|
"It is going forward, isn't it?"
"Yes"
"You said, 'we must be on our way'. You are here to tell me that the plan is on, are you not?
"Yes"
"You will be taking me out of the city along with my spouse, Taffrid, and my two children, will you not?"
"Yes"
"Is it time to leave now?"
"Yes"
"Shall I gather them all together?"
"Yes"
Beezhul answers Daffrid's somewhat redundant questions immediately, nodding her head with her tongue sticking out, but smiling.
"There are others, too. You and your family are the First" she looks this way, then that...
Beezhul answers Daffrid's somewhat redundant questions immediately, nodding her head with her tongue sticking out, but smiling.
"There are others, too. You and your family are the First" she looks this way, then that...
Professor Chaverly recoils and backs away a bit, trying to avoid any spittle from the kholo's wet tongue. "Good. Good." She repeats to herself redundantly.
She walks over to a shelf and retrieves a small chest. "There is the matter of payment, then?" Setting the chest down gently on her office desk, Professor Chaverly opens it carefully to present its contents. Opening it up, she reveals a gold nodule aeon stone and a scroll. "These are magical items." she explains, "An aeon stone and a scroll containing an air bubble spell. I trust that it is sufficient to satisfy our end of the obligation."
"You are also more than welcome to take any of the contents of my office library," she adds, pointing to several shelves filled with codex, scrolls, and books. "I have no desire to haul them with me, but you may find them to be of value. As for me, I certainly won't be needing them anymore."
You locate a scroll that had slipped between the pages within one of the textbooks.
You recognize the textbooks and treatises in professor's office library to be woefully out-of-date and likely not of much value.
You recognize the textbooks and treatises in Daffrid's office library to be woefully out-of-date and likely not of much value.
You spot a large, rocky form standing near the open window, which appears to be humanoid!
Then something catches his eye out the window. "There is someone or something out there," he whispers.
"Someone out there?!" Professor Chaverly cries out in concern. "Were you followed by the Emerald Guard?"
The woman rushes to the window to have a look and spies the large, rocky humanoid, which begins backing away from the window.
"Oh, that," The professor says, her voice dripping with recognition and disdain. "That is a stone giant. The city is full of them. It calls itself, 'Seddothrum'. It is a pest, but mostly harmless I suppose. Too stupid to do anyone harm. I've told it repeatedly to stay away from here, but it continues to come around, especially when the children are on campus."
"A minor nuisance,"[/b] she concludes. "Simply pay it no mind and, hopefully, it will wander away on its own."
"Now, let us finalize our plans, shall we? Are we to leave with you now? Is there a ship waiting to take us out of the city?" The professor inquires.
A picture of Seddothrum is now on Slides.
|
|
Beezhul had not noticed the giant by the window. When it is explained to her that he is there, she backs away, cautiously. Did he overhear their conversation? Will he tell the Emerald Guard!?
She smiles at him, toothily and nervously. Then braces for more of Daffrid's ruthless questioning.
"Now, let us finalize our plans, shall we?"
"Yes"
"Are we to leave with you now?"
"Yes"
"Is there a ship waiting to take us out of the city?"
"Yes"
Stunned from her mind, the exact details the Professor seeks. Our kholo hero remembers the other 4 stops they have to make, and that they have only a couple of hours to do it before curfew, and that the ship should be there before their permits expire, but, those exact details currently elude her at the moment.
When the conversation turns, she suggests that maybe they pay Yuleg a visit next at the Rockfish Inn. And she feels her stomach grumble... She is so hungry that she might consider payment in fish even though explicitly told not to...
She smiles at him, toothily and nervously. Then braces for more of Daffrid's ruthless questioning.
The giant continues backing away from the window until it can no longer be seen.
Stone giants are stoic, reclusive herders and artists with a rich history and collection of traditions. They dwell in caves in tall mountains and craggy ranges, where their grayish skin allows them to blend in with their surroundings well enough to elude casual observation. Stone giant sentries excel at standing or crouching almost completely motionless for hours on end and often allow small groups of intruders to pass right by, only confronting the unwanted visitors once they’ve closed off all avenues of escape and secured their tactical position.
Stone giants claim to be among the oldest of giantkind, their clay molded by the gods to set precedent for many to follow. Stone giant elders and storytellers say that in ancient times, when they were the only giants, they stayed true to their ancestors and their traditions. That lasted until they encountered humans. The humans coveted their skill with earth and stone, and bent the stone giants to their will. The enslaved giants built countless great structures, architectural wonders destined to be buried and forgotten. In time, these stone giants escaped the yoke of slavery, but the lessons they learned stuck. No more were they simple herders and cave dwellers. They had learned the ways of iron and stonemasonry. Some had even turned from revering their ancestors to the worship of human gods. These modern stone giants find themselves torn between two paths: the crafters and builders who reshape the world with new found knowledge, and the spiritual giants who respect their ancestors and adhere to the old ways.
