Lanamelk led the party through the bustling streets of Dar Reinoth to the Palace of the Three, the Inspired god-queens of the Reidra. As they walked, the party kept their eyes and ears sharp for the news of Khorvaire that was circulating. They learned that just a day or two ago, House Deneith had learned of Zelian's death in Droaam. They'd tried to keep in quiet, but within 24 hours everyone knew, and now tensions were escalating extremely rapidly. Everyone was blaming Droaam for the assassination, thinking this land of monsters was trying to undermine the Five Kingdoms. Breland, Droaam's neighbor, was especially incensed and on the warpath. Meanwhile, House Deneith itself has been thrown into turmoil, as Zelian had deliberately hoarded power and not groomed any heir, so now his lieutenants were squabbling amongst themselves, trying to gain control.
With these matters weighing heavily on their minds, the party entered the Palace of the Three. They had a lot of time to mull them over, as there were a lot of formality and ceremonies that they were required to pass through before they were admitted into the presence of the Three.
In the grand throne room, the Three sat impassive on their dais, while an Inspired male stood at the foot of the dais, announcing himself as the Voice of the Three, and translating between Common and Quori (which was all the Three would speak, and never directly to the party, which they couldn't understand anyway). The Voice relayed a message of great arrogance and condescension, and a order. The Three wanted the party to return to Khorvaire and persuade the king of New Galifar (part of the nation of Q'barra) to use the current turmoil as a platform to expand his influence, particularly over the neighboring Talenta Plains. Their stated reason was that this would bring greater stability and civilization to Khorvaire - privately, the party was aware that Redira had significant ties to Q'barra that were certainly driving this course of action.
The party had questions, and reservations, but it quickly became apparent they were not being asked. Unwilling to get into a fight at this time, they decided to accept, believing they could slip away from the Three's influence once they were back home. They then retired to the chambers that the Three had provided for them. The night passed uneventfully. (Taumir sent along a question about the Thirteenth Moon, and got a curt brush-off the next morning.)
The next morning, 13 Dravago, Lanamelk and some of her fellow Inspired Guardians came and escorted the party down to the docks, where they promptly set sail for Khorvaire! The trip was long, five days in the making. In their boredom, the party considered going to Xen'dirk instead, and seeking fame and fortune there, but decided they'd rather get home instead.
It was evening on 18 Dravago when they docked at Newthrone. Almost as soon as they disembarked, Lizardfolk began to swarm out of the sea around them and attacked! A huge crowd of them rushed the party, pinning them down in a swamp of bodies. Little did the lizardfolk know that this just made it easier for the party to hit more of them at once!
Rewards
XP and GP will be awarded when the battle is over.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Session #22: The Unintentional Heretics
As the forest fell silent, the party decided to try and find some sort of civilization in this strange land. They easily found a well-used but humble road, and followed it north for an hour or two. They found a tiny farming village, but decided not to risk any entanglements with the locals that evening. They camped outside of town and rested after the fight.
The next morning, 10 Dravago, they were awakened by the sounds of the farmers getting up to go about their daily labors. (The farmer's fields were to the west of the village, so the party had to actively go into town to meet someone.) They hailed a farmer who called himself Zara - he was surprised to see them, and a little perplexed by the sight of Edge, but he seemed unafraid. He said the name of this village was Tranor, in the empire of Reidra. When asked questions about this land and this nation, he seemed both uninterested and unaware of much of anything beyond his village and his fields. He did suggest they travel to the capital city of Dar Reinoth, saying individuals of their mettle and skills would be valued by the Inspired, the mysterious rulers of his country. He then bid them farewell and headed off to his day of honest labor.
The party couldn't think of much else to pursue, so they decided to take Zara's advice. First though, they decided to head back to the clearing where they'd left the dragon's corpse and harvest the skin and scales. It was messy work, especially for Edge. The trip there and back and the time butchering the dead beast cost them most of the morning.
