Evrail, that was just outright wrong to say... let me rephrase it for you... eat it very fast os the taste won't linger" as Einar cracks down laughing "It's not that bad just eat the damn thing, or you will regret Balmoren cooking..."
When Garrett talks tries talking to Boris, the halfling just snorts and pretends to have not heard the question, moving off to do a quick round of the perimeter before rejoining the group at roughly the same time as the two younger gnomes and everyone starts eating. The rest of the evening passes uneventfully. Aluhanna and her group continue south early the next morning as your group proceeds north.
The rest of the journey to Frontier is much of the same. The road does seem to be getting a bit busier as several groups are coming down from the Iron Valley to start setting up for the summer season in Tent City. At one point, you run across a small group that has an old acquaintance of Balmoren's who requests the witch's help, and Balmoren ends up going off with him. Otherwise, the weather is more or less what you would expect for midspring, starting to get warmer with the occasional storm.
The city of Frontier is not the biggest or the brightest in the Confederacy, but to a road weary traveler, it is impressive enough. Sitting at the base of one of the arms of the Dragonspine Mountains, it's importance as the northern base for the Confederacy's army, as well as proximity to a number of small lakes that are popular summer time attractions, keeps the many craftsmen and laborers there busy.
The party finds the local ATA compound, and get directions to a decent inn close by where they can stay while they resupply and do whatever other errands they need to do before departing north.
Einar pats Garret in the shoulder "We are just joking with him Garret" as he points to the now very happy new camper.
"I don't expect you to understand my taste." as he smiles back at Garret "We are from different places and cultures, even if we share something in common" as he walks to serve himself some "stew" "Now if you excuse I haven't eaten anything yet."
Nice to meetcha, Garrett, I'm Atokos. He says, shaking Garrett's hand. Yeah, I'm travelling North. Hell, I'm really just travelling. Anywhere's good. Atokos eats the soup slowly, glad to have something warm to eat, although less pleased by the texture. You know, this stuff isn't bad. It's not the taste that's lacking, it's the texture, really. Too thick for my tastes, at least.
"Just wait and see" says Einar as he winks at Atokos.
Einar almost chocked with the stew as Atokos mentioned the texture, as he ended up coughing and spiting out the stew trying hard not to laugh "See! I told ya he had some sense o'humor in him!" as Einar tries to calm down and to eat the rest of the stew "Now let's finish the stew before you actually kill me with my own spoon and Garret's stew."
Einar sets up his own room at the inn and spends most of his time drinking and having a decent "meal" "I can't really tell Garret he is a decent cook now" as he continues eating.
Atokos sets up a room at the inn as well. He'll spend some time drinking with Einar, and at some point ask, "So, do you guys mind if I tag along wherever you're going? I don't have any pressing engagements, and your lot seems a fair bit of fun to stick around."
The more we are the safer it is is all Einar says
Garrett, as you wander about the town, you stumble across a bit of a colorful shop and museum. The dwarven clan that runs both is currently led by a Crulimin Runehouse, who is a bit eccentric, and has devoted his life to locating and studying ruins and artifacts from the ancient giant empire that used to dominate the northern part of the continent. The museum houses a large collection of artifacts, maps, and other information he and his clan has managed to collect over the last severla decades, and is open to the public on a limited basis, and scholars by appointment. It is widely regarded, you are told, as the largest such collection outside of the Remnant Hills. The museum and various exploratory expeditions are funded by the shop attached to the museum which sells replicas of notable pieces and maps.
While working your way through the museum, one of the staff members happens to overhear your intentions to travel north, and as you leaving, an older looking dwarf, who turns out to be Crulimin himself, stops you at the door, and asks if you, along with any interested companions, perhaps might be willing to meet with him at some point before leaving town to discuss some possible business ventures checking out a few ruins that have recently come to his attention, but has not yet been able to arrange exploratory parties for.
Crulimin makes a better offer. Instead of settling for tavern fare, he invites the party to dinner in his clan hall that evening, where not only will the party have a higher quality of food, but he can reinforce his explanations with examples of what they are generally looking for.
"As long as I don't find a spot in his museum for me or you it will be fine." as Einar grins at Garret "After all we are valued commodities as a race and in some places more of a pest, but nonetheless very rare. as Einar is resting with the others "Well I shall try my best at haggling with him, after all he is a dwarf..."
"Does he want live or recently dead or long dead attractions?" Evrail says after hearing Garrett speak of the Museum. He believes sure a job would be good work.
"What do you say, friend, care to join us for dinner later? I told Crulimin that we had four in our group and I'd hate to have him think me a liar."
"Sounds good to me. I don't have any other particularly pressing engagements," Atokos says with a smirk.
