Time passes and the party either rests, converses, studies spells or does other things to entertain themselves for the next 8 hours. It is now the evening but you all receive a message to convene in the tent of Lady Shaylin and thus you are ushered in and take a seat. Cole still being tired from his Epathiny and not being one of your group is not in attendance during this meeting however.
Shaylin looks to you and says, "I thank you for your indulgance heroes. I shall now give you the clarification you required. The Shattered Ruins was once known as Hurim. It was a grand temple build during the time of the Ishtarian Empire to honor Paladine and the Gods of Light. But the priests there did not know that there was a betrayer in their midst until it was to late. The traitorous priest an alliance with the Ogres and the temple was overun by the forces of evil. Ever since then the Khur have considered the temple cursed and had left the temple abandoned. When the Cataclysm hit the world the valley was sealed off and nearly forgotton. But now my visions have revealed that the way forward has opened once again. You must bring the key there to find the answers you seek. However the place bears a heavy taint of evil. Restless and angry spirits of the dead haunt the place and thus if you go unprepared your may pay with your lives. You will need to acquire some elven relics that will allow you to slay the spirits there and protect you from the darkness within."
Shaylin pauses hesitating tremendously as though she was wrestling with an internal struggle of morality to say her next words to the party. Eventually though she continues to speak.
"I know of the location of a tomb of a great Elven paladin known as Enarathan the Ghost Bane, a hero that once fought in the war aginst Sylvyana the Ghoul Queen during her attack on the elven kingdom. Within a tomb in the Silvanesti forest lies potent relics that for fighting the undead. Although allowing the violation of a tomb of a such a great hero borders on sacrilege, I am certain the spirit of Enarathan would be accepting of his relics to be used for the cause of good. In the tomb you must find the Alurashern blade, the holy shield, the protective helm and the tree that cleanses. The armor must remain there however as taking his raiments is a defilement of the dead I shall not permit. I shall provide maps to both locations. Do you have any other questions you wish to ask of me?"
How soon must we depart Shalafi? inquires the wizard.
Shaylin says in response to Terevalis question. "The ruins of Hurim can wait for a while if you have other business to attend to as they have be abandoned for hundreds of years and can wait longer if needs be. As for the tomb of Enarathan itself, I leave to your discretion of when to go so long as it is before your journey to Hurim. The tomb is well hidden but I am not sure how through the Minotaurs are searching the forest for relics. In time they may discover the tomb and plunder it of relics as those Minotaurs have been known to do. Still there is also the importance of your test Terevalis. You will need to be strong to face the dangers of Hurim so I would recommend getting tested before you brave the dangers within."
Shalafi, do you suggest that I depart for my Test now? Am I that ready?
Shaylin nods to Terevalis and says in elvish, "I believe you are ready Terevalis. Your instruction by me is at an end. It is time for you to become a wizard in your own right and become a true Wizard of High Sorcery."
"I must return to Ak-Khurman, other than that I am ready to take on this quest. I look forward to the path the herald called me out to follow. I only hope to be a shaddow of the ones he spoke my name with. Even if I reach that far I will have done great things. Thank you priestess. I hope I see you again."
Gabriel stands and takes the elf womans hand and gives it a gentle kiss.
"I will see to it the grave is disturbed as little as possible. I'm sure the honorable spirit of this elven hero will guide us as we move forward."
Jor is mostly listening to the discussion as he imagines his letter to the Company "Well, seems like we all are traveling to the same direction. Alathea, as I need a bit time before we depart so I will exclude myself for a while before we move forward"
Shaylin smiles at Gabriel and says, "Do as you must sir Gabriel, if this quest is more urgent then by all means complete it before continuing this task with the Key of the Quinari. Indeed if you are going to Ak-Khurman I would ask that you bring Terevalis along with you. He will have business with the mage of Khurman Tor there and it is paramount that he arrive there safely. Can I trust for you to see to his protection during the journey there?"
It appears, Knight of the Crown, that we travel in the same directions.
