... whaddya mean, it moved? ...
Our band continues to be...
Kalik, halfling initiate of Avoreen;
Vesper, (NPC) human fighter, henchman of Kalik;
Milik, halfling sorcerer <absent this week>;
Kendradell, female half-elf bard & initiate of Lydia;
Marcus, half-elf acolyte of Hieroneous;
Tarqualan, high elf mystic;
Nubo, gnome thief-psionicist;
Piotr, suloise human mercenary;
and finally;
Talon, dwur initiate of Clangeddin.
[13th of Flocktime, 579]
When we left our intrepid heroes back in the last millennium, Marcus
had just finished dumping the bodies of their two assailants over the side
of ship. Several crewmen questioned him on this activity (the assailants
in question being obviously wealthy, and paying customers). A quick interview
with Piotr was enough to convince the second mate to search the cabins
Nevan & Lianne had occupied, where they discovered that all of their
possessions were packed for a speedy departure (at sea (lake?)).
Investigation of those possessions revealed a case full of poisons (which
Nubo arranged to take possession of) and a case
containing women's clothing, where at least one cloak was tailored
for someone with wings.
Deciding that perhaps the party was the only passengers they'd taken on at Leukish after all, the remaining evidence of Nevan & Lianne's presence aboard the ship was erased (while their goods and wealth were spread out amongst the crew and the group. Once the ship made port in Willip, they quickly took passage on board another ship sailing up the Velvedyva towards Verbobonc & Veluna.
About halfway along their journey, Tarqualan and Milik noticed what
they thought was a river nymph swimming alongside their ship. As other
members of the party drifted up to join in the conversation, the nymph,
who gave her name as Jem, stated that she was intrigued by the greenish
glow enveloping the ship they rode upon, that seemed to trail the ship
like a second wake. Even using spells, none of the other members of the
party could see this glow, however, and Jem (or another nymph) could be
seen shadowing them for the rest of the journey.
Taking a few days to do research in Verbobonc, the group ascertained
several important facts. First off, the village of Emridy lay three days
ride south of the city, and was remembered as an important battleground
against evil in the past. Though the first downfall of the evil Temple
was widely told, careful questioning revealed that there had been a resurgence
of activity there nearly five years past, but that a group of unknown adventurers
had apparently laid low whatever evil group had sought to resanctify that
den of evil. A group of highly unusual slaves had been freed shortly thereafter,
most claiming to be from another
world; one such had taken vows and joined St. Cuthbert's creed since
that time, even though his countenance was unsettling to the eye.
This young man, Benjan by name, had skin nearly the color of the midday sky, and fine gray hair. Claiming to originally be from a city called Shiran, he spoke of a terrible coup in which the priests of the Sword King (Mabelrode) had risen up and slain the nobility, taking power for themselves and selling anyone who opposed their rule into slavery. He and his family had been taken to the dungeons of their temple, but when soldiers came to rescue them he found himself in this new place, with no idea how to return, so he had accepted the new and tried to put the past behind himself as best he could.
Further inquiry as to the current disposition of the temple revealed that several priests of Rao had journeyed south almost five years previous, and with the aid of hired mercenaries were currently in the process of cleaning out and resanctifying the temple in Rao's name. Such work continued, and reports from the site were promising.
While in the city, Nubo located a gambling house run by the priests of Norebo, and embarked on a ruinous plan to gain their assistance. Cheating at cards to gain their attention in the hopes of getting an audience with the high priest, he was instead taken into the sub-basements of the house and questioned "under duress" for an extended period of time. Once they'd wrung every possible bit of information from him, he did, at last, get an audience with the high priest, who basically told him to leave and to never again enter Norebo's sacred ground again. He was soon found by Marcus, and taken to the small temple of Hieroneous, where it was quickly determined how and why he'd received the injuries he'd sustained...
After another day of rest and recuperation, the party set out riding
south towards the village of Emridy. On the second afternoon, they were
set upon by a trio of dragonne that spooked the horses and attempted to
make meals of Kendradell, Nubo, and Piotr. As the melee progressed, however,
most everyone in the group noticed that when cut, the dragonne's bled a
oily black fluid, not the expected red blood. Once the dragonne's were
slain, Kendradell stooped down to collect a sample of
this fluid (which she and several other members of the party thought
they recognized from various visions they'd had in the past) but as she
moved the bottle close to a pool of it, it visibly recoiled and flowed
away from her approach...
[27th of Flocktime, 579]