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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 205272" data-attributes="member: 93">The town of Everbright, Kingdom of Caer Sidi, June 25th, AE 420Before leaving, the party manages to find out another thing or two about this strange place that they find themselves in.  The Thendar (whom they have been mistaken for) are from the City of Thend, a place noted for its vast Library.  They speculate that perhaps the Library is the reason for Kentfield’s presence here, but set that idea aside, as he appears to be headed in the opposite direction of the Library.Reana takes the leads of the horses and drives the cart down the road to Duke Alfric’s castle.  Brennen rides beside her, while the others sit in the back of the wagon.  They are coming down out of the mountains now, and into forested lands.  The underbrush has been cleared away, and the road is well-maintained, although rather deserted.The journey is uneventful until Reana pulls up the horses and stops the wagon.“I hear someone approaching,” she says.  “A wagon or cart, and maybe some other horses.  Coming pretty fast.”A few moments later, a horse and cart come into view, approaching from the direction of the castle.  It is driven by an elderly fellow in grey-blue robes, and he waves frantically as he passes the group.“Bandits on the road!  Bandits on the road!  Look out!”  His cart careens past the party’s, and hits a rock along the side of the road.  One wheel breaks, and driver and cart contents go spilling out all over the road.The party gets out of the wagon, leaving only Reana at the reins.  The Ranger casts an entangle about eighty feet ahead, just where the road turns away.  Shortly afterward, a group of about eight bugbears, mounted on horseback, comes charging into view.  Several get stuck in the entangle, while some manage to ride around it.  Brennen braces for the charge of the first bugbear, sword ready.  Reana casts speak with animals.“Stop running at us!” she says.  “Throw your riders!”“OW!” the horses respond.  “Ow!  They keep kicking us with these sharp metal things!”The first bugbear reaches Brennen.  The Sword of Kelanen looks in Reana’s direction.“Don’t look, Reana,” he says, and swipes hard at the bugbear’s horse!The battle is joined, and it’s not a pretty one from the bugbear’s point of view.  A number of them leap out of the entangled area, and begin firing arrows at the party, but Soldago returns fire on them as well.  Gavin, Reana, and Brennen cut them down rather quickly, with aid from Aris and Corwin’s spells.Jovah flies over to the cart’s driver.  The old man is dazedly getting to his feet and surveying the situation.“Are you all right?” the gnome asks in gnomish.The old man nods yes, and Jovah flies back to the group, keeping an eye on him.  The luck-priest is concerned that this could be a trap set by Kentfield, although they have no reason to think Kentfield is aware of their presence in Caer Sidi yet.The bugbears are being routed at this point.  Several mount up and flee in various directions, and Gavin and Brennen mount up to chase them. Brennen mounts up on the horse he had previously injured, which turns out to be a bad idea, as when he catches up to his quarry, the bugbear bandit swipes at the horse, not the rider, and Brennen goes down in a heap as his mount dies.  Gavin kills his quarry, and Jovah flies off after one last bugbear, who surrenders.Brennen trudges back to the group.  Reana looks at him disapprovingly.“I’m not sure I’m talking to you right now,” she says.“Hey,” Brennen replies defensively.  “I didn’t kill the horse, that bugbear did!”“Right,” Gavin responds, bitingly.  “Way to rationalize, horse-killer.”They round up the other horse, seven in all, and then turn to the elderly man.“How’s your horse?  Is he injured?” Gavin asks, looking at the horse still lashed to the overturned cart.“What? Oh, never mind him,” the old man says, and with a snap of his fingers, the horse vanishes.  “I will, however, be needing a new cart,” he adds ruefully.He introduces himself as Theodisius, and as it turns out, he is a Thendar.  He explains that the Thendar are a group consisting primarily of scholars and sages.  He had just recently left Duke Alfric’s castle, and was headed to Everbright.  The party offers him a ride back to the castle to buy a new cart, and load his boxes and such in their wagon.  They quiz him all the way there, learning a great deal more about this land in the process.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">He hasn’t seen Kentfield or Quinn.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">He has no knowledge of any of the events from the elvish novel, and isn’t familiar with the name of the Thendar mentioned there.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">He hasheard of the insane elf, though, and remembers him being barred from the Library of Thend.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Library is open to anyone who has a recommendation from one of the Thendar.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">He is familiar with the party’s homelands, and with planar travel in general.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Duke Alfric is a powerful wizard in his own right, and will undoubtably require the party to see him.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If Kentfield is staying at the castle, he would be considered a guest, and therefore would have the Duke’s protection.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Duke Alfric is rumored to have the castle protected so that teleporting enemies get shunted off into dungeon cells if they try to teleport into the castle.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Although attacking someone in the castle would be  grounds for reprisals, any non-offensive spell casting would be overlooked.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The elves (or Pharisees, as they call themselves) are vulnerable to iron and steel, which is why they do not use those metals.  Silver causes them discomfort, but not injury.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Pharisees are non-religious.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Summer Solstice here is taking place in 5 days, just as on the party’s homeworld.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There are Solstice Celebrations held at the castle.</li> </ul>As they ride to the castle, they begin seeing unusual things; they see several mounted griffons flying overhead, patrolling the skies; they see herds of sheep grazing on the grass, keeping it short and trimmed, and tended by dwarves wearing the bronze collars marking them as slaves; and finally, they see several unicorns, just at the limit fo their sight, grazing in the neatly kept forest.  The shy creatures bolt into the trees as soon as they realize they are being watched.“The unicorns are protected by law,” Theodisius explains. It is late afternoon when the party arrives at the final approach to Duke Alric’s castle.  The castle is a tall, beautifully built structure, seeming to the party like something more out of a fairy tale than a castle of their world.  The Griffon-banners flutter over the parapets, and elven knights man the walls.  The gates stand open, and various people, slaves and free mill about in the outer bailey.“You realize that we’re probably going to meet Kentfield, and we won’t be able to fight him directly,” Brennen says to Jovah.“Yup.”The group takes a collective deep breath, and rides in.</blockquote>

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