Dravago 1 - Dravago 15And so it was that after a night of rest and rushed planning, the Wolves planned to begin their trek towards Zarash'ak to catch a slow boat to Stormreach. But The Prophecy had one last surprise for them.
When they awoke the next morning, Maechen was gone. He had left simple, short notes to each of the Wolves explaining his departure. While he slept, dreams had come to him, dreams that he was certain were sent by his master, calling him back to Argonessen. He expressed his regret at leaving the Wolves, but said that he hoped the Prophecy would set their paths together again in the future. His note to Luggoth read "You are on the path, Luggoth, and I believe the Wolves will keep you on that path. Do not be swayed by honeyed words and promises, for the Lords of Dust still have an interest in you, and you have a larger role to play."
Unhappy about the departure of their comrade, the Wolves had no choice but to continue without him. Following a plan devised by Brand and refined by Lysander and Pel, the Wolves split into two groups, planning out a rendezvous spot based on Brand's knowledge of the Eldeen Reaches. Luggoth and Cavoletta would lead Savannah and her son Borgoth through the Reaches, moving in a slow but inexorable path towards the swamps of the Shadow Marches. For three days, as they traveled, Brand would teleport with Pel, Lysander and Arenydee to several locations to lay a false trail and send messages to potential allies. At the end of those three days, the Wolves would reunite at a planned rendezvous spot where Brand had hunted often as a boy.
Day One - A Misguided AttemptFor Luggoth's group, the first day of travel was relatively uneventful, although Luggoth quickly learned that Cavoletta's interest in him was more than just that of a lost tribe-mate. Whenever Savannah was out of earshot, Cavoletta would make increasingly lewd suggestions that she and Luggoth should "restart their tribe with new life." Luggoth, having gotten more in touch with his animal side thanks to studying the ways of the were-touched master, found this animal intensity alluring, although whether he acted on it in the heat of passion one night on the trail, who is to say?
Meanwhile, Brand's group attempted to teleport to Fairhaven, but due to Brand's relative unfamiliarity with the location, they instead found themselves in the thematically similar, but considerably more dangerous, Passage, home of Brand's devious uncle Aeromus. It was decided that spreading a false trail in this city might be a bit too dangerous, and so the Wolves disguised themselves and hid out in an inn until Brand was ready to teleport again, the next morning. During the night, Arenydee confessed that she didn't entirely trust Cavoletta. The were-touched mistress had been a great help to them, had saved their lives several times, but Arenydee could not read her thoughts with her magical medallion, and this made her wary. She hadn't wanted to say anything while in close proximity to Cavoletta.
Day Two - Deception, Death and DiscoveryAs Luggoth and his group continued through the Eldeen Reaches, both Luggoth and Cavoletta sensed that they were being followed. They found a defensible location, a wooded area with a cave, and sent Savannah and Borgoth to hide inside before trying to stalk their pursuers. As it turned out, the pursuers were Lukar Drosin, agent of the Silver Flame and ally, and the House Tharashk half-orc bounty hunter he had hired to help track them down. "Cardinal Hetrion told me that his hands are tied politically, but he stands ready to assist you if he can," Lukar said. "I'll journey with you to help clear your name." Turning to the bounty hunter, Lukar said "Thank you for your assistance, my friend. Without your skills, I doubt I would ever have found them." As he produced a bag of gold, the half-orc shook his head.
"I'm not a friend. I'm a bounty hunter." Luggoth and Cavoletta were already in motion at this point, but it took Lukar a second to figure out what was going on, a second in which the bounty hunter chopped deep into the Silver Flame agent's body with his greataxe. The rest of the bounty hunter's allies, hidden in the forest, opened fire with bows and charged in with greataxes. A dozen trained half-orc bounty hunters were no match for two angry shifters and a Silver Flame spellcaster, though. Lukar fell in battle, but when it was over, a dozen of House Tharashk's best lay beside him. The sound of horses, bringing reinforcements, drove Cavoletta and Luggoth to run, although Luggoth shrugged off Cavoletta's suggestion that we "Leave behind the girl and her cub! They'll be safe enough, and they're slowing us down!"
