Old friends
As we knew that Leone took a public carriage to Enzyo Mons, we first ask the people operating the station about a person matching Leone's description. They confirm that a man like that took a carriage to Enzyo and that he booked a trip to Nalaam afterwards. We're a bit surprised by that information as taking the train to Nalaam via Sid Minos would be the fastest and most comfortable way to Nalaam (been there, done that), so maybe this is just another red herring, but we'd go after it anyway.
But first things first. So we rent a carriage up the volcano ourselves and arrive at the flank of Enzyo months short but uneventful trip later. We take the steep trail up the mountain, ignoring all the small chapels along the way until we reach the famed cathedral of Triegenes at the top of the mountain, right next to the crater.
We take a closer look at the cathedral and Carlyle remembers the Crisillyiri custom to throw either offerings or demonic artifacts into the lava. Therefore, we guess that it would be likely that Leone used this opportunity to get rid of Grappa-golem's head as he might just have feared that the mind of Grappa mind could have still been inside it.
We try to use magic to find more about Leone's further progression from here, but the Ob's divination blockade seems to be too strong for even the cleverest of our spells. We search the surrounding area thoroughly for further clues and find an unused ticket to Nalaam, which seems to confirm our suspicion.
Being stuck in a dead-end, we leave Enzyo Mons with one carriage ticket and return to Alais Primos. Unsure about what to do next, we muse whether asking the drivers of this station about Leone might be a good idea, but as they work in shifts, this might actually take days. And time is running short.
As we're confronted with the fact that we might just need to stay a couple of days in the capital, Auryn suggests that Carlyle might very well use some of the spare time to maybe visit his old deva comrades. It must have been years if not decades since he last heard of them, she says. Carlyle is very much taken by surprise, then seems suddenly insecure for a moment.
“Maybe next time when we don't have work to do. This isn't the right time for a chat with old... friends”
Auryn nods and adds that she understands. Also, there will most likely be a “next time”, so no need to rush.
(This was one of my hints for Tiz to maybe use the people in Carlyle's backstory who turned deva, just like him. Right now, the use of NPC stemmed almost solely from Auryn's background and it would really be a waste to not use them instead of another random NPC should we ever return to Crisillyir. But yeah, that's a rather long story there...)
Auryn then suddenly has a flash of insight as she realizes that Leone had to stay somewhere for the night, so maybe we'll find more clues in his pension. And maybe Grappa took this as an opportunity to leave some breadcrumbs for us to find. So we ask the kobolds for the address, head to said pension and ask politely whether we may search Leone Quintal's room as he forgot something important to him when he left.
At first, the room seems innocuous, but a closer look at a stylized painting of the Avery Coast Railway, we find a small message written in Grappa's handwriting that says “heavenly holidays in Sid Minos”.
“Oh Grappa, you stupid yet clever man” Auryn mumbles and then points to said passage.
“So maybe he truly took the train and fake-faked his passage to Nalaam. Let's see where his trip took him from there” Carlyle adds, takes his hat and leaves the room.
Now that we know that Sid Minos is our next destination, Carlyle casts a teleport spell to bring the two of us to a hidden place near the train enclave. Suspecting that Leone might have taken the train, we ask a receptionist at the train enclave for a gentleman fitting Leone's stature. And fortunately, the man can tell us that said man left the enclave in the company of a small group of people (whose description we also ask for) not too long ago and that some of them were bragging about finally being able to bet money in Nalaam's famous casinos.
So we take another teleport to Nalaam and ask the very same nice porter we encountered back during our “honeymoon trip” about Leone and his gang. The porter recognizes us from last time and, after a short and friendly chat, reveals that this rag-tag group were bound to visit an etablissement with holes. Fortunately, we know exactly what he's talking about, so we both have a quick laugh and nod knowingly before giving the man a good tip for his excellent service. Still we take the opportunity to take a closer look at Leone's room and find yet another sign of Grappa, this time in the form of a golem maker rune on the location of Trekholm on a fresco of the Avery Coast Railway.