The runelords forged alliances with dragons and enslaved giants by using secrets of rune and glyph magic in their efforts to increase their own power. With their enslaved giant armies, the wizards of Thassilon built massive tombs, enormous magical constructs, and staggering monuments that survive today, mute testimonies of a mysterious age long past.
Ma'elo tilts his head for a moment in thought. He then speaks up, "Eto...We have other passengers we have to find and tell. Should we set a time tomorrow or next day for gathering and leaving?"
"So, it would seem that we are not leaving today." Professor Chaverly notes. "Would you have my family and I go with you to these other 'passengers'? Or is there are place and time when we are to meet you for departure?"
Na'ilath lingers through the library quickly skimming titles to see if there is anything of note.
Beyond the scroll discovered earlier and a shelves of books, he finds nothing of more note.
Beezhul frets.
"Could Seddothrum snitch on us? Should we run? Or chase him? Where'd he go? Does this change anyth-" she clasps her paws over her mouth before she continues to blurt out repeated questions (not unlike Professor Daffrid Chaverly) too loud...
"Seddothrum won't tell anyone anything. It can barely put two words together." Professor Chaverly declares, annoyance evident in her voice. "I've caught that creature around my kids a few times. It runs away at the drop of a hat. It is probably miles away by now. Just ignore it, I say. There are more important things to discuss, such as the details of our departure."
|
|
Beezhul tries to remember The Plan - but she can't stop thinking a Stone Giant is stalking her!
"You probably need to get your family ready. Well. We are leaving from Shard Cove. But you probably don't know where that is..." indeed, we don't even know where that is, until we talk to Flitch - assuming we can talk to Flitch, and he isn't dead or captured or turned snitch! "...Um, so, to keep everyone safe, because you never know who is listening..." she looks left, then right "...we will tell you the Meetup Point, somewhere near Shard Cove, and you and your family need to meet us there, at Dawn, exactly Four Days from now..."
Beezhul turns to her team "What would be a good Meetup Point?" pulling out the map, and examining somewhere near Shard Cove, or Flitch's (Ssh!), or the Docks.
A bead of her sweat drops on the map!
The professor listens intently to the Pathfinders. As she does so, some color seems to leave her face seeming to trickle away at a rate equal to that of her confidence in the party. Yet, enough of each seems to remain, allowing her to speak.
“I understand that Shard Cove is a treacherous body of water. It is only navigable to ships at high tide.” The professor warns. “Navigating the cove at any other time would be quite dangerous. The jagged crystals lying just beneath the waves of the cover are nearly impossible to avoid. As far as I know, the shoreline along Shard Cove is a sheer cliff. I don't know if it can be accessed in any manner other than repelling down the cliff or approaching by water. If there is some safe way to come and go from Shard Cove, then it must be quite the secret."
Despite her concerns, the professor looks at the poor condition of school and remains resolute in her determination. "I will gather my family along with a few of our belongings. It should not take me more than an hour to do so. Once we have done so, we will remain here to my office until we receive word as to the location of this 'Meetup Point'."
"There are so few faculty remaining that I doubt our presence will attract much attention." She explains. "I have pulled enough late research sessions in the past and my family has spent plenty of time on the campus. I think it unlikely that we will arouse much suspicion if we wait here."
Believing that she has concluded here business for the time being, the professor exits the office and departs down the stairway to head toward her home in the city.
|
|
Beezhul - a somewhat sensitive kholo - feels her own heart race with frequency antiproportional to the color fading in the professor's face; that is, her anxiety grows as her rescuee's confidence in her and her team fades!
She looks at Ma'elo desperately, but as she listens to his suggestion, turns a corner: His plan to seek Flitch next "Makes sense!" whisking her attention back to "Daffrid. We may not be the most organized, but, where we lack in forethought, we make up in dedication to your cause. I feel for you and your family, and have sworn to protect the mission, an oath I do not take lightly" shaking her head like 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' but using other words, trying to infuse as much pep into the talk as she can muster.
It nearly tires her. Turning back to her party (but not before looking left, then right - then out the window ((where could that stone giant have gone!?))) she nods and declares / asks "We shall return to you here - um, tomorrow or the next day - with the Meeting Spot once we have confirmed with our contact" panting "So, be ready for that. And then:" reiterating "Somewhere near Shard Cove, at Dawn, exactly Four Days from now, you and your family need to Meet us there!"
