The game continues here from the previous episode, DM-Camris' Second Darkness Part 2--Children of the Void.
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Liz will approach the others at the casino. Hey, hey. I found out that some of Slyeg's men were following me around, seems that he really wants his skymetal and will be coming after us for it.
Those of you who accept the invitation arrive at the Gold Goblin Gaming Hall to find it as busy midday as usual.
Those of you who remember owning the place see almost none of the old employees. There are more roughneck sailors, miners and forgers than you recall; more danging girls and fewer of the well heeled clients than the old days. That lent itself to a more raucous atmosphere than it used to have.
Was it just last month? You must be getting old.
When you enter, one of the girls immediately grabs you and leads you upstairs to one of the private card rooms.
The place is resplendent with red velvet and gold braid. There is a nice smorgasbord laid out to one side against the wall, and on the other a baccarat gaming table arranged for all of you. Standing in the dealers place is Kwava, dressed oddly in a formal dealers vest and jacket.
Phlegmatic as usual, he arched an eyebrow and gestured at the seats.
"Would madame and gentlemen care for a few hands? The house has advanced you all one thousand in chips in gratitude for past favors."
He professionally pushed forward a stack of chips to you as you sit.
At Liz's outburst, Kwava put his finger to his lips, went to the door, looked out either way down the hallway and drew the heavy curtain across.
Returning to the table, he twisted one of the light sconces and you feel the sounds from the exterior muffle to near silence.
You also hear sounds coming from this room that you don't make; the sounds of riffling cards, and random words like 'Two', 'Check', 'Banquo', and 'Out'.
Kwava nods at this, satisfied.
"There. Now we can talk in confidence."
Ahem, yea. well we have some unhappy people checking in on us.
Kwava nodded.
"Yes indeed. Something about missing Skymetal? Fortunately for you, there are a number of charlatans wandering about today, selling artifacts and skymetal shards from Devil's Elbow."
He riffled a deck of cards with aplomb.
"That will attract a lot of attention away from you. They shouldn't realize it's a lot of colored obsidian until tomorrow at the earliest."
He leaned forward.
"But I was hoping you could tell the tale of your adventures on the island, and what you found there."
He looked at you with some intensity.
"And... who."
Zephram says, "I would imagine that much of it remains, still, on the isle."
Well, we did encounter some elves who were doing some experiments on the strange creatures there and they were rather dark-skinned. Pretty much all of them are dead as far as I know. Liz looks at the others. We found some books, right?
You have Kwava's interest now.
"Tell me."
Rezol rolls his eyes, mostly uninterested in the discussion. "Damned elves put up a hell o' a fight. They was good for that, at least."
"Dark eleves. The same as were in collusion with Saul before we....dealt with him. Experimenting on the Akata to creat who knows what. Ther's even circumstantial evidence they may have somehow been behind the Starfall itself." Zane says calmly.
They set up shop for quite some time. Had a lot of skymetal. Liz produces some of the notebooks they recovered
Kwava eagerly listened to your tale of desperate heroism, the seige, the descent into the cliffside caves, the hidden outpost of evil black elves, and what you found in the journal you captured.
Afterward he fell silent. He seemed to be thinking very hard for several minutes before he looked up again.
Kwava pauses for a minute to gather his thoughts, a deep furrow worn into his brow.
“These are... grave tidings.
"When you discovered Vancaskerkin was working with one of the dark elves, I could hardly believe it. Now I realize there are far more
terrible events in motion.
"If the drow have learned how to pull stars from the sky, none of us are safe."
He went to the door to check for eavesdroppers, then he turned back.
“I'm afraid I must ask a great favor of you.
"My employers, the Shin’Rakorath, have only recently revealed to me the full extent of the drow menace in Celwynvian. As much as I would dearly love to see the city, they have ordered me to remain in the Riddleport hinterlands to keep watch for any further drow influence. Yet they have also expressed interest in hearing from you directly.
"This journal you found, combined with the one recovered some time ago from Vancaskerkin’s drow accomplice, would be of great use to my kin in the Mierani Forest.
"The Shin’Rakorath and I ask you to carry these journals to Crying Leaf, a small camp in the eastern reaches of the wood.
"Take it to Eviana, the leader of Crying Leaf. She will know what to do.”
Zephram says, "I'm sure pulling a star from the sky isn't a simple or casual magic, even for them. They seemed very interested in studying the creatures and the starmetal, which implies it may have been the first time they've done such a thing."
Well since we're in danger of getting visited by the local crime lord, it seems best we take a vacation. So I'm up for heading out.
Zephram says, "There a small matter of commissioned work, but then I'm good to go. "
Rezol shrugs noncommittally. "I'm jus' glad t' be off that stinkin' rock. I'll go where th' fight is, an' it seems the rest of these folk are glad t' take me," the half-orc says with a boastful tone.
Well I reckon we should get stuff ready. We'll need horses and a wagon since I am no good riding.
Kwava:
Clearly relieved at your agreement, he pulls out a common map of Varisia.
Putting his finger on the map, he showed you the route was not so much a highway as a winding dirt road that quickly becomes a Varisian caravan path. It leads north from Riddleport, following the Velashu River for much of its length, rarely veering away from its winding course to reduce travel time.
