In which our heroes look for the
source of some odd rocks
Orhan 3 Day 48
Imre takes us to the Trade guild where we find a job
listing for Wezmer's Trade Emporium, who needs a party of adventurers
to run an errand.
Wezmer's Trade Emporium turns out to be a knick knack
shop. A heavyset guy with a goatee is behind the counter.
It turns out to be a complicated story. A man named
Guff came in a couple of weeks ago. He sold Weamer some odd stuff, that
he's been trying to trace the source of. Weamer needs us to find him and
figure out where he found the stuff. He shows us some odd metal, but Oathar
is a stone expert so we don't know anything.
Unfortunately, Wezmer knows that Guff is a wanderer,
and has probably left the city, though he did say he was going to the
Redheaded Lady to get a drink before he left. Wezmer offers us 20
gold each to find the guy and get a map of where he found the stuff. He'll
also reimburse anything we have to pay Guff directly.
He pays 5 gold each up front.
We head off to the Redheaded Lady while Imre tells
us the story of her abduction and rescue by the proprietor.
As chatting up barmaids is Jack's specialty, he decides
to ask the barmaid. But, he gets scared and asks the bartender instead,
while the rest of us sit down. He starts by ordering a drink, and pays
for it with a gold coin while asking about Guff. The bartender says he's
a regular. The bartender says Guff was going to head up North. (There's
a string of villages that go up the river.)
Finally, Jack gets up enough nerve to chat up the
barmaid. He offers her a drink too and makes a flubbed attempt at seduction,
getting slapped for his efforts as she pours her beer down his shirt.
Jack buys a horse, since he can't walk as fast as
D. Jack spends 8 Orlini on his horse, as does Kyrik.
We start heading upriver. There are indeed a string
of small villages. Asking around, we find the Guff has come through, so
we keep going.
Orhan 3 Day 49
More villages
Orhan 3 Day 50
More villages
Orhan 3 Day 51
We finally come across what appears to be a deserted
camp. A trail of footprints leads to it, but a set of horse tracks leads
away, heading away from the river. (Several horses arrived and left, but
the man arrived with no outgoing tracks.) Following the horse tracks,
they head inland and hook up with a large road. The tracks lead NNW. Imre
starts looking odd.
A series of wayside inns and small villages. Reasonable
inquiry indicates that Guff and a band of adventurers (4) came through
here.
We keep going and travel North and North and North.
People ask Imre why he's so uncomfortable.
Orhan 3 Day 52
Imre get even more nervous.
Orhan 3 Day 53
Imre get even more nervous.
Orhan 3 Day 54
Imre starts looking green.
Orhan 3 Day 55
Imre get even more nervous.
Orhan 3 Day 56
Imre get even more nervous, as we arrive in the village
of Tharp. We are told that a band of adventurers were arrested last week
by the local militia. They were apparently accused of theft crossing the
street in front of the mayor, causing the mayor to be jostled.
We are told to ask at the Justice Hall. It's the biggest
building in town, and the only one of stone construction. D. talks to
the attendant. He tells us that the prisoners are kept in a secret location.
To talk to them, you need permission from the mayor. The mayor is supposed
in room 8. The rooms are strangely numbered, but we find room 8. Knocking,
we hear a voice telling us to come in. It's a little room with an old
man in an antechamber. He's grumpy. D. charms him up and asks to see the
mayor. "Mayor doesn't want to see us." "Mayor only speaks to logger-men
or militia members."
After some verbal fencing, we hear, "To become a logger-man
or militia-man, go to room 2." We head to room 2.
Inside are three men standing around a table with
a map. They are the logger-men commission. D. signs up. She lies about
her name. She is given something to take to room 4.
In room 4, there is an attendant and a few militia
uniforms. He says to "sign here". D. signs in the book as instructed.
"OK, you're a loggerman."
We go back to room 8. "I'm a loggerman, I'd like to
speak to the mayor."
D., being the only loggerman, has to go in alone.
She asks him about Guff. "They were accused of theft, and freeing him
would be a big favor, for which he would need a favor in return."
"My advisors has visions of a great black finger pushing
out of the northern swamp. I need someone to explore the area and see
if it's true or not."
Meanwhile, Haeraan and Oathar ask Imre about his nervousness
and he says he "has a past" up North. They conclude they shouldn't go
any further north and Oathar seems sure we don't want to encounter Imre's
past, whatever that may be.
D. comes out and says we should scout few days North.
This obviously disturbs Imre, so after some talking
and stuff we decide to head towards the swamp.
D. says "Three days of scouting, not counting travel
time."
Mayor says, "OK, when you get back, I'll give you
an official letter and you can go to the place Guff is and free him. I'll
throw in supplies for a week and a half, if you stay for five days."
