26 Vult - 28 Zarantyr, YK 998-999The Night of Long Shadows (26-28 Vult) was one of the worst in recent memory. As predicted by what the Wolves had learned prior to the fall of 26 Vult, the Daask had been planning to use these dark days to launch an attack on The Boromar Clan. Over the course of three days, bloody gang warfare erupted in Sharn. It was at its worst in the lower districts, but it wasn't uncommon to see a spark of violence, an assassination or a gang of monsters even at the higher levels of the city. Innocents were caught in the crossfire, and worse, deliberately targeted for the monstrous appetites of some of the monsters in from Droaam who had come to help the Daask.
During the first night, when the only indications that anything was wrong were the loud, bestial howls in the distance, Malfiore' LeQuande had two visitors in his penthouse. An older gentleman and middle aged woman knocked on his door in the middle of the night. Anyone nosing around would hear only their claim of being restauranteurs, seeking shelter with the man who had once helped them deliver exotic spices to their foreign clients. Malfiore, of course, knew that like himself, these two were not what they seemed.
After the Night of Long Shadows passed, the violence in the city did not abate. The King was forced to call upon the Red Cloak Battalion, an elite strike force, on more than one occasion. The Daask continued to bring in support from Droaam, not quite enough to be considred an invasion, but enough so that diplomatic talks between the nation and Breland became an ongoing concern. Rumors of war began filling the Korranberg Chronicle. The Boromar and Tyrants, meanwhile, battled the Daask over territory and, increasingly, as vengeance for other attacks. Within the month, it wasn't just foot soldiers dying, but leaders of each faction being assassinated.
In the midst of this chaos, Lysander summoned the Wolves to his home, where he made the rather surprising announcement that he and Arenydee were planning to be married. He was about to embark on a tour of Khorvaire, and wanted to share the news with his comrades before he left. Brand also was on his way out of town, as his new duties with House Orien would see him traveling around Khorvaire as well.
Desperate for help, The Watch sought the help of the adventurers' guilds. It seemed likely that there were ties to the various crime clans in these adventurers' guilds, so they never provided much information, they just sought help in terms of muscle. Even this, however, proved not enough, and the chaos in the streets increased. The information brokers like Phiarlan and Thuranni, not to mention security experts like Kundarak and Deneith, were making money hand over fist. However, with assaults, burglaries, kidnappings and worse going on, the City Council was forced to act. Led by an initiative from Councilor Sava Kharisa, on the 28th day of Zarantyr, the City Council of Sharn enacted a city-wide curfew. After dusk, citizens must have identity papers, and if they have any sort of criminal record, the Watch can run them in on charges of breaking curfew.
PEL
Once inside the home of Malfiore' LeQuande, the two visitors on the Night of Long Shadows revealed themselves to be Vadis, Pel's father, and Yelena, his new contact. Vadis was, as always, distant and cold, but Pel sensed his father's approval in his bold refusal to deal with Xain any further. Of course, he quickly learned why Yelena had taken this personally: Xain was her son, and Pel's questions about his loyalty had caused Xain to move from lieutenant and information broker to mere street-level informant again.
Vadis told Pel several things that night. First, he stressed that Yelena was a trusted ally, and that from now on, Pel was to accept that any word she said was as words directly from his lips. Pel wasn't sure, but he suspected that his father's relationship with Yelena might not be entirely chaste. Second, he told Pel that he was very serious about the truce with the Emerald Claw. He had managed to forestall assassination plans that were in place, and the Claw's eyes were everywhere. Building an information network with the same moral flexibility as the Claw, even with Phiarlan's help, would be years of work. Third, he told Pel that the Tyrants had joined with the Boromar against the Daask. It was a risky move, but thanks to Cord's actions, the Daask and Tyrants were already on bad terms, and now they could strengthen their ties to the Boromar while weakening their enemies. Vadis hoped that it might soon be time for them to make their move and return Pel to working directly for the Council. Vadis cautioned Pel that he had plans that would make this war work to his advantage, and that when the gang war had settled, Cord would no longer be a concern. After answering a few brief questions (put them in the comments below), he took his leave. Pel has not seen Vadis since that night, although he's seen plenty of Yelena, giving Pel orders from Vadis that have him running all over town, helping and hindering various factions.
