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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hayek" data-source="post: 5497108" data-attributes="member: 53760">Chapter 5 - A New Home (s. 11)5.2 A Family Reunion (Part 1) The party arrives in Erik’s home town of Trannyth so the lone human in the party can pay a visit to his adoptive elven father, Varna. Aramil asks about Erik’s relationship with his parents, and Erik attempts to explain his strained connection to his adoptive parents, and relates the story of what he knows of his birth parents, with his adoptive father having an affair with his birth mother and then taking Erik into his family thinking he was his own bastard son, but then realizing he wasn’t, and how Erik later slept with the Queen of the Empire of Nerath to discover that his birth mother is now married to the vile Sir Uthrin, whose kingdom was somewhat warring with Verind’s Edge and the Empire of Nerath before it was destroyed… Aramil tries to listen attentively, only letting his eyes glaze over a little, and eventually nods with a “So, it’s complicated…” <img src="http://theboundarylands.fileave.com/ElfCity2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> A Chilling Reception Walking through the town, Perin recognizes some old acquaintances, as he spent some time hunting in the forests of Quinalyn. Invicto and The Zaza, the only two party members who haven’t spent significant time in Quinalyn are quite taken with the raised homes built into and on the trees of the town. The party’s entourage of Verind’s Edge survivors heads into the center of town to find a tavern at which to pass the time. Erik remembers the streets of Trannyth well, and figures he should get straight to what he came for. The party soon turns onto a quaint wooded lane, and Erik is flooded with memories of his childhood. His parents’ home stands in the shadow of several massive trees. A richly adorned house, it is one of several homes in Trannyth that was constructed to stand on its own, rather than built into a tree. Erik strides up and knocks on the front door. A servant he doesn’t recognize answers the door. The servant is quite taken aback with the motley crew that appears armed to the teeth. He asks them to state their business, and Erik says he would speak with Varna. The servant asks if he has an appointment and Erik replies that he does not, but just to tell Varna that Erik has arrived to see him. The servant informs the party that the master of the house is currently not in, but that he will ask the lady of the house if she will see them. Erik nods begrudgingly and lets out a sigh once the servant closes the door. Erik’s relationship with his adoptive mother, Brenys, was abrasive to say the least. She never really accepted the human as her son, and was glad to see Erik go when he finally struck out on his own. The door opens and Brenys stands in the entryway with a vitriolic gaze. She is well-dressed and adorned with a variety of gaudy jewelry. Erik offers, “Hello, mother.” Brenys replies, “Erik, I’m so disappointed to see you again.” Erik ignores the remark. “I’ve just arrived from the Boundary Lands. We were serving in Verind’s Edge when war broke out with the orcs and goblins of the Torin Plains and the city was destroyed.” Brenys seems incredibly uninterested in hearing Erik speak. She cuts him off, “I still don’t understand why Varna didn’t just toss you in the river when you were a babe. Get out of my sight and take your human stink with you.” She promptly shuts the door in Erik’s face. The party is silent for a moment, and Erik says, “Well, let’s go get hammered!” The party heartily agrees and heads back to the center of town to find the nicest pub Trannyth can offer. Erik briefly recalls meeting a former servant of his father, Gregor, in Verind’s Edge some time ago, and wonders if he could track him down, but he has no idea if Gregor made it out of the city before the attack, or even if he would head back to Trannyth after Verind’s Edge was destroyed. He puts it out of his mind, and the party heads into the pub and commences the drowning of sorrows. They are only about thirty minutes in when an older elf walks into the pub that Erik recognizes. The man is Elkas, a servant of Erik’s adoptive father. He scans the room, spots Erik, and heads straight to him. “Erik, I’m so sorry about Brenys. Your father would have given you a much warmer welcome. These past few years, he has spoken often of how much he regretted how you were treated, and how he wanted to make amends for sending you away. He even spoke to me about making some changes to his will to include you. Unfortunately, he went to visit your brother, Luwin, about two months ago and hasn’t returned. Luwin sent word that your father fell ill, and