Evening comes, and you make your way to the clan hall behind the museum. YOu are greeted warmly by Crulimin, and along with a few other guests, enjoy a very pleasant meal. Most of the food is definitely designed around the dwarven pallet, not surprisingly, but there are touches here and there that make it surprisingly diverse in flavor and cultures. Afterwards, he invites you to his study, where he and his chief field officer explain the job at hand. Reiterating the primary mission of the museum for the benefit of the rest of the party, Crulimin explains that he seeks artifacts from the ancient giant empire, and gives a brief history lesson to help you understand precisely what he is interested in.
Politically, they stayed out of the affairs of their dragon neighbors to the south and southeast, do initially, the Dragon Civil War did not overly effect them; however, as it dragged on, some of the leadership started to become concerned by the participation of the other gods in what was essentially a family feud between Bahamut and Tiamet. As this outside interference grew more and more, so did the giants' concerns, and one group of mages in particular started seeking out a possible escape plan. Starting quietly with experiments in what is now the Feywood and the Valley of the Giants, they developed a plan that would allow the giants to port their empire over to a pocket plane to escape the brewing disaster. While this plan was met with great skepticism, the growing conflict convinced the majority of the giants that it was their best option, and after further development, they implemented it, leaving behind the landscape that folks today were familiar with.
The main question that Crulimin and his clan seek to answer is precisely what the operation entailed and if the plan worked as intended when it was put into action. Resolving this question would go a long ways toward resolving the greater instabilities that still plagued much of the world today. Many scholars view this action by the giants to be one of the first of many magical instabilities that were introduced to the world over the course of the Great Conflict, and while they know a decent amount of the later instabilities, they know very little about this one, and why the Time of Wild Magic seemed to have little to no effect on the regions shaped by it.
The biggest thing they are looking for is anything on this group of mages, although anything that helps them better understand the culture of that time is helpful as well, even if not directly. To this end, they have started to catalog and document the various ruins left behind. Right now, there are two ruins of interest they need explored. The first is a small door that they believe is the entrance to a tomb about a hard day's travel off the main road to the Iron Valley. The second is in the Iron Valley itself near the end of the Dragonspine Mountains, and appears to be a giant sized complex that may even extend under the base of, and into the Dragonspine Mountains, which would be a major find in and of itself, as the party would be well aware of.
The last thing you are shown are some samples of objects that they know belonged to this mysterious group of mages. The objects you are shown are mostly small ones that can be easily carried and used for this purpose, but they all have one thing in common. They all include bands of gold and silver surrounding sections of red, blue, white, and green. The precise arrangement of the various parts of the symbol and the materials used vary from object to object, as shapes and overall quality vary, but all of those parts are present in some way, shape, or form.
After a few moments thinking, Atokos says, "If everyone else is good with this, it sounds fantastic to me. This is exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to participate in. Sure glad I joined up with you folks."
"Welcome aboard Atokos, there is always room for another crazy one like us..." smiling at him in a very fake forceful way as to look crazy "After all by the time we are done talking people won't know the difference."
This is a very interesting collection of things they have here" as Einar frowns upon the "giants" as overseers, "I hates both giants and trolls... not to mentions hags, and now they were once overseers... Glad they are now nothing more than savages worthy only of my axe.
Einar approaches Garret for a moment "I need to speak to you in private" as they move a bit away from the group "Don't sound greedy when you say this..." I think we could help the dwarves cause of investigating the small cave first as it seems to be an easier access, of course for proper reward or maybe something we could find in there in exchange of our services. This would make us look good and maybe begin to sell them what they need to keep this place running perhaps?" I hope he falls for it... as Einar smiles and begins to feel soiled about the way he is talking to Garret but in the other hand it would be neigh impossible if I spoke to him more bluntly and tell him we are going for the loot and glory.
The chief archeologist's eyes go wide as Einar pulls Garrett off to the side. After just staring it for a bit, Crulimin quietly, and suddenly very intently, asks Evrail how they acquired this ring.
"Well I apologize for my small interruption but we would like to help with your endeavor of exploring this perilous sites" as Einar looks at the dwarf and crossing his arms "There is just of course the question of establishing our partnership in this endeavor"
Crulimin looks at his chief archeologist who after a brief examination nods and says, "They're the real thing all right." Crulimin hands the ring back to Garrett. "Well, it appears that a partnership is indeed in order, as the rings are particularly unusual, being made for each member of this order upon their induction. Keep them close, for while we know little about how they work, we do know that they often functioned as keys. As for the partnership, we have setup a training program that should allow you to better understand what we seek and how to seek it. Once you have completed that, you can come back here or to one of our research bases scattered throughout the borders of the Great Waste for information on further sites to explore and to report on anything you may have found. Pay is based on the amount of information and artifacts returned to us, with a minimum amount determined by the size of the sight and how much "house cleaning" was required. As you work with us, further training will be made available. If you are interested, we can give you the details of the site we believe is a tomb, and give you some basics on proper exploratory archeology techniques before sending you on your way."