During the second week of Zarantyr, one of the members of the Tyrants' Council was murdered in his chambers by a Daask assassin. He was a doppleganger, and Pel was able to learn that he was a supporter of Cord. Yelena took his place on the Council about a week later.
BRAND
Brand has become a Blade of Orien, apprenticed to Dahlia Hume d'Orien, the niece of Markus, the man who got him in. Dahlia is Master of Security for the Transportation Guild in Sharn. She is a talented combatant and a bit of a showoff, but she is driven largely by the dedication of her job. She has a taste for travel and adventure, and she often teases Brand that she'd like to switch jobs. "You can go where the House tells you and make sure everything's secure, and I'll live the life of the wandering adventurer!" She loves spending time with the Wandering Wolves and hearing tales of their adventures, and has become a regular fixture at The Drunken Dragon during her off hours.
Brand has begun taking protection work on caravans and Lightning Rail journeys, usually along with Dahlia. He has traveled extensively in Thrane and Zilargo, as well as working a caravan that traveled into the Eldeen Reaches. All told, he probably spent only four or five days in Sharn throughout the entire month, although he did manage to spend four days in the Eldeen Reaches seeing his mother, Rorsa and her pack.
Thanks to his work in Orien, Brand has also begun to make some contacts. In Sharn, his closest confidantes are Markus and Dahlia, but he also has worked a fair amount with Hammond Swith, a diviner wizard in the Ministry of Planning who has been instrumental in helping Markus choose new and safe routes for the caravans. Hammond is a bit distracted, seemingly living a few hours in the future most of the time, but he's been indespensable to Markus and plenty nice to Brand and Dahlia, and the four have formed a sort of "surrogate family" within the Orien House.
Brand has also learned more about exactly what happened with his father. Traega d'Orien was a Master of Scouting for the Transportation Guild in Passage. His job was to scout out potential new routes for caravans, finding where the Lightning Rail didn't go that it was most needed. He did most of his work in the Eldeen Reaches, where he had to walk the line between the environmentally conscious druids and the business-minded members of his own House. His success had gotten noticed, and he was next in line for the position of Viceroy overseeing the northern Eldeen region once his Uncle Diavus was promoted to Lord Seneschal of The Eldeen Reaches, something that was supposed to happen relatively soon.
Aeromus, the son of Diavus, was everything Traega wasn't. Sickly where Traega was strong, conniving where Traega was straightforward and unfortunately, devious where Traega was honest. Aeromus was a Minister of Planning for the Transportation Guild in Passage, and his lineage made him the next in line for Viceroy of Eldeen, while his lack of noteworthy accomplishments pushed his cousin Traega to the fore.
Traega's work in Eldeen was becoming more difficult, as a band of Ashbound terrorists were striking at his accomplishments in the area, claiming that they were destroying the delicate balance. After a couple months of this, evidence came to light that Traega had been funneling money from the Orien projects and into the hands of these Ashbound druids, in order to spend more time in Eldeen with his lover, a druid in the area named Sheryn Wayfinder. Traega's record was spotless enough, and the evidence not quite solid enough, that he was to be exiled rather than tried. Most don't know that on his way to the Eldeen Reaches, there was a failed assassination attempt, which drove Traega to go into hiding.
Ironically, Aeromus did not get the position of Viceroy, as political maneuvering above his head kept his father Diavus from advancing. Nevertheless, with Traega out of the way, Aeromus found it easier to rise in the ranks, and after about 10 years, he rose to the rank of Minister of Planning for the entire Aundarian region, and is now next in line for Viceroy of Central Aundair, a prestigious position that could easily lead to him becoming the next Lord Seneschal of Aundair.