Shaylin opens her desk with a key and digs through some papers. She takes out what looks like a map of the region and marks two locations on the map. She then walks over and shows the map to the party with the two locations marked on it. Hurim appears to be at the midway point between Ak-Khurman and Pashin not to far from the Burning Sands region. The tomb of Enarathan on the other hand appears to be a day or two journey into the silvanesti forest south of the burning sands. So while Hurim could be visited along the way, the trip to the tomb would be a side trek for the party.
If we are to find undead in Hurim perhaps we should find the weapon of the Silvanesti Paladin before we venture to the Temple.
"Ak-Khurman it is. Though first I will need to retrieve something from the city. Then we can e on our way".
Shaylin after showing the map, stores it in a wooden scroll case and hands it off to Terevalis. She then looks to the party and says, "Is there anything else you wish to ask of me before you depart on your quest heroes? You may not return here for some time so if there is any knowledge you wish me to impart before you leave it would best to ask me now."
In Elven We will say our farewells later, Shalafi .
Once the groups discussion is over Give me a day or two before depart so that I can prepare scrolls to help on these quests.
Will think of some last minute questions for the elf once I have some time. Intense meetings the last few days.
Jor thinking for the moment as he will be heading with Alathea till Ak-khurman Tell me, what other creatures we might be facing than just goblins, minotaurs and spookies? Is the Tomb of the Elven hero trapped or is there necessary things to be done by Terevalis? Jor asks just to be sure about their progressing later
To Jor's question she says, "I cannot fathom what else you might meet out in the wilderness. What I can be sure that there is Undead in the ruins of Hurim. As for the tomb itself, there may be traps and other magical defenses as many elven tombs have such to protect them.
"I understand. Thank you for answering" Jor politely answers and nods
Later when they are back up from sewers Jor will be searching for paper, ink and quill to write his letter to Commander Gwynneth. Retiring to his room and spending time to write things down as he time to time takes a look outside of his window.
As he is ready and happy what he have, he then begins to translates it to their company secret coding. Ready and happy Jor seals the letter and pushes it inside his clothing for later time
Commaner Gwynneth,
The situation here in Pashin is like a huge pile of dry grass and wood together: you do not need much to ignite whole pile to cause a devastating results.
Khur people themself are stressed and a bit fearful about the invasion from Nerakans and their forceful moving of their citizen to "inhabit" the lands. The Elven people are - like always - prideful and bitter people swearing their own oaths and retribution.
What I have seen they are currently under somekind of disease and weakened. Additionally they are hiding under Pashin, in the sewers and there is not much potential allies or customer, although we can not count them out. Furthermore they do have their own plans in motion, which I am not sure but we would be wise to keep our eyes on them.
Khur themself are trying to push forward and live their lifes but there is the fear of Minotaurs. Mayor of the Pashin is craftier than we thought: According to my sources he has some dealings with Legion of Steel.
As stated with Mayor, Legion of Steel is active here in Pashin and they are trying to form network or intercept Nerakans politics and conquest here and maybe even do their own counter-attack. Might be potential customers but I have not yet had contact with them. I do have one member of them near me so I will try to get more information and report later about their potential
I have been succesful in contacting with Dark Knights and have already gathered some good profit as well fame with them and they seem to be willing to work together or hire our services. They seem to be desperate to have their foot in here Pashin and whole area. The fear of Minotaurs might let us get more Steel coins out of them, I believe.
The whole political and strategic situation in Pashin is like a nest of snakes: elves, dark knights, legion of steel and khurs themself are having a fight for the power. I do suggest to form a contact with Mayor and pry information out of him. There happens also to be underworld gang ongoing, someone called Blackbird. He might be problematic later so I suggest to get rid of him and get the underworld situation under our control to ensure some information network of our own.
Regarding that, I do already have plans in motion: I have taken under my wing and promised to a young promising woman - called Dove, ex-courtesan - a position in our Company. She has connections all over Pashin and knows the situation as well be able to direct our forces in the local environment. I will vouch for her to be able to join Brass Tigers.
