Eberron Adventure Journal: The Fall of Long Shadows

Vult 10 - Vult 25, YK 998

Part One - Dragon's Return
After bringing Gunter Hegerin back to the Golden Dragon and explaining to the ambassadors what had happened, thus preventing the breakout of a new war, the Wolves spent a few days in Stormreach. Their newest ally Maechen shopped at the magic shops for magic inks and pages so that he could scribe some of Gunter's spells on the journey back. The Golden Dragon disembarked for Sharn on Vult 20.

During the journey, Pel took time to talk to Zan, the Tyrant and former employee of his father about what he'd discovered. Zan revealed that he had been undercover in Cord's organization, and that he had discovered plans involving a coup against the Tyrant's council. They weren't specific, but what worried him was that the names of Pel and Xain were both there. Zan wasn't sure what this meant, if Vadis' own son was against him, and he fled rather than worry about being assassinated for uncovering something he shouldn't. He asked that Pel not report what happened to Vadis or anyone, to let Zan live in his new life aboard the Golden Dragon.

Lysander had come down with something in Xen'drik, and it only worsened on the journey back. By the time the Golden Dragon arrived in Sharn on Vult 23, he was nauseous and extremely tired. When the ship arrived to find a small party of well-wishers, Lysander wasn't even well enough to offer performances or stories.

As the rest of the Wolves disembarked into the warm rain of an evening in Sharn, they were accosted by officers of the Wharf Watch. They told the Wolves that they had been tipped off that the adventurers might be carrying unauthorized salvage from Xen'drik, and that they would need to return that and face fines. Before the adventurers could react, however, a House Orien courier pushed his way to the front of the crowd and handed the officer a letter of marque, indicating that the Wolves had been operating under the auspices of House Cannith since Vult 3.

The courier also handed Pel a letter, carrying the familiar seal of Lady Elaydren d'Cannith. After Pel tipped him, Brand stopped the courier to explain that he had recently regained his memory (a convenient lie to explain his disappearance) and was seeking to rejoin House Orien. The courier helpfully suggested Terminus in Tavick's Landing, but suggested that Brand be careful, as the area was heavily influenced by the criminal gang known as the Tyrants. This, of course, was good news to Brand, given his connections within that group.

Councilor Sava Kharisa of the Lower Central Ward also greeted the Wolves, especially Pel, quite warmly, and was introduced to their newest member Maechen Eyre. She asked if Pel and the others could visit her gallery sometime in the next couple of days, before the Nights of Long Shadows, a three day holiday of danger and monsters which would begin on Vult 26.

Meanwhile, an envoy from House Phiarlan delivered a small package to Lysander. Upon opening it, he reported to the Wolves that he had been summoned by his house, and that he would see them later in the week. They bid him well and wished him better health, and he got into a waiting skycoach to depart.

Part Two - Old Haunts and New Friends
Before heading over to the Guild Hall and their usual drinking spot of The Drunken Dragon, The Wolves stopped by a Sivis message station so that Brand could send a message to his mother in the Eldeen Reaches, telling her that he was alright and that he would talk to her soon.

Then it was off to Upper Dura and the Clifftop District, where the adventurers stopped in with their guild. They arranged to add Maechen to the charter of the Wandering Wolves, as well as change the status of Tworock and Brand. From there, they went to grab a drink and read Lady Elaydren's letter at The Drunken Dragon.

Before settling into their private table, Pel spotted an old friend, the young mage Elias Volan whom they had hired to help them with a cockatrice problem. Volan greeted them happily, glad to see them survive Xen'drik, and introduced his new adventuring band, made up of a human rogue named Huran, a human cleric of the Sovereign Host named Wertham Althoreus and a beautiful half-elven girl named Beless Diaphran, who was putting on quite a singing performance on the stage. After exchanging general pleasantries, and giving Wertham the flametouched iron holy symbol of the Host that they had found, earning a pleased if restrained response, the Wolves settled back into their private table.