The rest of the story, Brand already knows. How Aeromus found him, took him in, tried to teach him the ways of the House. Encouraged him to think of him as an "uncle." Brand was already uncomfortable with Aeromus' tutoring, and then Yancy Bathanel, a scout and caravan driver in the the Transportation Guild who had often worked with Traega, told Brand about Aeromus framing his father. He had no evidence, and scant few details, but his words had the ring of truth, much more than those of Aeromus. Yancy helped Brand fake his death and escape to Breland. Brand has of late learned that most of what Aeromus taught him about House politics was wrong, at least as regards House Orien, and that the business of the House is nowhere near as cutthroat as he made it seem.
LUGGOTH
On the second Night of Long Shadows, Luggoth was out in the madness, enjoying a little bit of a chance to cut loose in the city. He battled a couple of ogres in the street, and after he had driven them off, discovered that they weren't attacking anyone from the Boromar Clan, as he'd believed, but a 7-year-old shifter child named Borgoth. Moments after convincing the frightened and wounded boy to come out of his hiding place, Luggoth met the boy's sister, a beautiful 19-year-old shifter girl named Savannah. She was immensely grateful, and though poor, offered Luggoth a home-cooked meal and the company of his kind as thanks for saving her brother.
Luggoth went to their home, a poor one-room apartment in the Stoneyard district of Lower Northedge, and was served delicious and plentiful food. Savannah explained that their parents had both died in The Last War, and that she had taken care of their brother ever since. Savannah worked most days as a barmaid at The Bear's Rest. After dinner, Luggoth was shaken when he discovered that both Savannah and Borgoth were worshippers of the Silver Flame. She hastily explained that a shifter priest of the Silver Flame had taken them in during the War and brought them to Sharn. "Without the Flame," she explained, "We wouldn't be alive today." Savannah understands Luggoth's distrust of the Flame, but she claimed that those in her church were accepting of their people, good and kind folk who sought only to do the right thing. She invited him to attend a service, but even if he wasn't interested, she invited Luggoth to return whenever he wanted for a home-cooked meal. Whether or not Luggoth accepted is up to you, Nate.
Presumably, Maechen was also trying to spend some time with Luggoth to talk about the Prophecy and to try and figure out Luggoth's role in all of that. I'll let the two of you decide how you deal with that.
LYSANDER
Lysander's show is being heavily promoted by House Phiarlan. It's called "An Evening With Lysander d'Phiarlan" and promotes that he's an adventuring bard who has performed at notable theatres in Sharn, with helpful quotes from Baron Elvinor d'Phiarlan, King Boranel of Breland (wrangled through a deal thanks to the help the Wolves gave the Dark Lanterns), the owner of Gailan's in Sharn and a couple notable bards from his Circle of Song. Lysander is given free rein to perform songs, plays and stories of his choice, and provided local support from talented young Phiarlan performers at each performance. He is also being introduced to a network of House contacts and learning to serve as spymaster in some respects for some of these younger performers, handing out assignments from Baron Elvinor along the way. All of this is aimed not just at raising his profile and earning money for the House, but at getting notable personages to his shows so that he, Arenydee and other agents of Phiarlan can try to converse with them for information and/or ransack their homes and offices for information while they're at a performance.
The tour begins on Zarantyr 1 with a performance at Mizano Rupa's, a dinner theatre with a reputation for presenting up and comers. All of the Wolves are given complimentary tickets to the performance. If you'd like, you can roll a Performance skill roll for me to see how the first show goes off.
Lysander plays five more shows in Sharn before departing. On 2 Zarantyr, he plays another lunch and dinner show at Mizano Rupa's in Middle Menthis. On 3 Zarantyr, a lunch and dinner show at the Starfire Dragon, a competing dinner theatre. Then, on 4 Zarantyr, he plays an evening show in Upper Menthis at the famous Kavarrah Concert Hall. The crowd is a who's who of high society, allowing Lysander and Arenydee to do some significant information gathering.
