Dave Kern Kyrik

Dave Leung Jack (Giuseppe Marchesi)

Eon Harry Imre Maryen

Jerry Marty Haeraan

Marleigh Norton D. (Tlilok)

Michael Person Oathar Mealarious

Pier Ho Vallandra

Orhan 1 Day 4, TE 6050

The run begins with our heroes sitting in their usual meeting place, the Cold Barley Soup Kitchen. Gireg Jan, a shipper of small valuables stops by and is discussing various matters with Divad, the proprietor.

Divad eventually introduces Gireg to Jack, who reveals that he is saving money so that he may return to the Collegium, and so is always on the look out for an offer. Gireg allows, "I may need some ‘things’ transported on occasion. I’ll keep you in mind."

Eventually, we are all joined by Byron, the bicycle maker. Having agreed to work for him for one commission, he fills us in on the details. He gives us our route, to Nuyan Khom, where three of his bicycles are to be delivered to the capital. Our journey will begin by sea to the port city of Nom Rul, and from there overland to the capital, Ashenoq. Our cargo will consist of three crates filled with sawdust that protects the three bicycles, "Don’t expose them to fire." We are instructed to take extra care of the money on the way back, as the bicycles represent all of Byron’s investment and he would be ruined should we be set upon.

The sea journey could take about five days, and we are instructed to be prepared to leave in two. He tells us that we should reconvene tomorrow to meet Anta, the representative of Nuyan Khom in this matter. Anta will be taking care of all of the "arrangements."

Finally we are told that D.’s employer, Kyse Farnese, has provided a letter of introduction for us to the court of Nuyan Khom, and the party will be paid a total of 400 Orlini for the successful completion of this assignment.

Orhan 1 Day 5

The next day sees D. and Imre going "herb" shopping. D.wants some mild poisons with which to coat her arrows, while Imre is looking for antidotes in case others have the same idea. They buy some meager supplies, but are astounded at the cost of such things and resolve to do more shopping some day when they are not so strapped for cash.

That afternoon, we meet in the CBSK once more, and Byron introduces us to three Nuyani. The best dressed, with a necklace of gold, is Ahnta. His associates are Farish and Mour-tah. All three are impressed by the size of the party members; "We of the ten clans are usually not so tall."

Ahnta tells us that he has arranged ship passage for tomorrow leaving in the morning at the seventh hour. The ship is the "Evening Star" which Oathar "recognizes" as a small but sturdy cargo ship, with which the journey will probably take about 4-6 days. Ahnta gives us tickets for the passage, and the Nuyani depart

At this time, there is some discussion of Nuyani customs requiring us to choose a leader or representative, but several members of the party are disinterested in blending in that well, so the suggestion is tabled.

Jack organizes the men in the party to meet far too early the next day and assist with the moving of the bicycles to the ship.

Orhan 1 Day 6

D. arrives at the ship first, very early, to inspect the boat before the cargo arrives. D. makes arrangements for our sleeping. The party is to be all placed in one cabin, so the extra tall members will need the largest bunks. The crew laughs at D.’s requests, as no one could possibly be that tall.

When Vallandra arrives, she is greeted with profound respect. "Ah, Noble Loar, welcome aboard our humble ship." The captain immediately invites Vallandra to dine with him that evening.

The crates are secured and we cast off after the others arrive. Most of the crew is very impressed with Vallandra, but pays the rest of the party little mind. Presumably in jealousy, D. disguises herself as a high elf for the rest of the voyage, and she too receives much attention from the crew.

The captain proves to be quite literate and personable, and our dinner of fresh seafood passes quickly to his outlandish storytelling.

Orhan 1 Day 7

We learn that it will take about a week of overland travel after we reach the port. Most of the party amuse themselves aboard the boat, though Jack proves very susceptible to seasickness.

Oathar tries to strike up a friendship with the first officer and proves quite knowledgeable about the sea.

Vallandra and Imre spend many a quiet moment speaking in corners.

Orhan 1 Day 8

Imre notices Jack’s distress and has the ship’s cook whip up a remedy, which proves so successful that Imre tries to learn the recipe.