She looks back and forth between the doubting Daffrid and her admittedly Hope-for-Besting party, and wonders to herself: Will it be enough?
|
The rakish elf approaches Beezhul and places a hand on her shoulder. "Beezhul," he says reassuringly, "we are pathfinders. We will figure it out, because we are that good. Do not worry, we have time." He removes his hand and turns it into a finger gun. "And, definitely do not worry, because I'm here," he ends with a smile and a wink.
|
|
Beezhul places a hand back, but uses it to lean in and whisper "Tell that to the professor..." then feigns a hearty laugh as if a joke was shared which caused her to bust her gut.
The intoxicatingly sweet smell of her laughter(!?) fills the small office.
|
|
Ka'elen joins the group as they reach the stairs. "A red-haired woman just left before you..."
He nods as his brothers catch him up. "Unfortunately, I didn't see this Giant. I think we should increase our already high level of caution here. If it is indeed an agent of the runelord, we will have much less time that we had planned on"
"There are 6 of us. Considering our need for haste, and also the suspicion of traveling in such a large group, should we split up in half and start to gather these folks in a central location?"
"Maybe once we figure out this secret passage of Flitch's we will know better."
Ka'elen falls in line behind Ma'elo.
Seemingly assured by the kholo's words Professor Chaverly makes her way down the steps. When she spies an elven warrior, she lowers her head in an effort not to draw attention to herself but picks up her pace.
With Ka'elen reunited with the party, the Pathfinders prepare to make their way toward Envy Row East. As they pass through the courtyard past the crumbling structures of the Arcanium Abjurant, a large boulder at first appears to be blocking the path. Its movement, however, reveals it to instead be the stone giant spied earlier from the window of the professor's office.
"Going, are you?" The stone giant asks. Typical of his kind, Seddothrum stands twelve tall. His heft is such that patches of soft earth readily give way as he steps, leaving sizable prints. What had at first appeared to be crevasses in his rocky hide are now revealed to be deep scars etched within the stone giant's skin.
"I am Seddothrum." The giant declares. "I am a friend to tiny Taffrit Chaverly and to tiny Maffree Chaverly. Are they going to? If so, I would very much like to go with them."
The giant pauses for a moment, swinging his massive head to take in the view of the city around him, then leans back in to address the party, "Actually, even if they are not going, I would very much like to be somewhere else. Would you take you me with you?"
|
|
Beezhul's jaw drops...
...she turns to her pathfinder friends...
...Rolanna's Prayer only holds five... ...and smuggling a 12-foot creature past the dock guards...
Ma'elo shrugs, "I do not see a problem. Now is not the time, unless you know a secret passage to Shard Cove."
"I do not know of any secret passages," Seddothrum concedes. A look of concern becomes etched in his face. "But I can be helpful. I am strong and can carry things!"
Elidathas watches the creature closely, trying to ascertain his true motives.
Eladithas discerns that the giant is being truthful and is truly eager to leave the city.
"Well, you are quite something, but big guys need freedom as tiny ones!" Spurtz says.
"Yes, freedom!" Seddothrum repeats. "I want to have freedom." He pauses, then lowers his head. "But, I understand if you did not plan to take me. Still, I do hope that you will still take the little Chaverly children. I will miss them dearly, but they deserve freedom too."
An appreciative smile forms on Seddothrum's face. He cries out joyfully, then suddenly looks around and speaks in a more hushed tone. "I am happy to wait here for your return. I can blend into the rubble here quite easily, so I don't worry about anyone finding me." With that, the stone giant sits down on the ground next to a crumbling wall and pulls in his limbs. As he does so, he begins to resemble the surrounding rubble.
Departing the campus of the Arcanium Abjurant, the party takes nearly two hours to make its way to the location of the flat in Envy Row East. The flat is quite rundown and appears rather typical of the other nearby residences.
The front door facing the street stands shut. The windows of the flat have been boarded over, and fragments of a flowerpot lie beneath one of the windowsills.
There is no answer.
You find the door is locked.
Ma'elo leans in close to the door and knocks softly. He scrunches his face when there was no response. He then tries again a little louder.
Ma'elo receives no response.
Ka'elen steps forward to take a look at the window.
"I'm pretty sure I could open this. If we all stay on the street here we're going to attract unwanted attention. Let's make this quick!"
Ma'elo chuckles at his brothers efforts, leans back in to the door, and says, "Were here about some slippers and your uncle."
There is no response.
Spurtz looks for another entrance as well.
Spurtz can find no other potential entrances beyond the locked door and the boarded window. He concludes, however, that Ka'elen's efforts didn't seem to draw any attention from passerby.