other two -- Muar's pony and Quinn's horse. They were in a worse state, but Caerth was able to tend to their wounds. Both would need a lot of water.

Once the horses are stabled, Ivoron comes to lead Mazz back to his house. The old gnome's cheeks are rosy but he's not totally drunk. He pats Maur on the knee and hands the last bottle to the dwarven champion. Maur soon finds himself sitting with the others at a makeshift fire. All except for Aries, who went to sleep early. The bottle of wine is passed around but everyone is careful not to drink too much. Aureus and Caerth both head off to sleep early -- tired after chasing down the horses. Ivoron heads to his room behind the stables. One by one, the rest of you find your way to your rooms or find a place to sleep under the stars.

Both Angus and Caerth are the first to sense the change in weather. The heat breaks around midnight. A storm rolls in from the sea and hits the coast hard, but up in the heath, there isn't any rain. But the temperature plummets and cold wind begins to blow the brush and grass.

By dawn's sliver of light, there is a slight frost spread across the land around the Hillwall Inn. The day is overcast and the air is cool.

Aries is up before dawn and saddling the horse set aside for him. He prepares to leave early. Four of the villagers chooses to go with him back to Carnell. The woman (named Audrey) who survived in the copse of trees alongside Nicholaus and three halflings gather up what they can and prepare to depart alongside the Soldier of Iron.

Nicholaus is staying on as the inn's new cook and both Penelope and her brother are determined to stay at the inn and find their own way in life. When anyone tries to convince the girl to go back to Carnell, she sticks her fingers in her ears a sings loudly to drown them out. Her brother can only watch; he isn't ready to force her to go anywhere.

"I have to stay with her," he says to the heroes. "I can't abandon her. And, we don't have anything to go back to without our parents. Our house was burnt down by the rooks, and we don't have anyone else to look out for us. Ivoron has promised me work as a courier between the fort and Helt."

"The girl will be safe here," the half-elf doorman assures Maur.

Aries mounts up on his horse alongside Audrey who is riding one of the draft horses along with a halfling woman named Erari. The other two halflings are mounted on the other draft horse. The Soldier of Iron will lead them down from the heath back to Carnell.

"I will defend them with my life," Aries says back towards Caerth as he leads the villagers away from the Hillwall Inn.