There they read the letter from Lady Elaydren. It was brief, saying only that she needed to see them at her townhouse in Parlan Tower as soon as was convenient, but that it wasn't as urgent as most of her missives had been, and could certainly wait until after they'd rested a bit from their recent journeys.

Feeling the need for rest, the group agreed to head to bed for the night and meet again at Gareth's Gear in the morning. Pel returned to the apartment of Malfiore' LeQuande, while Brand, Luggoth and Maechen all bunked at the guildhall. Before they did, they offered up the Silver Holy Symbol of Vulkoor that they had found as a trophy for the hall, which the bartender, Mira d'Ghallanda, happily mounted over the bar.

Part Three - Matters of Finance:
The next morning (Vult 24), Pel joined the group and they walked over to Gareth's Gear, explaining to Maechen that they had a good arrangement going with this store, and that one of the former Wolves worked there. Only Brand and Pel knew that Gareth was Pel, and that the Wolves owned the shop.

They were pleased to discover that Gareth's Gear had some nicer fixtures, a magically lighted sign and other indications that it had been doing well. They were enthusiastically greeted by their dwarven manager, Jalis ir'Mroranon, who reported that she didn't have any excess profits to give them but the store had been doing quite well. Tock wasn't there, out doing some work, but Jalis helped them put their spoils into the inventory, at least what wasn't divided amongst themselves, and from the general treasury they each earned about 5000 gold, plus close to 350 to put into the Kundarak account.

When they were done cashing in their treasure, the Wolves disembarked for various errands, agreeing to meet up again at mid-day at the Drunken Dragon. Brand waited for Tock, and when he got there he gave him a list of items he was hoping to have made, including a wand of cure moderate wounds for the party and gloves of dexterity and a bag of tricks (rust) for himself. Tock worked up the expenses, which Brand paid, and Tock told him it would probably be about a week and a half until he could get all of the items crafted.

Pel, Dura, Luggoth and Maechen walked together back to the Dura quarter and stopped in at The Dragon's Hoard. Pel bought himself an Infinite Scroll Case, then made his way to a variety of scroll shops in the Mystic Market to outfit himself with enough scrolls to make the new device worthwhile. Luggoth purchased Gauntlets of Ogre Power at The Dragon's Hoard, and then made his way down into Middle Dura, looking for a new place to live. He found something he liked while wandering around the districts, finding the unusual (some might say mad) district of Hareth's Folly, and purchasing a cheap, one room apartment outright for 200 gp.

Maechen didn't find anything to his taste at The Dragon's Hoard immediately, and instead walked down the road to the Esoteric Order of Aureon, a prominent Wizard's Circle in Sharn. After talking with the mages at length, and deciding that he wished to join their ranks, he paid the princely initiation sum of 2500 gold for his first annual membership.

The Wolves met once again at the Drunken Dragon and, deciding that they were hungry, stumbled upon a little restaurant named Kavv's, which served an intriguing blend of Khorvairian food styles, using spices and vegetables the adventurers hadn't seen before. The meals were cheap but exquisite in quality, and the adventurers vowed to "remember this place" when they were in the area of their guild or usual tavern.

Walking through Sharn to get to the Central Plateau, the Wolves decided to stop in and make deposits on both their personal accounts and the Wolves' group account. It was there that they were introduced to Rochus D'Kundarak, a dwarven Silver Key and security specialist who told them that he had been assigned as their personal banker, and would be happy to help with security, deposits, letters of credit and other financial matters.

Part Four - A Lady Takes Her Leave:
After dealing with their finances, the Wolves walked down into Middle Central and met Lady Elaydren at her townhome in Parlan Tower. She greeted them warmly, introducing herself to Maechen, and asked after the adventurers, offering them fine snacks and wine from Aundair. After a little bit of small talk, Lady Elaydren got into why she had invited the adventurers to her home, and why she had known to provide them with a post-dated letter of marque.