Brother Rola in room six is the vision having advisor.
We go to room 6. There's a small chapel to Kuor in there. A cleric asks
to help us. We explain the situation. He tells of his vision from Kuor.
"A dark vision extending from the swamp."
We wait till morning. There's a small little Inn.
We have watches, but D. says she might not be around for hers. We don't
know why.
Orhan 3 Day 57
We head North toward the swamp.
Orhan 3 Day 58
We head North toward the swamp.
Orhan 3 Day 59
We get to the southern edge of the swamp. It sure
is a swamp. We start scouting. Imre consults some rat entrails but they
say nothing. During the thrid watch that night, D. who is up anyways,
notices an ambush by six lizardmen. They have spears. We all get up before
they arrive.
The lizard men basically attack us one each. Vallandra
chops a guys arm off and he goes down. Haeraan takes one out with a head
shot. Oathar lights up the area. Imre eviscerates one of them. Kyrik takes
one out. Haeraan takes two more. Jack finishes off the last one.
Orhan 3 Day 60
We move camp a little, Jack naps some more. We spend
the rest of the day looking around and find nothing.
Orhan 3 Day 61
Searching around, we find nothing again.
Orhan 3 Day 62
Vallandra says, "Let's go back to the previous place."
We go back there and notice an oddly squarish object in the swamp. A tall
thin structure of some sort. As we get closer, we discover it is an obelisk.
Not really like a navigator obelisk. It's 15 feet tall, and as we get
close we feel a low pitched humming. It has a smooth surface but with
some writing. No one recognizes the writing, but if you stare at it, the
writing changes.
Vast channeling. Haeraan thinks it is associated with
Kesh'ta'kai.
Oathar casts cancel channeling and then reads the
rune. He then gets blasted as if his cancel wasn't even there. Oathar
get a vision of Charon and dark black tunnels that are oddly enticing,
but then he snaps out of it.
We notice a path leading away from the obelisk. It
goes from the obelisk into the Northwest swamp. Imre recognizes the signature
of the path and panics and we flee!!!
Imre admits that "her" name is Xin Baza'an the Cruel,
the sorceress. My mom! Arrgghhh! D. cheers Imre up before bed with her
unspeakable talents.
Orhan 3 Day 63
We flee some more.
Orhan 3 Day 64
We flee more and get back to Tharp that afternoon.
Haeraan gives a copy of our report to the priest (Brother Rola). D. gives
the report to the mayor, who hands her a form for the release of Guff.
He's being held at a logging camp. We need to go to room 2 to get a map.
Camp 7 is about a days march north of here. We stay in the Inn that night.
Orhan 3 Day 65
We head out to the logger camp. We get there in the
evening. D. gives them the paper and about half an hour later, they bring
up Guff. We tell Guff about Wezmer's questions. Guff refuses to talk until
we leave so we start leaving. Jack casts on him and he suddenly becomes
helpful.
"I was picking my way through the hills to the west,
and there was an abandoned mine. I discovered the thing in a rubble pile."
He offers to draw us a map as we sit down over dinner somewhere.
At dinner, Jack casts at him again. Jack is a bad
man. He draws us a map.
Orhan 3 Day 66
We head back to Norek.
Orhan 3 Day 67
We head back to Norek.
Orhan 3 Day 68
We head back to Norek.
Orhan 3 Day 69
We head back to Norek.
Orhan 3 Day 70
We head back to Norek.
Orhan 4 Day 1
We arrive at Norek. We go into Wezmer's store. Imre,
who arranged this whole mess, talks to Wezmer. Imre thinks Wezmer looks
nervous. "Can I help you?" "Yes, we're looking for Wezmer." "You should
go now. I can't help you." Oathar asks Jack for presence. It doesn't reveal
anything helpful.
D. tells him where we are staying. Jack points out
that a sentinel was watching the shop. We go to check in at our inn, "The
Knight's Dream." A squad of six sentinels and ten Norinth (Highman elite
fighters) intercept us. They say, "Please follow us."
Imre says follow them. We follow the fools. They march
us to the council hall. They bring us to Councilor Dunna Revin (Imre says
the Chancellor of Magic). We go in. It's a nice office. She's attractive.
Her office looks like an average magic professor's office. We sit.
She tries to put us at our ease. She wants to know
why we're here. Haeraan tells our tale. She claims the metal is of strategic
importance to the city as a whole. She, as representative of the council
of Norek would be grateful if we'd go check the purity of the site. She'll
send along a metallurgist. We'll get paid 25 gold each (15 up front since
that's what we're owed.)
We talk her up to 35 per person, plus the gratitude
of the council. We get 15 up front. The metallurgist is named Fram, and
we'll meet him tomorrow morning.
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