Orhan 2 Day 3 TE 6055

We return to Selkai!

Imre researches permanent gates and stuff and finds some leads in the old kingdom of Zoar. They seemed to build pairs of teleporters. At least one of the Zoarian kings was buried with a pair, so in the catacombs...

The Loremasters suggest we might want to go and lend the king of Nuyom Kom some support. We could accompany a trade ship.

Construction starts on the villa next door.

In the late evening, we start hearing a voice singing outside D.'s window. Most of us recognize the voice of C. levitating outside D.'s window. Alynna wonders why D. doesn't want to go out and talk to him since he's both handsome and can sing. He probably shouldn't be slain says D., but if she could steal the D. tracking device from him, that might help. Discussion reveals that we don't in fact hate him at this immediate juncture, so we should probably just ignore him.

After a bit, one of the windows opens, and roses start getting thrown through the windows. Alynna encourages D. to go talk to him. D. flees instead.

Orhan 2 Day 4 TE 6055

At sunset a woman appears asking to be let in. She's dressed in dark robes and a deep pale cowl with red hair. We don't know who it is, but Imre speculates wildly about his mother and makes some fear check. Oathar takes Alynna with him as he goes to see who our visitor is. Oathar goes to tell Imre that his mother wants to see him while Alynna guards her.

She sweeps in majestically and sits down in the sitting room. Imre comes down with his globe present and goes down to speak with her. Pleasantries are exchanged. She says her health is failing, and she's come to Selkai to talk with a reputable lay healer about an operation. She's talking about a heart replacement operation. Imre is surprised she found it, looking at the box. Perhaps there's some other option? Well, she doesn't seem to see any heart donors lining up just now.

Imre offers to put his mother up in SelKai for the time being while she thinks over the whole Put the Dark Heart in Your Chest plan.

Well, no point in being hasty. She says she saying at the Four Winds while Imre considers his options.

Orhan 2 Day 5 TE 6055

Some of us talk to Gireg Jan and confirm the basic facts about the Dark Heart, it corrupts you instantly upon implantation, etc. Haeraan discusses things with Imre for a bit trying to clarify their various moral positions. The party discusses various strategies for dealing with this whole situation.

At the end of the day, Imre gets his stuff together and heads over to the Four Winds for a long talk with his mother. Imre gives her his snow globe, and they part. Imre pays for her room for a year.

After a long day of dealing with our doom, we head to the CBSK for food and drinks!

Orhan 2 Day 6 TE 6055

Oathar goes to buy a shipment of weapons for Nuyom Kom. And small armor! For short people. I also find a set of hand crossbows that some buy is selling. Total shipment costs 100 gold. We also accept 8 paladins for passage to the fight. Oathar notices that the price of silk is up of late.

We sail away.

Orhan 2 Day 7 TE 6055

Oathar leads the ship out. It's an excited crew. Woo! The sing sea shanties. About some ship named the Minnow. Hmmm...

Oathar warns people that the weather is about to deteriorate. They tie the cargo down pretty good. The storm arrives.

Orhan 2 Day 8 TE 6055

D. falls overboard when a big wave hits! Ack! Sploosh! Haeraan casts flight and goes in for the rescue! She is saved! Yay!

En route, we see some other merchant ships. They are all headed north away from Nuyom Kom.

Orhan 2 Day 11 TE 6055

While passing Nomar Tol, we see this weird sky-ship/rowboat. More like a flying bobsled. Oathar skoffs it. There are a couple of loar in it.

Orhan 2 Day 16 TE 6055

We see arrive. The port city at least is still flying the butterfly flag. The Nuyoni are still short. Yup.

The cult of Zagur has been helping with the war effort in exchange for concessions such as recognition as a real religion. The paladins head out to teh south on their own. We wait for the caravan in two days.

Orhan 2 Day 18 TE 6055

It's caravan day. The caravan is much smaller this time. But everyone is mounted so it will travel faster. We hire some wagons for our shipment of weapons. It should only be about 6 days to the capital.

Orhan 2 Day 24 TE 6055

We arrive in Ashanok! Woo hoo! It's not doing so well as it was last time, a bit more rundown and more people in the city. We stop at an Inn and get cleaned and changed. We ask to speak with the minister of trade. We spend the day doing administrative foolishness. Finally, a functionary goes through our stuff. While he's doing that we drop the name of the Hu-Tarn and eventually Muryan Jaswai the old female companion of the Hu-Tarn comes out to greet us. She vouches for us. Eventually a big burly guy comes over and evaluates the weaponry.

We hear that things have been difficult of late for the Hu-Tarn, so he has not had much time to ride it. We are invited to dinner with him that evening. He's been married but a year. Apparently, he married Vhoyan, a local girl of the Jade Clan. (One of the 10 clans.) People really want them to produce an hire soon though. Lot's of dilly dallying and no hier. She presents us with a credit voucher for 120 gold, but Oathar declines. She smiles and notices that Oathar is after cornering the silk market.

We get rooms in the palace again. Yay! Oathar and some of the party hang around the palace and take in the luxury while waiting for dinner as Kyrik takes the rest into town, where he finds out that the war is going quite poorly for the Nuyoni. The bad guys desacrate the good guys temples, but don't seem to be doing terrible curses or using undead or anything.

We go to dinner with the Hu-Tarn. He and his wife and older family all arrive. The food is excellent as we might expect. Eventually he comes over and greets us. He makes a bicycle joke, and introduces himself to Alynna of the Changrmai Monastery. Oh dear. She's a death monk. He looks dubious, but decides she probably isn't here to kill him. He suggests we could talk after dinner.

After dinner he comes and chats a bit. They've lost all of the border forts and now the enemy is beginning their penetration drive into the farmland and the interior. In fact it's time to evacuate the major temple to the south. Perhaps, we could help with that? The temple treasures and alter need to be moved out and guarded. A number of large wagons will be needed. Meanwhile Alynna realizes that Tu-tonor the two faced god is secretly both Kieron and Jaysek in disguise.

We agree to guard the caravan and the Hu-Tarn says he will provide us with a guide in the morning.