If we were able to push and support her and hire local people, we could have a solid information network in this region as well get trust of locals. This I prioritise as number one thing over others. None of factions have same kind of support as of yet and it could provide the necessary ledger to our cause.
Brass Tiger Company, Lieutenant Jor Majere
BaB: +1
Saves: Refl: +1 Will: +1
Overhand Chop (Ex)
At 3rd level, when a two-handed fighter makes a single attack (with the attack action or a charge) with a two-handed weapon, he adds double his Strength bonus on damage rolls.
This ability replaces Armor Training 1.
3rd level Feat: Furious Focus / Step Up / Combat Reflexes
He is going to attempt to scribe a scroll of Mage Armor and a Scroll of Rope Trick
Spell Craft Rope Trick 75
Spellcraft Mage Armor 12.5
Total 87.5 stl
Shaylin with all the questions asked and answers to her says, "If there is no other questions you may head onto whatever business you need. As a matter of safety I will call upon Nathalin to lead you through the hidden passage to the desert rather than back through the sewers. May the Gods watch your path heroes." She gives a respectful bow.
As for Terevalis he stays around the encampment studying spells.
Nathalin leads the rest of the party through a long tunnel that slopes up to the surface. Eventually you come to a bolder which moves thanks to a hidden leaver and you all find yourselves in some sort of small cave. Exiting the cave it is night out. You are lead through some winding rocks and then see the lights of Pashin off in the distance.
Nathalin says, "The town is not far from here. I expect that all of you will keep this entrance to our enclave secret. I do not know why Shaylin thinks you are so important but I trust her wisdom. Good journey to you adventurers."
And with that he vanishes back into the night, likey heading back to the enclave.
The party heads back into town which thankfully has calmed down as it seems the Dark Knights are no longer searching for you. All of you head to the Five Dragon Inn to rest for the night. In the morning you will be ready to do any side tasks before heading on your trip towards Ak-Khurman.
Later, after his writing of letter and thinking about possible future Jor descends back down to Tavern part of the Inn and looks out for Dove. As Jor does not see her in there, he decides to move to Wounded Crow.
Catching up with her Jor moves a bit closer and hugs her as he whispers to her ear "Dove, I will be moving out of Pashin towards Ak-Khurman because of contract. I wanted to ask you to stay here but I do have an important mission to you. I want you to start gather information and establish network here. If you need some Steel to help with the situation, how much would you need?" Jor inquires as he glances around them in the inn to see if someone were watching them or trying to hear what he was saying
Continueing with his whispering "I want only trusted information brokers and you will be the head of this network. If possible I want you to do it like this. You have 2 under you and only they know you as the head, they have further 3 under them and so forth: the purpose is that each step in the ladder knows only their boss and not further."
Revealing his smile to dove "and I can promise you, if everything goes according to my plan, well, let me say it like this: Blackbird will be taking a long flight with his goons... forever." as his hand squeeses Doves hand gently
Terevalis, after Scribing his scrolls, will show Cole what a spellbook is and let him study his.
I apologize that we cannot supply a spellbook for you at this moment but I have no trouble allowing you to share mine.
Cole says, "Well I appreciate it Terevalis as I feel totally powerless right now. I have to say I miss the feeling of being able to channel magical power at will from my fingertips. I'm going to have to experiment a bit to get used to this new method of casting spells."
Dove embraces Jor and is glad to see him again. As for his request she says, "I will do what I can Jor to provide you the information you need. I am sure that in the next few months I can gather information of note that could be useful for the Brass Tigers. As for money another 100 steel should allow me to keep my quota to the Blackbird as well as afford some place to live in the town and devote myself full time to creating an information network. I'll have to drop a few bribes in order to do so as you might understand. I will miss you Jor and wait for your return so we may embrace once again."
I remember the first time I was able to read a spell from a spellbook, this one here. It was such a happy time. The words burned into my memory and the energy was released.
The next morning after preparing his spells and packing his backback he will approach the Tent of Shaylin.
Shalafi, may I enter?