The route to Crying Leaf follows this road until the Calphiak Mountains recede to the west. About 45 miles north of Riddleport, a hunter’s
trail branches off to the west—it is this road that leads to the rim of the Mierani Forest and the settlement of Crying Leaf.
Looking up at Liz, he frowned.
"Well, you see, the road to Celwynvian isn't so much a ROAD, per se, as a set of trails. A horse could make it through, easily enough, maybe three to five days; but something with wheels is likely to make the trip caravan slow. That, or walking, perhaps, would make the trip at around 11-15 days."
Horses then, we should have enough from our little expedition. Ohh...I am going to be so bow-legged
Liz everyone is ready, Liz goes and buys a horse,saddle and other stuffs.
"Alright we should get ourselves any necessary gear and prepare." Zane says pensively. Once the group separates he makes his way to meet Samaritha.
You are easily able to secure riding mounts and/or wheeled vehicles as you like.
She greets you with a smile.
Liz trots around rather unsteadily on her horse, her arms sticking out at a weird angle. Oh..I am going to be sore from this. Is everyone about ready?
Samaritha hugs Zane fiercely.
"To hell with the view," She said quietly after kissing him a little more thoroughly.
"I should be glad. They could have blamed me for the loss of the whole of our expedition, if I had been more than an intern.
"Now; there are positions that need to be filled, and I am the beneficiary of a number of sudden openings in research management."
She looked into Zane's eyes.
"I am so sorry they aren't taking the clues you found seriously. The stories of black skinned elves are mere legend to them. I know you need to go chase down the source of those elves, and whether they actually can pull a star down from the heavens."
She looked at Zane uncertainly.
"I really want to try to use our archives here to help, now that we know more of what to look for. But... If you need my help, I'll go with you. If you want..." She said tentatively.
Looking into Samaritha's eyes he gives voice to his thoughts. "The noble part of me is thrilled t the opportunity you have now, to really move up within the Cypermages, to use your talents to help save us all and find some answers. But the rest of me.....if I'm standing in the hell and the chaos trying to face down the world's end.....there's no one Id rather have at my side. I'm sorry....that's selfish."
Weapon sheathed across his back and all his belongings tucked away in his pack, Rezol doesn't look even the slightest bit discontent to be leaving the city behind.
Zephram says, reassuringly, "Your natural sense of balance should serve you well, though you don't want to overadjust. Of course, I'm not much of a rider myself."
This has the potential for hilarious mishaps along the way.Everyone have enough food?
Zephram nods, "I'm not certain that I understand the humour.... However, I purchased an extra week's worth to keep in my saddlebags.... though I imagine we could use magic or spend time hunting if need be."
Samaritha shuddered in your arms.
"After what happened on that damn island, I swore I would never venture beyond sight of a good inn ever again."
She smiled.
"Unless... it is by your side."
You set out on the north road in the morning.
Once you passed out of the shallow valley Riddleport nestled in, you came out of the perpetual smoke cloud the forge works threw up. You see the sun shine fitfully over the countryside. After so much time in riddleport, you are surprised at how much color there is in the world around you.
The lands north of Riddleport are sparsely populated, with a few struggling farms near the city and the occasional hunter’s lodge further afield. Farm animals abound here, and many horses and cows placidly looked at you as you passed.
The paved highway gave out after barely an hours travel, turning into a packed dirt road. The winding dirt road quickly became a Varisian caravan path as it lead north from Riddleport.
The route was only infrequently used by travelers making their way between Varisia and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, and you meet few along the road. Only the occasional Varisian caravan with a handful of wagons, oxen and families. They waive gaily at you as you pass.
This road followed the Velashu River for much of its length, rarely veering away from its winding course to reduce travel time.
Zane rides in silence, his eyes taking in the surrounding environment, his mind somewhat distant as they progress.
Rezol's eyes peer through the eye slits of his armor as the heavily muscled horse beneath him trots along.
Liz bounces along on her horse, in the middle of the group as they travel out fo the city. Being cooped up in Kaer Maga and Riddleport near all of her life, she is amazed at the change in scenery.
Despite his comments about riding to Liz, Zephram finds himself focusing on the task at hand a little more than the area around him, I suspect if I was the one that fell off, they would likely find that humourous...
Nakoda and Rezol spot the track off the trail, and find the caravan camp spot in time for nightfall.
Those of you with ranks in Survival can help the others with the details of camp life; firewood, hunting, gathering, watering, cooking, tending the horses, cleanup and so on.
The night passes unevenfully.
The next morning is cold and damp under rainfall, and travelling is a mud filled misery until midday, when the rain tails off and the sun starts to shine through and warm everything. The surrounding lands grow even more green and wild.
At about noon, any PC who makes the check notices a cloud of dust that seems to be approaching the PCs’ location.
A PC who makes the check can make out a host of mounted men riding in
front of the cloud, and that they’ll cross the PCs’ path in about 10 minutes.
Liz points to the distance. Dust cloud up ahead, looks like riders as well. Be on us in about 10 minutes.
Rezol grins, the comfortable weight his his weapon constantly reminding him of its presence. "Let 'em come," he bites out, sounding enthusiastic about the whole situation.
Do we want to keep going and move tot he side or get off the road?
Zephram says, "I would imagine that would depend on whether we wish to parlay with them or not. Perhaps they could advise us of any risks we might find on the road ahead.... Assuming, of course, they are not actually risks themselves. "