She explained that Lady Sharri d'Deneith had visited her a couple weeks ago, and had urged Elaydren to cut all ties with the Wolves. She offered up quite a dossier, pointing out that the Wolves had ties to the Tyrants and the Daask, that they served at least one rival house in Phiarlan and that one in their midst (Luggoth) had a history of being a drifter who committed violence against worshipers of the Silver Flame. She also made noises about them "plundering Xen'drik illegally," which tipped off Elaydren to expect her ploy with the Wharf Watch upon their return. She secured a letter of marque for the Wolves, not wishing them to get into trouble.

Elaydren told the Wolves they didn't have to worry, that they had been loyal and helpful friends, but that she would be talking to them less often. Not because of Lady Sharri's insistence, but rather because she and her fiance were moving to Aundair, where they could become more involved in House Cannith operations there. They were leaving in the first week of Zaratyr, the next month. However, she did deliver invitations to the Wolves, including invitations for Tworock, Kanatash and Tock, for her wedding, to take place in about three months, during the first week of Therendor.

Lady Elaydren bid the Wolves farewell, hoping that they would see her either before she left or at least at her wedding in Aundair.

Part Five - Goodfellas & Goblins:
From Lady Elaydren's townhouse, the Wolves wandered down into the Lower Central Plateau, where they found Sava's Gallery in the Stone Towers. Councilor Kharisa Sava's gallery was quite impressive, especially given its relatively provincial location, and as the Wolves were looking around, Kharisa approached them and welcomed them. Pel, wanting to continue building a useful relationship with the councilor, impressed her by discussing some of the historical elements in some of the paintings. This probably had something to do with her inviting Pel to dine with her at some point in the future.

However, she also offered it as payment for services. Specifically, she warned that the Boromar Clan, always active in her district, was getting increasingly pushy in the last month. Asking merchants for increasing amounts of "protection" money with increasing frequency, resorting to violence more quickly, that kind of thing. She asked if the Wolves would be willing to make their presence known in Lower Central a little bit, to intimidate the Boromar enforcers the way they had been intimidating the merchants and common people in the area. Pel reluctantly agreed, not wanting to step on too many toes given his own maneuvering in the world of crime.

As they left Kharisa Sava's gallery, intent on finding a spot for dinner, the Wolves discussed what they thought was going on with the Boromar Clan. They had heard from various people that the Boromar and Daask were engaged in various squabbles, and that it was only getting worse, and many suggested that given the Daask's monstrous population, they might make some kind of move during the Night of Long Shadows.

After dining at a restaurant in the Olladra's Kitchen district of the Central Plateau, the adventurers wandered the city asking questions and looking for information. Pel and Maechen teamed up and found out that the Boromar had been acquiring explosive glyphs, ogre- and goblin-bane weapons and out-of-town assassins and mercenaries with experience fighting monsters.

While Maechen retired to his new quarters with the Esoteric Order of Aureon, Luggoth returned to a few games of chance and drinks at the King's Tavern and then home to his new apartment and Brand again rented a room at the Clifftop Guild Hall, Pel had a busy night. First, he shifted into his guise as a scabby half-orc hobo and did some begging and information gathering in the Daask controlled Malleon's Gate district of Lower Dura. What he discovered was that the Daask had also been making noises about violence, and he guessed that the Boromar were gearing up for war in a defensive nature, expecting an attack from the Daask.

After that, Pel went down to the Cracked Mirror tavern to meet with Xain, his contact with the Tyrants. Given that Pel still didn't trust Xain after the theft of the schema and the creation pattern, and what he had heard from Zan, it was a rather frosty meeting. Especially when Xain revealed that Vadis, Pel's father, had ordered him and the rest of the Wolves to steer clear of the Emerald Claw, as the Tyrants were building an information-gathering alliance with them. Pel didn't believe the orders truly came from his father, and he demanded to speak with him directly, but Xain wouldn't budge. Trying to get further, Pel mentioned Zan to Xain, who was quite insistent about finding out what Pel knew. Pel simply stormed out, telling Xain that he would tell his father what he knew. He then returned to LeQuande's apartment to get some rest, and sleep in late until the next morning.

