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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Galfridus" data-source="post: 150883" data-attributes="member: 119">Episode 22: "B.A.D.D. to the Bone"Rebellion camp, March 15, LE 654The party decides to take some "down time". Alamar, as the only man among them who is not wanted by the authorities for something, is elected to travel to Leston for magical components and supplies. While he is gone, Thorald meditates upon a new power: the ability to see people faraway, merely by thinking about them. The power takes a long time to manifest, and he has little experience with this kind of remote viewing. When Alamar returns he crafts a mask which amplifies the image in his mind. For his part, Alamar crafts a figurine of a creature of elemental air known as an arrowhawk: with this token, he hopes to be able to summon such a creature for an extended period of time. Jonetello takes the opportunity to read Lewis' journal, which spans the five years from the Count's execution to Lewis' death. Soon after the Count's arrest, Lewis snuck into the cave where he was found, searching for evidence of the Count's innocence. "But there was nothing," he wrote, "no scrap of paper, no footprint or sign of blood. Then I realized: if by all signs the Count is guilty, this must not have been the real Count!" He left Loxham for Greymount Isle, seat of the Blaumeres. He spent a year seeking evidence of Blaumere involvement. "The Blaumeres are devious and uncouth schemers," he concluded, "but if they masterminded this assassination, they concealed their plans exceedingly well." In particular, he noted the absence of any sign of the enchantment and illusion magic that he is sure would have been needed for such a deception. He did discover several oddities about the Count's trial, chief among them the fact that the court asked him his name before truth magic was cast. "They knew it was an impostor," he wrote, but that along was not proof.Frustrated, he returned to Leston and was nearly captured sneaking into Leston Keep to search for clues. He fled Loxham to the distant county of Highvale. He lingered there through the winter, until he heard the tale that would lead him to his death. One of the victims sacrificed in the cave, a farmer named Jack Frellens, had come from Highvale seeking a farm that belonged to his late uncle, Joseph Lonnenham. He was seeking this farm when he was killed; however, he was travelling on the Bog Road, south of Leston and several days from the cave where the sacrifices were made. It was this discrepancy which brought him back to Leston, to investigate the Lonnenham farm. "I find it strange should it come to pass that the farm lies so close to the cave yet have nothing to do with the affair. It is involved, somehow - I am sure of it." After exploring the farm, Lewis planned to travel south to Alban Keep, where legal records for the area are kept, and where Jack Frellens had been heading when he was abducted. Lewis' last entry was dated September 67, 653. "A narrow road leads north to the Lonnenham farm. I cannot be more than a hour or two's walk from the cave where the impostor Count was captured. I pray I will discover more now than was revealed to me in the cave, or indeed through long, dark hours on Greymount. Without proof of the Count's innocence, all the efforts of our rebellion will be meaningless." Jonetello relates this account to the party, as they debate their next destination. They are in agreement that they are not yet ready to face the forces of the necromancer, Malefice. Despite Lewis' journal, they do not feel they have enough information to take them in any particular direction. Their plans to travel to Thelden are meaningless, now that Mystarion is dead. The Shadow Lord Rasilar had tasked them to find the woman Dara, but they have no inkling as to where she might be. In the end, two goals present themselves: further research into Ardinor, and gathering of materials to construct magical items. Both goals would be well served in Merelin, the capital of Rellenor, so the party decides to head there. The usual route is by water, over Lake Drelmist; but that is Blaumere territory, and the party fears capture. This leaves a long, overland route, through the land of Sygwerdan.Sygwerdan is a green dragon of great age who rules the lands south of Rellenor, along the great river that bears his name. Many centuries ago, the rulers of surrounding realms made a treaty with the dragon to bring peace to their lands. The treaty was long and complex, negotiated between the dragon and elvish, human, gnome, and dwarvish ambassadors for nearly a decade before it was signed, creating the League of Sygwerdan. All subjects of nations under the League are required to acknowledge the dragon's sovereignty over his lands, and to act in a peaceful and respectful manner while within his lands. Attacking the dragon, or even conspiring to do so, is a capital offense: the treaty gives the dragon right of retribution for all treaty violations. (An example from earlier in the campaign: while the party was traveling this same road, they encountered a black bear. Entia, the party's druid, cast Animal Friendship and took the bear as her companion. No one thought anything of it at the time, but as Sygwerdan himself later informed them, removing the bear from his lands was a treaty violation. He took Entia in retribution, and she hasn't been heard from since...)</blockquote>

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