Sirnas wished to get going as soon as possible, but the party had a few things to take care of first. They replenished their supplies and bargained for some better weapons. The members of the court and the palace staff continued to fawn over and kowtow to them, to the point that Azeri was even able to persuade someone to give her a pet fox!
They still set out relatively early. The higher-level clerics that Sirnas wanted to meet with was his old order, who lived in a monastery outside Lathleer, in central Aundair. The party chose to take the lightning rail to Fairhaven - they slept on the train on the night of the 9th, and arrived in Fairhaven on the evening of the 10th. The next morning (the 11th), they sent out for the monastery, arriving late that afternoon.
When they arrived, they received a kind if subdued reaction from the clerics of Sirnas' order, who called themselves the Children of the Unequal Family. They were taken to see the abbot, an Eladrin named Boreshk. Boreshk turned out to be an insanely old Eladrin - most Eladrin pass on at around 300 years old without having visibly aged, but Boreshk was pushing 500 and was gnarled and milky-eyed. His mind appeared strong, even if he was a bit easily distracted.
Boreshk told them more about what was going to be required for this epic quest. While the party could slay the dragons, only one being could forge the weapon from the bones that they needed - a being named Orisis. The party naturally asked who Orisis was and where to find him or her, and Boreshk took some dark delight in announcing that Orisis lived somewhere in the depths of Khyber, and that no one knew quite what he or she was or where to find him/her/it. He also made it clear that Orisis was a evil being, but would forge the weapon if the party could defeat him/her/it in battle.
The party was naturally a little daunted by this prospect. They asked about where to find portals to Khyber, but decided they would focus on slaying the dragons first. Sirnas and Boreshk reminded them that generally speaking, blue dragons are the least powerful dragons, followed by red, then white, then black, then green. Rthumar had been a blue dragon, so seeking out a red dragon seemed like the best thing to do next. Red dragons are known to populate the Ironroot and Endworld Mountains, both of which bordered the Talenta Plains, and the party had long wanted to check and see what had become of the people they'd spent time with there, so they decided to turn their attentions that way.
One other important piece of information the party learned was that one of the dragons slain to forge the weapon had to have been or be a consort of Tiamat. They were relieved to learn that Rthumar already satisfied that element.
The party and Boreshk talked for some time, and then they had a meal and turned in for the night. Before they finished however, Boreshk emphatically emphasized how crucial secrecy would be! There are many who would feel that slaying a god, even an evil one, constitutes blasphemy. And of course if Tiamat herself learned what they were doing, their quest would become exponentially more difficult. (The gods are not omniscient - with the exception of psionic ones, they cannot hear unspoken thoughts. So a secret can be kept from the gods if you are careful and do not encounter a psionic minion.)
The party awoke the next morning (12 Barrakas) and set out to leave. They had barely stepped out the door though when they were attacked by an Eladrin flanked by four monstrous hounds. The Eladrin appeared to be one of these whom Boreshk had warned them about, those would interpret their quest as blasphemous, as their attacker said little besides calling them heretics and such. The party was able to defeat these enemies before the rest of the Order could come to their aid. When the dust settled, the clerics were surprised and dismayed to see it had been one of their own, Kerugerd.
Rewards
- 16,000 XP each
- 25,000 GP total