Orhan 1 Day 9

Oathar, who has been keeping an eye on the weather, notices that a large storm is approaching. He informs the first officer who informs the captain, who seems unconcerned, but makes some preparations.

The storm arrives as expects, "You’ve a good eye for weather boy," and things start getting serious. Oathar, D., and Jack stay on deck and try to ride out the storm with varying levels of success. The rest of the party heads below deck. While waiting, Imre hears some noise from below in the cargo hold and goes to investigate, leading some of the party behind him. They arrive to hear the harsh sound of wood scraping on wood, and discover that two of the bicycle crates have broken free of their lashing and are being flung around the hold by the storm. Vallandra manages to stabilize one crate as Haeraan wrestles with another. Imre goes to get more help, as the crates are clearly a handful.

Everyone but Oathar converges on the cargo hold, and much crate hilarity ensues.

D. gets whacked by a crate. Kyrik holds the other one down, but then Haeraan’s crate comes to whack him. Ahnta arrives and attempts to motivate the party further by shouting, "The bicycles! Nooo!" He then tells his two followers to help with the effort. Eventually the crates are secured, as is Imre, by Vallandra’s knot tying prowess.

One crate has a dinged corner, but all in all, they are save. Every last bit of rope remaining in the hold is then applied to the three crates.

Orhan 1 Day 10

More sea travel.

Orhan 1 Day 11

The ship finally arrive at the port. Captain Alaang wishes us well and offers that he would be pleased to have us sail with him anytime. Imre successfully gets the recipe for seasickness remedy.

We are lead to wagons, pulled by dog teams. We get three wagons ourselves for our crates, and form up with the other caravan travelers to the capital. It turns out that there are about 40 people, and we easily form the majority of the caravan’s security.

The caravan proves to be able to make about 25 miles a day, though Jack is forced to buy a horse, as he is too slow to keep up with the wagon walking pace.

Being the main security force, we divide up into three watches for the nights and form what is likely to remain the canonical watch schedule for some time, taking into account the needs of mages:

Orhan 1 Day 12

D. entertains the walkers with generous demonstrations of her unspeakable talents.

Orhan 1 Day 13

After much walking, the caravan stops at a shelter for the night instead of wilderness.

Orhan 1 Day 14

We introduce ourselves to Danal the caravan leader in an attempt to take our minds off of the walking. We find out that a Hutarn ranks above a Tarn, and each of the ten clans has a single Tarn.

Orhan 1 Day 15

We try to discuss religion to relieve boredom, and find out that Nuyani generally worship To’tonaur, the Two Faced Lord. How encouraging is that? He has two personalities, and can be in two places at once.

Orhan 1 Day 16

Walking, followed by another caravan stop.

Orhan 1 Day 17

Endless walking…..

Orhan 1 Day 18

More walking. But that evening, things change for the worse.

During the night, on the first watch to be exact, 12 beasts referred to as zephyr hounds attack. The hounds rush up out of the night and maul some of the caravaners.

Haeraan is staggered by their breath attack, as is Mour-tah. It doesn’t look good for us for a while. Ahnta uses a fear spell and the first hound routed is his. Oathar is bitten heavily by a hound. Ouch. Farish wields a flaming club and soundly strikes a hound, but foolishly sets a bicycle wagon on fire. Oathar, in his last conscious act, freezes the bicycle crate so it will not burn, Byron’s warning ringing in his head. Imre ties up two of the creature with Jolt after Jolt. They prove immune to sleep spells, so several of our other party attacks fail. Oathar goes down beneath one. D. manages our first hound kill with her bow. The tide begins to turn. (Though we’ve lost 7 civilians to this point.)

Farish goes down, but at least he is not wielding a flaming torch anymore. Ahnta flees another one. Haeraan unleashes his power, having recovered from the breath attack, and another hound falls. Several more civilians are lost. Haeraan takes two more. The remaining hounds with wit flee at this point, while we finish off those who were stunned.

The carnage is vast. After the first aiding attempts on all survivors, we find we are left with all members of our party, and Ahnta’s people, but only six civilians remain alive and the caravan leader himself is among the fallen.

Some party members seem profoundly affected by the battle, notably Oathar, while others seem to regard it as business as usual such as Kyrik. Ahnta advises the party on burial arrangements, and we move on.