By mid-afternoon, the party had traveled a dozen miles or so north of Tranor when they saw three figures approaching from a distance. They were wary, but didn't see many places or reasons to hide themselves, so they decided to meet the strangers as they came. This proved to be a bad decision, as the three strangers, who were all kalashtar women, were servants of a race called the Inspired, who rule Riedra and had outlawed all worship of anything but the Path of the Inspired. Azeri, cleric of Ioun, was clearly not a follower of such. The women attacked with almost no warning, determined to bring her and the rest of the party down. However, they quickly found themselves outmatched - the party slew two and was able to intimate the last into surrendering.
The remaining woman's name was Lanamelk. When she learned that the party was from Khorvaire, she softened her stance, and like Zara, said her masters would be greatly interested in meeting them. She offered to travel with them to Dar Reinoth and make introductions there. The party agreed, feeling that they could escape from or kill Lanamelk relatively easily should the need arise.
The party and Lanamelk traveled north and west for the rest of the day, and camped overnight. The next day, 11 Dravago, they traveled for a few more hours before reaching a mid-sized city around mid-day. The party entertained the notion of slipping away from her while there, and Azeri did manage to sneak away long enough to buy some spell components, but in the end party decided to see their journey to the capital through. The afternoon and early evening passed uneventfully, and they all spent the night in an obscure country inn along the highway.
Around noon the next day (12 Dravago), the travelers arrived in Dar Reinoth, a great bustling metropolis. As they journeyed towards the center of town with Lanamelk, they listened to the crowds around them. It didn't take them long to discover that the big news, even here, was that Khorvaire was on the brink of war!
Rewards
The next morning, 10 Dravago, they were awakened by the sounds of the farmers getting up to go about their daily labors. (The farmer's fields were to the west of the village, so the party had to actively go into town to meet someone.) They hailed a farmer who called himself Zara - he was surprised to see them, and a little perplexed by the sight of Edge, but he seemed unafraid. He said the name of this village was Tranor, in the empire of Reidra. When asked questions about this land and this nation, he seemed both uninterested and unaware of much of anything beyond his village and his fields. He did suggest they travel to the capital city of Dar Reinoth, saying individuals of their mettle and skills would be valued by the Inspired, the mysterious rulers of his country. He then bid them farewell and headed off to his day of honest labor.
The party couldn't think of much else to pursue, so they decided to take Zara's advice. First though, they decided to head back to the clearing where they'd left the dragon's corpse and harvest the skin and scales. It was messy work, especially for Edge. The trip there and back and the time butchering the dead beast cost them most of the morning.
By mid-afternoon, the party had traveled a dozen miles or so north of Tranor when they saw three figures approaching from a distance. They were wary, but didn't see many places or reasons to hide themselves, so they decided to meet the strangers as they came. This proved to be a bad decision, as the three strangers, who were all kalashtar women, were servants of a race called the Inspired, who rule Riedra and had outlawed all worship of anything but the Path of the Inspired. Azeri, cleric of Ioun, was clearly not a follower of such. The women attacked with almost no warning, determined to bring her and the rest of the party down. However, they quickly found themselves outmatched - the party slew two and was able to intimate the last into surrendering.
The remaining woman's name was Lanamelk. When she learned that the party was from Khorvaire, she softened her stance, and like Zara, said her masters would be greatly interested in meeting them. She offered to travel with them to Dar Reinoth and make introductions there. The party agreed, feeling that they could escape from or kill Lanamelk relatively easily should the need arise.
The party and Lanamelk traveled north and west for the rest of the day, and camped overnight. The next day, 11 Dravago, they traveled for a few more hours before reaching a mid-sized city around mid-day. The party entertained the notion of slipping away from her while there, and Azeri did manage to sneak away long enough to buy some spell components, but in the end party decided to see their journey to the capital through. The afternoon and early evening passed uneventfully, and they all spent the night in an obscure country inn along the highway.
Around noon the next day (12 Dravago), the travelers arrived in Dar Reinoth, a great bustling metropolis. As they journeyed towards the center of town with Lanamelk, they listened to the crowds around them. It didn't take them long to discover that the big news, even here, was that Khorvaire was on the brink of war!
Rewards
- 2,500 XP each. Time to level up!
- 4,000 GP total.
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