The Reconquista: Part I (Shadows over Istivin)

"Nobody soiled my corn flakes, we don't have any corn flakes. We don't have any food in the house yet. Of course that doesn't matter as you are spoiling my appetite with your talk of ponds full of recostituted cow flop. That's a memory I'd have just a soon have left in the past." With that he stalks upstairs in search of some rations an uncharacteristic scowl on his face.
 

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Branding Opportunity said:
When you wake, it is with a shout or a sob and you find that you have been perspiring heavily, your bed sheets damp with sweat.

Reivik comes down from his room, dark circles under his eyes.

"This is all wrong," he mutters. "It's not right here."

Early in the morning a short missive is delivered by messenger. It simply states,
“I have heard of your nighttime encounter. We may be able to help each other unpuzzle it.

Respectfully yours,

Algorthas”

"I'm in," Reivik declares, once Algorthas is explained to him. "We need all the help we can get!"
 


After breaking your fast on some cured meats and dried fruit left over from your trip, you don your gear and head out to track down this Algorthas. Unsure of exactly where his home or shop is you stop a youngish tinker, dragging his livelihood in a cart behind him and ask him for directions.

"Who?" he questions, his face a bemusement. "Oh that old hermit! Yes, he lives in an old, empty temple in the Abandoned Quarter. You can't miss it. Two story building, squat, pretty run down, on the corner of the block." The man shakes his head before picking up the cart and continuing along his way.

The Abandoned Quarter greets you long before you step foot in it. The smell of rotting organic matter from the Effluvium is overpowering, and you guess that the wind is blowing in your direction at the moment. You quicken your pace, leaving the last occupied house behind you as you travel towards your destination.

As the tinker promised, the abandoned temple is easy to find. It sits on its own grounds and is made entirely of red brick. All its windows are bricked up so the only way in seems to be through the large wooden double doors which stand partially open. Once inside the structure the smell thankfully abates somewhat, but the main sanctuary seems to be empty. Numerous pews, chairs, and shelves have been neatly stacked in a corner and the central, wooden alter has been covered by a very large, white cloth. The only light comes through a stained-glass ceiling, depicting a fresh-faced Oerdian woman with long black hair and dark blue eyes carrying a large, illustrated tome in her hands. It seems to be one of the few things which is in pretty decent shape here.

The room is silent and a small door to your right seems to be the only exit.

OOC: Anyone with even a single rank of Knowledge (religion) recognizes the woman depicted above to be Lirr, a lesser Oerdian goddess of prose, poetry, literature and art.

Even though your sleep was interrupted you got back to bed and were able to rest enough to recover your spells (after some meditation/study).
 
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Morley Human Ranger

Morley follows the others, but lacks his usual joviality. He suffles along occationally mumbling complains under his breath.
 

"Goddess! This smells worse than a giant's wallow..." Mavic exclaimed, pulling his long scarf about his face in an effort to reduce the damage of the horrendous odor. As the group entered the temple, the dark mage relaxed some as the stench abated.

The Reddogs, following behind the group at a respectful distance, were unfazed. more used to the vagueries of peasant and unpleasant odors than the noble mage they formed a raucous, wedge of crude humor whispering and giggling amongst themselves at the rear. Mishell and Eshanna, somewhat prudently, tried to keep their strides more in line with Mavic's as the young men's talk turned to discussions of bodily fluids and impolite activities common to all creatures.

Impatiently tapping his foot, Mavic turned to his companions upon seeing the apparent truth to the statement "abandoned temple".

"So, sirrahs and gentlewomen, shall we wait or look for the bell?"
 

Latalya

Latalya watches Morley's bad mood, wondering if it will get any worse, if they stay here for long. There seems to be some vile influence lingering in this city and affecting all those within it. Lost in thoughts, she ponders, whether a 'simple' dimensional trick during the night could prevent that influence from affecting them further, while they walk towards the Abandoned Quarter. When they arrive the temple, the elf snaps out of her thoughts as Mavic speaks.

“Since we are invited, we should not let our host wait,” Latalya says, while pushing open the old temple's front door, heading inside afterwards.

Once inside, the elf says in a louder voice: “Is this the place where Algorthas lives? We came here following his invitation. To meet him.”
 

Latalya's word seem to hang in the air for a moment, making you wonder if you are in the correct building after all.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of feet climbing stairs coming through the closed door to your right. It soon opens and reveals an elderly man of mixed Flan-Oerdian ancestry. He is balding and has long, grey hair which hangs limply at his side. He is dressed in plain orange and brown robes which fall just above his ankles. He has a long, horse-like face with a pronounced nose on which sit a pair of pince-nez glasses.

He clears his throat, "You must be the ones they told me about. Right this way, please." Without waiting for an answer he turns around and makes his way back down the steps.
 


Latalya, Mavic:[sblock]You notice that small glyphs and sigils are inscribed on the door jam and lintel. They are Suloise in origin and seem to indicate that a powerful abjuration warding of some kind is or was in effect here (OOC: impossible to tell without casting detect magic).[/sblock]
 

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