On our way out of the hotel, we coincidentally cross paths with Lord Kulp. We realize that Kulp might be able to hand us more information, so we approach him. Auryn, unsure whether he'd directly draw the connection to her Amiranya persona, pretends to be a big fan of the arena games and asks him for a private visit to the grand arena. Kulp seems pleasantly surprised and offers her a tour this evening.
We then travel to the “Holes” and guess that Leone, being a Crisillyiri, might have used the brothel as a distraction from his visit of the local Familia. Therefore, we pay the new Capo de Cina a courtesy visit and congratulate him on his position. The man seems pleasantly surprised and invites us to a small chat and a glass of wine. We spend some time to talk about Pietro and his love and marriage to Venezia and the Capo de Cina is glad to hear that his cousin has found true happiness in Flint.
We bring up the issue of Leone, and hint that we're pursuing him for crimes in Flint. Suddenly, the man turns a bit more reserved and wars us to not underestimate Leone or the Quintal family. He tells us that Leone did indeed visit him and that he handed him a sealed envelope containing most likely a good amount of money. So he guesses that Leone must have some really powerful friends in Crisillyir which would make him a truly dangerous man. Oh, and he was accompanied by a bony looking man who might have been a fey pepper addict, but he wasn't too sure about that.
We thank him for the valuable information and promise to stay safe as we've seen what Leone is capable of first hand. Then we say goodbye and promise to send Pietro his regards.
Then we return to the center of the city and Auryn parts ways with Carlyle to attend to her appointment with Kulp. She expects a rather standard tour and plans to reveal her true intentions later, but is then pretty surprised to be lead down an empty hallway by two well-armed guards. She ends up in a small, private room where Lord Kulp already awaits her with a charming smile and drinks.
Kulp welcomes her warmly, offers her a drink and then asks her for her true intentions. Auryn first thanks him for his help while they were dealing with Elanor and then talks a bit about her search for Leone, a dangerous conspirator who had imprisoned one of her relatives. Kulp, who already knows that Auryn is a Vekeshi, asks for her affiliation and she truthfully states that she's in league with the loge of Flint.
“Ah, Flint, the territory of the Old Stag. He's got quite the loyal flock and his roots of influence go deep. Unfortunately, I am the only one of our kind in Nalaam, so my eyes cannot be everywhere. Unfortunately, this Steel Shaper has eluded my sight so far, but I will inform you as soon as I get information on him.”, Kulp says with a seemingly sad undertone, and Auryn replies that being on the lookout will be enough for her, so no worries.
“I'm sorry that I could not help you as much as I wish. Still, it has been a pleasant evening and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see you once again, Miss Amiranya.”
“Auryn. That much I owe you.”, Auryn adds with a genuine smile and prepares to leave.
Then, Kulp's eyes widen a bit. “You are the one they sing songs about in Elfaivar? The one who dared to battle against Kalenian Vardanis, the Mad king? Is it really true what they whisper about the matriarchs and the winds of change?”
Auryn nods calmly and confirms everything he said: “It is true. And if we wish to have a chance for a peaceful future in Elfaivar, then we'll have to dethrone this Madness eventually.”
Impressed by her statement, Kulp weaves a quick spell across his face to reveal his true self as a Magelord of Nalaam and explains that he's the real deal, not just one of the puppet Lords the others put on display. He then takes a bow and promises to fight by Auryn's side with everything he has to offer should the time for war arise.
“It would be an honor to have you by my side, Lord Kulp”
Auryn then bids herself goodbye and returns to Carlyle with a smile on her face.
(I really wasn't expecting this reaction of Kulp, so this was a grand surprise for both me and Auryn. Which transformed the usual gathering of information into such a beautiful scence. Really glad that Tiz remembered their connection and that he made Kulp so invested in the Elfaivaran affairs.)