Part Six - Preludes and Developments:
The next day, Vult 25, was the last day before the city and indeed much of Khorvaire would endure the dominance of dark magic known as Long Shadows. As such, the city was both somber and rushed, holding its collective breath wondering what the nights would bring while doing their best to get last minute preparations made for three long nights gathered around fires against the darkness roaming the streets.

As arranged the day before, the Wolves met again at the Drunken Dragon, this time for a short but pleasant lunch. Pel finished the last of his information gathering for the Wolves by bringing Brand information he had learned about Terminus, the House Orien enclave in Tavick's Landing. He had learned that there was a cult of the Traveler inside Orien, but didn't find out many specifics about their role in the Sharn branch of the House. He found a man named Markus Hume d'Orien, Minister of Scheduling for Terminus, and believed that he might be receptive to Brand. Markus had no love for the politics of the House, believing their role to be a public service rather than a gods-given right. Brand resolved to seek Markus out later that day.

Luggoth, inspired by the notion of the violence of the Long Shadows, decided to look into the Silver Flame temples in the area. Maechen, still observing Luggoth in the name of the Prophecy, tried to follow him, but the canny shifter had no trouble detecting his shadow, and he turned things around on him, coming up behind Maechen and grabbing him by the throat. He growled at Maechen to stop following him, insisting that he didn't care about the Propecy, and Maechen diplomatically demurred, taking his leave to go back and find his quarters in the Esoteric Order of Aureon once more.

Free to scope out the Silver Flame temples, Luggoth was unsurprised to see that they were well-guarded, ready to defend against the depredations of monsters. What did surprise him was that he saw some shifters, obviously worshipers of the Flame, going into the temple. This inspired him to head back to the King of Fire and get roaring drunk before passing out in his apartment, roughly an hour before the Long Shadows began. If Maechen was right about Luggoth's role in the Prophecy, it clearly wasn't going to start tonight.

Brand, for his part, summoned his courage and returned to the world he had left behind long ago, the world of House Orien. He went into the enormous lightning rail station Terminus and found the office of Markus d'Orien. When he introduced himself, Markus knew a little about Brand's story already, and had clearly heard of his uncle Aeromus. It was also clear that Markus had little use for Aeromus, although he did share the bad news with Brand that Aeromus had risen to a position on the ruling council in Passage, Aundair.

Markus quickly agreed to hire Brand on as security for the caravans and lightning rails, and mentioned that they had a Blade of Orien working for the Sharn enclave who headed up security in general. He was in Thrane, but would be back within the next week or two. Markus also spoke plainly to Brand, telling him that he understood a desire for vengeance against Aeromus and justice for his father Traega, but that Markus would be of no help in that regard. He wouldn't hamper Brand, and indeed promised to bury the paperwork so that Aeromus wouldn't immediately know of his nephew's return to the fold, but neither would he be a political ally, choosing instead to remain neutral.

Pel stopped in at Sava's Gallery to warn the councilor of what he had heard, and then made himself visible, in his half-elven Wandering Wolves guise, hoping to catch the attention of someone in the Tyrants. Someone he hoped would be looking for him. Someone was, but it wasn't his father, or at least she didn't present herself as such. A stern, somewhat cold woman who introduced herself as Yelena talked to Pel, expressing no small amount of irritation but also conveying a message of pride from his father. She repeated Xain's instructions about the Emerald Claw, and told Pel that he had successfully gotten rid of Xain as a contact, but that she would be his go-between. It was dangerous, she reminded him, for him to see his father directly.

Unhappy with this new contact, Pel insisted upon seeing his father, making allusions to the alliance he and Lysander had been planning between House Phiarlan and the Tyrants. Yelena promised that Pel would see his father after the Long Shadows, that Vadis would come to Malfiore' LeQuande's apartment. Pel would be there, as the day was getting long, and it wouldn't be long before the Long Shadows fell upon Sharn...