Aftermath of Arden's Fall
Bront said:
Mel gives Lady ir'Daga a location to send messages. "You can leave messages for me there, and I'll get them."
After giving the Lady the House Sivis station you were picking up your messages from, your little group can return home. No one is really hurt, but the mental stress of the day is still exhausting.
Not two days later, Mel swings by the House Sivis message station to find a letter waiting for her from Lady ir'Daga.
Darling, I have managed to arrage a meeting in a public place, but it can quickly become private for you both, should you desire it. House Thuranni is having their Blade Gala at the end of this month, and Layferi will be attending. I have enclosed an invitation for yourself "and friends," so you can take that ruggedly handsome young man along as a bodyguard (not to mention the rest of your companions).
Mel realizes, perhaps with a start, this is the same Gala Harolk was invited to. While it might seem rather strange that a Phiarlan would attend a Thuranni event, it
is an openly-held party, and the two houses aren't in conflict, they're just friendly business rivals... surely.
Shenystari spends the next couple of weeks in deep meditation with both her fellow kalashtar as well as Opal, attempting to discern if Arden left any further "hooks" in her. Slowly she can help the young noblewoman find the paths of light within her own mind, building her own mental calmness and strength as she wanted to, but this time without hidden traps in her own mind.
Rayni can do further research, much as she was doing before. The realization that she would be away from the fine Morgrave Library for months had finally hit, and she was cramming as much knowledge into her head as she could hold in an attempt to prepare herself for the journey to come. [sblock]Doing further research into the last enigmatic comment about your dragonmark, that perhaps a dragon could help you control your strange dragonmark, you begin a new line of research. You have to part with a bit more gold, almost a full platinum, to get access to one book that seems to hold your answers. Even then it's far less that you would have hoped. It's a slim and battered tome on dragons, containing what little knowledge is known of them. Apparently the book was written by an explorer who spent a great deal of time amongst the Argonnessen barbarians. He speaks of the rituals the barbarians used to gain faint echos of draconic power, like fleeting wings or being able to see in the dark.
But in the back of the book are two much-battered pages, seemingly ripped from another book and sewn into the binding. They speak of something called the "Draconic Prophecy," something the author freely admits can be interpreted many ways. He mentions that dragons might study the heavens, or dragonmarks, or the rise and fall or empires, or the way swallows migrate to gain insight into the workings of the world. But it's clear that if study is done and a wider world-view taken, a person can gain great insight into the cosmos, and indeed into their own soul.[/sblock]
Bail, in the last couple of weeks you've managed to get in a few more games, but Lorn, the man you were replacing, is finally healed. The splint and crutches are gone, and Lorn is aggresively trying to get himself back into top shape. Within a week or two he's going to be ready, and the team is honestly torn. They want their old friend Lorn back on the field, but would hate for their new buddy Bail to feel he had to leave.
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Strolling Around Sharn's Welcome and Ship's Towers
Someone said:
"I have the funny feeling that company will become even stranger, very soon. Which is kinda good, because beating those snobs at the duelling club and getting their money was becoming boring quickly. You are the only one keeping things interesting there"
Querzana smiles broadly. "
Aye, I've felt the same, you're the only one I'd care to tangle with. The rest just aren't as good as you, and too much winning is boring indeed."
Erekose13 said:
Hxaptos strolls on ahead, stewing in his own mind. If we see them again, we must be more careful. The Fury has left us, but we must be mindful of these agressive emotions.
"Right, if you see those two again know that they can attack our minds." he says in gruff explanation to Tondrek, Harolk, and Querzana.
Querzana raises an eyebrow for a moment, looks back at Harolk to see if he's serious, then shrugs. Hxaptos: [sblock]
What fun is there... the Fury still is here, in form of the angry beast within. Watch, the Fury will emerge from your breast yet, not in a form you'll recognize, but he'll be there all the same. Will you sacrifice yourself to him? Or will you keep calm, keep still, and let the anger drain away within without? the Voice murmurs in a dissonent sing-song.[/sblock]
stonegod said:
Tondrek will gaze around the vessels intently, trying to ask questions about seaworthiness, capacity, speed, and such in a very Tondrek-like way: i.e., thorough, but not cogent. After the first few attempts fail miserably, he will attempt to have one of his compatriots "translate" for him, trying to keep an eye out for the price of ships that may go to Xen'drik in the not-so-distant future (after the party, of course).
With searching about, the party can locate several boats leaving at the end of Barrakas. There aren't too many; the fall storms begin around that time, and only a couple of the strongest ships are making journeys then.
There's only two normal sailing ships (of the seven or so that might usually be going) heading out during that time. The
Mad Wolf has a shifter captain and crew, and their boat seems a bit shabbier than most. It's only forty gold apiece for the month-long journey, a bargain, but the crew has a reputation for being bloodthirsty. The captain can afford to charge so little because he often brings back trophies from sea monsters that he fights. If you board, you'll be expected to fight too. The other ship is the
Golden Saber, a neat and tidy ship captained by an older human man with a mixed human, halfing, and half-elf crew. They charge forty-five gold for the journey, but have a reputation for being a solid and dependable bunch.
There's a single soarwood ship going out, the
Bloody Trident. A sleek vessel with flying lines, she'll make the journey in a bit over a fortnight, but it will cost you eighty gold. The captain is a human woman called Adia Ironarm, and few would care to cross her. If she says she'll see you to port within a certain time, she'll do it over another's dead body if that's what it takes.
One Lyrandar ship is also raising sail a bit later, in the first week of Rhaan. The
Ocean Star is a luxurious, well-appointed vessel that can make the trip in a bit over a week and a half, but is a steep eight hundred gold a person. It's being chartered by Morgrave University for one of their teams, but there are some berths left for paying customers.
There are no wind galleons sailing around that time, but one could be chartered. And of course you aren't at the airship docking tower, so you didn't get a chance to ask them. But usually airships are on a charter basis only.
OOC: You guys can choose to meet back at home to converse and collect further information, or I can fast-forward to the Gala.