As we knew that Leone took a public carriage to Enzyo Mons, we first ask the people operating the station about a person matching Leone's description. They confirm that a man like that took a carriage to Enzyo and that he booked a trip to Nalaam afterwards. We're a bit surprised by that information as taking the train to Nalaam via Sid Minos would be the fastest and most comfortable way to Nalaam (been there, done that), so maybe this is just another red herring, but we'd go after it anyway.
But first things first. So we rent a carriage up the volcano ourselves and arrive at the flank of Enzyo months short but uneventful trip later. We take the steep trail up the mountain, ignoring all the small chapels along the way until we reach the famed cathedral of Triegenes at the top of the mountain, right next to the crater.
We take a closer look at the cathedral and Carlyle remembers the Crisillyiri custom to throw either offerings or demonic artifacts into the lava. Therefore, we guess that it would be likely that Leone used this opportunity to get rid of Grappa-golem's head as he might just have feared that the mind of Grappa mind could have still been inside it.
We try to use magic to find more about Leone's further progression from here, but the Ob's divination blockade seems to be too strong for even the cleverest of our spells. We search the surrounding area thoroughly for further clues and find an unused ticket to Nalaam, which seems to confirm our suspicion.
Being stuck in a dead-end, we leave Enzyo Mons with one carriage ticket and return to Alais Primos. Unsure about what to do next, we muse whether asking the drivers of this station about Leone might be a good idea, but as they work in shifts, this might actually take days. And time is running short.
As we're confronted with the fact that we might just need to stay a couple of days in the capital, Auryn suggests that Carlyle might very well use some of the spare time to maybe visit his old deva comrades. It must have been years if not decades since he last heard of them, she says. Carlyle is very much taken by surprise, then seems suddenly insecure for a moment.
“Maybe next time when we don't have work to do. This isn't the right time for a chat with old... friends”
Auryn nods and adds that she understands. Also, there will most likely be a “next time”, so no need to rush.
(This was one of my hints for Tiz to maybe use the people in Carlyle's backstory who turned deva, just like him. Right now, the use of NPC stemmed almost solely from Auryn's background and it would really be a waste to not use them instead of another random NPC should we ever return to Crisillyir. But yeah, that's a rather long story there...)
Auryn then suddenly has a flash of insight as she realizes that Leone had to stay somewhere for the night, so maybe we'll find more clues in his pension. And maybe Grappa took this as an opportunity to leave some breadcrumbs for us to find. So we ask the kobolds for the address, head to said pension and ask politely whether we may search Leone Quintal's room as he forgot something important to him when he left.
At first, the room seems innocuous, but a closer look at a stylized painting of the Avery Coast Railway, we find a small message written in Grappa's handwriting that says “heavenly holidays in Sid Minos”.
“Oh Grappa, you stupid yet clever man” Auryn mumbles and then points to said passage.
“So maybe he truly took the train and fake-faked his passage to Nalaam. Let's see where his trip took him from there” Carlyle adds, takes his hat and leaves the room.
Now that we know that Sid Minos is our next destination, Carlyle casts a teleport spell to bring the two of us to a hidden place near the train enclave. Suspecting that Leone might have taken the train, we ask a receptionist at the train enclave for a gentleman fitting Leone's stature. And fortunately, the man can tell us that said man left the enclave in the company of a small group of people (whose description we also ask for) not too long ago and that some of them were bragging about finally being able to bet money in Nalaam's famous casinos.
So we take another teleport to Nalaam and ask the very same nice porter we encountered back during our “honeymoon trip” about Leone and his gang. The porter recognizes us from last time and, after a short and friendly chat, reveals that this rag-tag group were bound to visit an etablissement with holes. Fortunately, we know exactly what he's talking about, so we both have a quick laugh and nod knowingly before giving the man a good tip for his excellent service. Still we take the opportunity to take a closer look at Leone's room and find yet another sign of Grappa, this time in the form of a golem maker rune on the location of Trekholm on a fresco of the Avery Coast Railway.