After that, Lysander's trip takes him by Lightning Rail out to Wroat (Breland) for a performance on 6 Zarantyr, which is attended by a lot of the political powerhouses of Breland... rumors are that King Boranel and his family are in the audience, although they don't show up for the after-party. After spending two days there to do some information-gathering, they're back on the road to Starilaskur (Breland) for a performance on 11 Zarantyr, then a trip through Sterngate (Breland) and into Zolanberg in Zilargo for two performances on 13 Zarantyr and 14 Zarantyr. Then down to Korranberg (Zilargo) for a series of shows, running from 15 Zarantyr through 18 Zarantyr. During your time in Korranberg, you're to be doing a lot of research at the library, planting stories in the Chronicle and looking into the activities of The Trust. Given how much information there is in Zilargo in general and Korranberg in particular, you're there for another two days.
After that, it's travel by airship to Trolanport for two performances on Zarantyr 22, followed up by a day in town to look into the shipbuilding industry and heavy sea trade that happens in the port, as well as a stop off at the local House enclave for further instructions. Then you take off by airship for about three and a half days, traveling to the northern part of Aundair for a series of five performances in Fairhaven beginning on 27 Zarantyr and continuing until the end of the month. Fairhaven has a thriving underworld, a growing university and the Royal Court of Aundair, so it's a good place to impress and gather information.
The whole trip is paid for by the House: Lightning rail travel, standard accommodations, food, social activities, everything. They even cover the rental on Lysander's apartment while he's on the tour. In the second month of his tour, he'll travel south by lightning rail back through Aundair, Thrane and Breland and finally back to Sharn.
MAECHEN
Maechen has settled in to Sharn, and given that he plans to stay with the Wolves, he won't be able to make the journey back to Argonessen anytime too soon. It takes 28 days by chartered Lyrandar sailing vessel (and costs 8400 gp!), plus at least a week of inland travel, so it's not really practical for Maechen to make a physical journey back. He could also pay a House Orien scion to teleport him the 4000 miles for a price of 40,000 gp. Again, not really practical.
However, he will probably want to invest in scrolls of sending that will allow him to communicate, in 25 word bursts, with his dragon mentor. The scrolls cost 1,125 gp each (or 500 gp and 50 XP each, if bought from a friend in The Order of Aureon), or he can pay 250 gp per each communication by using House Sivis, although that's less private. Having a pair of sending stones made (keeping one and sending the other to his dragon mentor and allowing for more regular communication) would cost 630 gp and 51 xp, plus the cost of getting them there (there's that 8400 gp again, and it would take at least a month before the communications were available.) One way or the other, post in the comments how Maechen chooses to get in touch with his mentor, and what 25 word message he sends. He'll get one back in return.
He also has been working with the Esoteric Order of Aureon, researching spells and such. He has discovered that there are a few greedy and power-hungry members of the Order, but also that there are many noble spellcasters interested in information. Sadly, the power-hungry dominate the decision-making process, and Maechen has alienated some of them, but he has found a friendly niche group to spend time with and research with. As a 5th level spellcaster, he's one of only 25 members of the order of that power level in the Order, and thus brings with him a certain amount of clout. His circle of friends includes only three people ranking above him, 2 6th-level casters and a 7th-level caster. He can also choose to cast spells for money during his time, as three of his first level spells (Comprehend Languages, Feather Fall and Identity) and one of his third level spells (Tongues) are always in demand. Each day that he decides to spend casting, he'll make 45 gp/1st level spell and 135 gp/3rd level (counting the 10% donation back to the Order). What this means is that he could theoretically make up to 450 gp in a day, if he casts all his 1st and 3rd level spells, but this is a very rare occurrence. But if Maechen decides to do commercial spellcasting when he isn't researching his own spells or The Prophecy, he'll make about 2000 gp for each month.
He can also use the Order's library to buy new spells for his spellbook. There is a 50% chance he can find any spell from abjuration, divination, evocation, transmutation and universal, and a 25% chance he can find a spell from another school. Copying the spell to his spellbook will require a donation equal to half of (spell level x caster level x 25 gp).
Name: Pyre