that he has been caring for him there in his town. If you haven’t heard, Luwin bought up the lands and title of a debt-ridden noble deep in the forests of Quinalyn – a small village named Osteros.” Elkas glances down at the bar and lowers his voice. “I’m worried about Varna.” “You think he’s in danger?” Erik asks. Elkas purses his lips. “I shouldn’t say any more. I just wanted to let you know how your father felt. I should get back to the house before Brenys notices my absence.” He nods to Erik and takes his leave. Asking around the pub, the party discovers that the small village of Osteros is somewhat on the way to Arastur. They decide to pay a visit to Luwin and to check in on Varna. They promptly take their leave of Trannyth and travel southwest for a few days. Osteros is somewhat off the well-travelled roads of Quinalyn, in some of the deeper, more dangerous woods, so the party decides to leave their entourage of Verind’s Edge survivors in a larger city near Osteros while they pay Luwin a visit. They travel for a couple days on their own through thickening forests and wild underbrush and arrive in the small village of Osteros as a noonday sun peaks through the tree canopy. Meeting the Locals As the party approaches the city, Aramil decides it might be smart to separate himself from the party. Assuming Luwin’s intentions are sinister, the eladrin thinks the party might benefit from having an ally in town that Luwin doesn’t know is connected to them. So, he decides to hang back for a few hours, letting the rest of the party go into the town on their own first. He’ll then follow them into town near sunset, posing as an independent traveler. <img src="http://theboundarylands.fileave.com/LuwinsTown.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> As the party enters the small town, they can see a large keep standing on a raised hill in the distance, towering over the village. It actually includes stone construction, though vines cover its walls and towers. The party decides to look around the town before calling on Luwin in the castle. Unfortunately, the village is so small there are really no public areas to be found. They do make their way to the center of the village where there’s a small marketplace with some activity. As the party walks into the market they draw inquisitive looks from the villagers there, some looking concerned and disapproving. The party notices that all of the villagers are elves and eladrin. A huge, hulking elf emerges from the crowd and approaches the party. Most elves are slender and graceful in their physique, but this elf is thick and brutish, the biggest elf the party has ever seen. His teeth are filed into points and he approaches with a gruesome smile. He addresses Perin in elvish. “What is an elf doing with this trash?”, he asks derisively and indicates the party with his hand. Perin attempts to play along and responds in elvish, “Sometimes the hunter must walk with the prey.” This draws a sharp laugh from the villager. The rest of the party isn’t sure what transpired. Erik recalls a little elven from his childhood, and gathers that the villager called them trash and then Perin made some joke about hunting. The hulking elf turns to the rest of the party and speaks in broken common, “You not welcome!” Erik speaks up and says, “Are you the person in charge here?” The elf laughs and says, “Yes, Brakkus in charge!” This draws chuckles from the villagers, who have now all stopped to watch the exchange.Perin interjects to say that Brakkus should stop squabbling with these lesser creatures. He tells Brakkus he looks like he would be an impressive hunter and asks him about the largest kills he’s taken down. Brakkus is flattered and says that maybe he’ll hunt with Perin later, but the elf then turns his attention back to the rest of the party. “You not welcome! You go!” The party looks at each other, not sure where this will lead. Suddenly a short, thin elf emerges from the crowd, calling out, “Welcome to our fair city, visitors! I apologize for the townsfolk, they aren’t used to visitors. Brakkus, back to work!” The gathered crowd begins to dissipate. The new elf introduces himself as Calwyn and invites the party to follow him up to the keep, explaining that the town doesn’t have an inn, and visitors are welcome to stay in the castle. The party agrees to follow him and heads out of the marketplace. As they leave, Brakkus calls out, “Enjoy your stay at the castle!” and the comment draws laughs from the villagers. The party notices one young eladrin woman in the marketplace that doesn’t join in the laughs, however. Standing by a vegetable cart with a half-filled woven basket, she instead has a look of concern, and perhaps pity, as she gazes at the party.</blockquote>

Verification