Nodding and fishing the steelcoins out of her pouch "Here, that should help plus a bit extra also . Do what you think is necessary but no unnecessary movements as well getting in danger. No need to take risks until I have more manpower to do our biddings here
As she gives permission the apprentice bows respectfully before his Shalafi
Shalafi, Lady Sheylin of House Mystic, I have come to bid farewell to the Enclave as I go off into the wider world to complete my Test of High Sorcery. If I understand it correctly there was usually a summons that was sent by the Conclave with instructions and an appointed date and time. Has this custom remained in tact since the Tower was re-opened? How will the wizards who are monitoring the Test know that I am indeed there for the Test?
Before I depart I would be remiss if I did not thank you for completing my magical training. I hope that I will make you, my parents, and House Mystic proud after completing my Test. Though I do not know what my destiny and that of the elven people holds I pray that the 3 Cousins will shower their blessings on us and add to the number of elven wizards that we might be able to defend ourselves in this diaspora and reclaim our lands.
So as to not waste time in the morning, Alathea will visit Klaudua Lorn to gather the package she needs to deliver to Ak Khurman.
Shaylin certainly allows Terevalis entry to see her. To his questions she says. "As you know Terevalis, the Conclave has only recently reestablished itself at the Tower of Wayreth. During the time after the Chaos War the Conclave was disbanded and has been so for decades. While decades to an elf are but a short amount of time, to humans it can be nearly a lifetime. When the Conclaive was reestablished, many of the wizards of old had perished and among those who survive, not all of them have chosen to come back. With Palin Majere abandoning magic we also lost a very potent archmage who could have aided the Conclave establish itself more quickly. Without an accurate accounting of who practices Sorcery or Wizardry, sending summons is the least of our worries. The new Conclave has decided to send wizards out to larger communities and take volunteers willing to take up High Sorcery. As for taking the test, the local Wizard has been given dispensation to perform the test. If the test is completed, your success will be documented and sent to the Tower of Wayreth and recorded in the records there. This may be a large breach of past traditions but we must learn to adapt to these new times."
As for the next words of Terevalis, Shaylin says, "You do not need to thank me Terevalis. You have endured much as have we all in these dark times but never did you lose faith in the Gods of Magic. It is my duty to the Conclave to make sure wizards are prepared for their responsibilities that are to come. You walk in the footsteps of many great Wizards and if you follow the path you too shall be remembered in legend. It is sad to see you go Terevalis but remember all Wizards are brothers and sisters. You will never be alone. I wish you well on your journey and your test. May the Gods guide your path Terevalis of House Mystic."
Terevalis can see that Shaylin is sad to see you go but also proud of you as well. She definitely has confidence in you.
The elf is ready.
Gabriel awakes and has a good breakfest. He leaves the barkeep and the staff 10 steel for their serivces. He thanks and says goodbye to them as he heads to the stables to retrieve his horse. He waits on the road to Ak-Khurman for the group to arrive.
Waking up the next morning next to Dove, Jor blinks his eyes to get rid of the sleepiness. Standing up and stretching before getting his clothes and equipment. Waking up Dove to eat breakfast together and to say goodbye before Jor has to take off.
A moment of hug and patting before walking towards stalls to pick up the horse, whom apparently belonged to Pegrin before. Riding slowly outside of Pashin along the road to Ak-Khurman "Ah, Gabriel. Good morning. You are early here. Seems like we are just waiting for others to arrive" Jor greets and soon falls silent again as he waits for Alathea to come
Alathea greets the sun and takes morning prayers. She washes off the grime of the day before having a hearty breakfast. She cannot know when the next such fine meal will come.
She heads to the stable to retrieve her fine new steed.
Moving at a slow trot she comes alongside Gabriel and Jor, "Once our elven allies join use, we can set out".
Alathea has her work horse while Jor has taken on the black stallion that once belonged to Pegrin. Gabriel already brought his own horse which is also stabled in the town. This leaves Terevalis, Gabriel and Cole without a horse. Just so you know there is other mounts available if a horse is not your thing. There are Camels (Both the single hump and two hump variety) also available.