"That sounds excellent to me. I can't wait to get started. If we're going to start right now, I'll be needing to go get my equipment as well, if you don't mind."
"Sounds reasonable to me as well." Evrail says.
As long as we get to keep when eh "clean" I see no problems with the deal"[/b]
"Excellent, but there is no need to start tonight, and of course you can keep the majority of what you find, especially weapons and armor, although we would like to at least be able to examine such things. After all, any knowledge, even indirect knowledge, is helpful in our pursuit. We can commence training tomorrow morning, when you are all rested and and ready to go. We'll start with a complete tour of the museum so that you have a solid starting point, and from there, we can break you off with the appropriate teachers."
Second, everyone can choose one of the following traits (feel free to come up with your own rp regarding the exact training and name):
*Dangerously Curious: +1 UMD, UMD is a class skill
*Dump Salvager: +3 Perception to look for concealed items
*For What It's Worth: +1 Appraise, Appraise is a class skill
*Linguist: +1 Linguist, Linguist is a class skill
*Mathematical Prodigy: +1 Know (arcana) & Know (engineering), one of these is a class skill
*Reactionary: +2 Initiative
*Scholar of the Great Beyond: +1 to Know (history) & Know (planes), one of these is a class skill
*Trapmaster: +1 Disable Device, Disable Device is a class skill
You spend a couple more days in Frontier, keeping busy in morning with individual lessons, and the afternoons are filled with helping out around the workshop, learning more about the history of the giants as you aid in the minor tasks that abound in the busy shop. Evenings, you are invited to join the clan in the clan hall where you are treated to further stories and good company, along with more of the same good food and drink you had the first night.
Once you have completed the training, you once more meet with Crulimin and the head of the field research department in the clan hall in the afternoon. "I trust you have enjoyed your studies, and hope you find them useful in the field. This is Cora, our chief field researcher, who will fill you in on the details of your first target site, or at least the details we know."
With that he turns the conversation over to Cora, who gets right to the point. "As far as we can tell on the information we have on the site and results from similar sites, this should be fairly straight-forward. It's about 100 north, northwest of Frontier, and can be a bit of a challenge to spot if you don't know what you are looking for. It is surrounded by a small ring of stone pillars, which should not be confused with the dirt pillars roughly the same size that dot the entire area. If you do confuse them, and quite possibly even if you don't, be prepared to deal with the nixs, a small race of magicless fey that infest the entirety of the Great Waste. The door itself is one the side of a small, shallow ravine, and we believe it to be the grave of a giant nobleman from the later period of their empire. While we do not expect anything too earth shattering inside, the date of the tomb, along with the fact that the tomb does not appear to have been disturbed gives us hope that we might be able to fill in our understanding of the later period, and maybe even firm up some of the dates on our incomplete timeline of that period."
Evrail listens as Crulimin speaks taking note of what is said.
Einar listens carefully taking in all the information given and looking at Garret as he makes his question. Well he beat me to it, he is a clever one
"You shouldn't have to worry about anything on that front. From what we've been able to gather from the local tribes that inhabit that region it's been known about for some time, and no one has ever done more than make an impression of door and move on, if they've even done that much. It's also not a sacred site or anything along those lines, so you don't have to worry about anything on that front. We are fortunate in that most of what we find to be potentially valuable about the site also serves to make it not particularly valuable to anyone else. Because we are so focused on giant culture, we find such sites as this quite useful for creating the larger picture, but few others would care about what a minor noble on the fringes of a dying empire has to offer in practical value."
"Sounds good to me."
"Off we go than."
Einar begins to walk towards the exit "Damn you guys are slow, I'm almost outside waitin' for ya" as he smiles at the group and continues on his way.
After gathering any last minute supplies, the party heads out, and follows the road north until the Dragonspine Mountains break, and you see the edge of the Iron Valley on the east. To your west, the land remains the same throughout, mostly flat, mostly grass, and few landmarks, a deceptively simple appearing landscape that Evrail understands hides a surprisingly large number of dangers. The weather is nice today, but threatens to be make tomorrow's travel interesting, with a large cloud bank moving into the area you will have to pass through. Setting up camp that night, your fears are realized as the storm breaks around midnight, and promises to stick around for several days, making navigating the unfamiliar terrain of the Great Waste even more challenging.