On our way out of the hotel, we coincidentally cross paths with Lord Kulp. We realize that Kulp might be able to hand us more information, so we approach him. Auryn, unsure whether he'd directly draw the connection to her Amiranya persona, pretends to be a big fan of the arena games and asks him for a private visit to the grand arena. Kulp seems pleasantly surprised and offers her a tour this evening.
We then travel to the “Holes” and guess that Leone, being a Crisillyiri, might have used the brothel as a distraction from his visit of the local Familia. Therefore, we pay the new Capo de Cina a courtesy visit and congratulate him on his position. The man seems pleasantly surprised and invites us to a small chat and a glass of wine. We spend some time to talk about Pietro and his love and marriage to Venezia and the Capo de Cina is glad to hear that his cousin has found true happiness in Flint.
We bring up the issue of Leone, and hint that we're pursuing him for crimes in Flint. Suddenly, the man turns a bit more reserved and wars us to not underestimate Leone or the Quintal family. He tells us that Leone did indeed visit him and that he handed him a sealed envelope containing most likely a good amount of money. So he guesses that Leone must have some really powerful friends in Crisillyir which would make him a truly dangerous man. Oh, and he was accompanied by a bony looking man who might have been a fey pepper addict, but he wasn't too sure about that.
We thank him for the valuable information and promise to stay safe as we've seen what Leone is capable of first hand. Then we say goodbye and promise to send Pietro his regards.
Then we return to the center of the city and Auryn parts ways with Carlyle to attend to her appointment with Kulp. She expects a rather standard tour and plans to reveal her true intentions later, but is then pretty surprised to be lead down an empty hallway by two well-armed guards. She ends up in a small, private room where Lord Kulp already awaits her with a charming smile and drinks.
Kulp welcomes her warmly, offers her a drink and then asks her for her true intentions. Auryn first thanks him for his help while they were dealing with Elanor and then talks a bit about her search for Leone, a dangerous conspirator who had imprisoned one of her relatives. Kulp, who already knows that Auryn is a Vekeshi, asks for her affiliation and she truthfully states that she's in league with the loge of Flint.
“Ah, Flint, the territory of the Old Stag. He's got quite the loyal flock and his roots of influence go deep. Unfortunately, I am the only one of our kind in Nalaam, so my eyes cannot be everywhere. Unfortunately, this Steel Shaper has eluded my sight so far, but I will inform you as soon as I get information on him.”, Kulp says with a seemingly sad undertone, and Auryn replies that being on the lookout will be enough for her, so no worries.
“I'm sorry that I could not help you as much as I wish. Still, it has been a pleasant evening and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see you once again, Miss Amiranya.”
“Auryn. That much I owe you.”, Auryn adds with a genuine smile and prepares to leave.
Then, Kulp's eyes widen a bit. “You are the one they sing songs about in Elfaivar? The one who dared to battle against Kalenian Vardanis, the Mad king? Is it really true what they whisper about the matriarchs and the winds of change?”
Auryn nods calmly and confirms everything he said: “It is true. And if we wish to have a chance for a peaceful future in Elfaivar, then we'll have to dethrone this Madness eventually.”
Impressed by her statement, Kulp weaves a quick spell across his face to reveal his true self as a Magelord of Nalaam and explains that he's the real deal, not just one of the puppet Lords the others put on display. He then takes a bow and promises to fight by Auryn's side with everything he has to offer should the time for war arise.
“It would be an honor to have you by my side, Lord Kulp”
Auryn then bids herself goodbye and returns to Carlyle with a smile on her face.
(I really wasn't expecting this reaction of Kulp, so this was a grand surprise for both me and Auryn. Which transformed the usual gathering of information into such a beautiful scence. Really glad that Tiz remembered their connection and that he made Kulp so invested in the Elfaivaran affairs.)