NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Isida Kep'Tukari" data-source="post: 3842512" data-attributes="member: 4441">When you wake Yatrax up, she simply sits up and pulls on her clothes and leaves, ignoring your comment.  Not ignoring in the "How dare you speak to me, peasant!" kind of way, nor the, "How drunk was I last night that I ended up in bed with you?" but more along the lines of she didn't even acknowledge your existance.Strange.  You take a moment to use the rest of the ink Yatrax left behind (you'll have to pick up some chalk or something if you keep binding indoors) to mark out Paimon's symbol on the floor, after shoving all the furniture out of the way.  Paimon appears as you entreat for his presence, whirling on his bladed limbs, speaking his garbled voice, as you ask for his power in exchange for the experience in the real world.Paimon gives a very crooked grin as he agrees, and you feel your face twisting slightly, once side of your mouth becoming bigger than the other.  You feel Paimon lodge in your soul, and you know that today, Paimon has the better of you.OOC: You only get an 11 on your binding check, so poor pact today I'm afraid~~~~~~~~~~~~~As the party slowly comes together and discusses their options, a burly and weathered man in neat traveling clothes comes up to speak to you, at the head of a dozen wagons.  He bears the badge of the Transportation Guild prominently embroidered in fine threads on the breast of his tunic, so chances are he is the caravan master, something that's borne out a moment later."I understand you're our passengers," he says without preamble.  "I'm Caravan Master Vorj Toppe...  He trails off a little when Irthos and Maavnod come into view.  Irthos literally by chosing the highest wagon in the caravan and perching."Ah, you aren't expected to fight if there's trouble, we have our own defenders for that," he continues after a second, gesturing at the men and women that are mounted at the sides of the wagons, all of them bearing the yellow and green badges of the Blademark's Guild.  "But I wouldn't say no if you happen to pitch in against any bandits or beasts we encounter.  We'll be making major stops at Starilaskur, Hatheril, and Xandrar before we get out of Breland, then Niern and Greenheart in the Reaches.  After that, you'll be on your own, unless you want to strike out before then.  It'll take us a couple of months to complete our rounds."His expression is somewhat tight and drawn, a little closed and impassive.  Both Irthos and Valerian get the impression [spoiler]that he's rather reluctant to have you along, but has been forced into the situation.  Probably this man owes Andoran a favor, and this is how he's repaying it.[/spoiler]The timeframe for the carvan isn't outrageous.  It's a trading caravan, after all, and stops in each village to unload goods and pick up others.  This isn't the fastest way to get from place to place certainly, but perhaps Andoran couldn't spring for the lightning rail.  For one reason or another.As the group loads their luggage and mounts up, Master Vorj begins the caravan, knowing it'll take a while to get it going.  Thosing chosing to ride on wagons can find space in the kitchen wagon, and the group can string themselves out as they see fit.  The apprentice caravaners and merchants, servants and guards generally all look at you strangely, but no one seems to want to talk to you.  At all.Oliver notices something when Yatrax rejoins the party.  She seems pleased to see him even with his mouth all skewed and slanted, perhaps even more so than last night."I'm glad to see I didn't scare you," is her only comment.The caravan moves out under the warm Brelish sky, heading westward.  The day is overcast and the weather is slightly rainy, and most people plod along under their raincapes with the typical resignation of people who travel for a living.Outside of New Cyre, farms and small villages dot the landscape, plants already growing profusely in the wet weather.  There are still scars of war in some places, as evidenced by fenced-in graveyards of prodigous size, the occasional place where obviously some battle spell took affect, and the fact that the population of some of the towns is more dominated by the old and the young than those of fighting age.  The caravan stops at several small villages to deliver crates of various goods, picking up fresh foods and other agrarian products.  Though you keep your ears peeled, so far no hints of the mysterious locked-room murders.  Not until the end of the week anyway.  You're within a day of Starilaskur, and the travel on the road has gotten thicker and thicker with other caravans, travelers, soldiers, and farmers.  The large village of Ulman was to be your final stop before the large city, and when you had arrived, Master Vorj had conducted his business like normal, trading his set goods and then bedding the caravan down for the night.  In the morning, the caravan was to finish up a transaction with one of the Guildmasters and then continue onward.Instead you're awaked by shrieking in the dim light of dawn."Host's mercy!  Host's mercy on all of us!" someone howls.  The screaming is enough to wake everyone, and Vorj (and any of the party who so desire) go to find out the source of the wracket.  A young man is backing away from the door of the Tanner's Guildhouse, keys in one hand and the other pressed to his face.  The open door shows blood spatter on the inside, and those crowding around can see the mauled body of Master Tanner lying in the middle of the floor, clawed as if by some beast.The young man's shrieks have roused much of the town, and it won't be long before the guards arrive.Master Vorj stares at the body with a combination of shock and faint anger."Keeper's breath, it only needed that to make my trip complete!"OOC: Valerian, while Arrgha'n's description certainly could be the work of an ethereal filcher and/or maurader, why they'd suddenly pop in and kill and rob with no reason or rhyme is odd.  It would be more likely that someone is tempting or inducing them to come, or might be in league with them.</blockquote>

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