This day was easier for Brand's group, as they managed to successfully teleport to Fairhaven. Disguised, they set about their individual missions in the town. Pel infiltrated Lady Elaydren's house, not only to leave her a personal written message but also to see if he could ferret out the spy. In the short time he had, he was unable to make much progress, although his gut feeling was that she had not, in fact, been compromised as Arenydee believed. Pel also stopped by "Karch's Korner" to have a chat with Tyman Karch in disguise and leave a message for him as well. He was disappointed to learn that Karch was not a printmaker so much as someone who sold parchment, ink and book-binding materials, although he was heartened to find that Karch believed the charges against the Wolves to be "so much rubbish! They protected my family from the worst kind of demons!" Pel also learned, while doing some research, that the Golden Dragon had been bought by the three-nation coalition and was being retrofitted as a warship, and that Captain Alastair and his crew were now on different ships in the Lyrandar fleet.
Lysander and Arenydee slipped into the local House of Phiarlan to talk with contacts made there while Lysander was playing his tour. This included a visit with Viceroy Dulaen Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan, Lord Seneschal of Aundair and Master of the Demesne of Memory. He agreed to help spearhead a word of mouth campaign amongst the bards of Aundair that would cast doubt on the Wolves' involvement in the affairs in Sharn. He cautioned them, however, that Baron Elvinor had expressly told him not to be too strident in protesting their innocence, although she hadn't said why. She had indicated only that if it were to be a certainty that they had not tried to assassinate King Boranel, things might go very badly for the Wolves.
While Lysander went out to speak with underworld contacts made in Fairhaven, Arenydee and Brand arranged separately to send some of the messages the Wolves had agreed upon. They sent a message to Elias Volan asking him to look into the supposed vampirism cure mentioned in the Morgrave Library archives. They sent a message to Chance protesting their innocence and assuring him that Pel remained on the path of the Traveler. And they sent a message to Dahlia Hume d'Orien in Sharn that Brand was innocent, and asked her to spread the word amongst those in the House.
Before they left, Viceroy Dulaen insisted on giving the Wolves a private dinner, which they warily accepted. Their paranoia turned out to be for naught, however, as Dulaen was a gracious host providing the best meal these Wolves had had in months, and packing their Haversack full of delicious pastries and fine Aundarian wine for their journey.
After the meal, there was also one more surprise waiting for them. Emerging from a hidden compartment where she had observed them, an older elven woman identified herself as Ceranda Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan... Lysander's mother. She explained that after the death of Lysander's father in the war with House Thuranni, she was presumed dead, and she used that to infiltrate the Emerald Claw, hoping to find out if they had been involved in the shadow schism. After more than 20 years with the organization, however, she had seen and done awful things, but she had never been able to determine one way or the other if the Claw was involved in the schism that killed her husband. Finally, two years ago, she had given up, made her existence known to House Phiarlan and come back to the House in exchange for the information she had gathered. She had returned to Sharn, operating in disguises and working on various missions for Baron Elvinor, who was one of her distant cousins. Because she had hidden her survival from her son and had nothing to show for it, she was too ashamed to meet him, although she did use scrying abilities to keep an eye on him from time to time and worked in the shadows to help him when she could.
When the Wolves' supposed assassination attempt took place, Ceranda asked Elvinor to let her help. Elvinor suggested that she go to Fairhaven and investigate Lady Elaydren d'Cannith, to see if she was still an ally of the Wolves. All of her investigations showed that she was a loyal and true ally, and she was unable to determine any information leaks. When she heard that her son was in Fairhaven, she felt it was time to meet him directly. And she had an offer for him, and for his fiancee. "Let me take my new daughter-in-law, or as good as, since you've not had time to wed, and let us do some digging here in her homeland of Aundair. Perhaps we can find out a little bit more about what drives this nation to ally with King Boranel, and maybe find some information that can give the Wolves some leverage in the government here." With Lysander's permission, Arenydee agrees to stay behind and once again indulge in some spy work. Lysander's mother also provided him with a name from Baron Elvinor, Bethesne Shol d'Phiarlan, who would be his contact at the Chapterhouse in Stormreach.
The next morning came the most dangerous part of the operation, the "sighting" of the Wolves in Fairhaven. Pel and Lysander traveled together in the merchant districts of Fairhaven, selling some of the magical items they had recovered from the Corrupting Flame and purchasing a pair of hats of disguise for Brand and Luggoth. Once this was done, they dropped their disguises, rejoined Brand and continued doing some magic item selling and shopping until they were quite certain the guard had spotted them. At that point, they teleported away. The original plan, if the first teleport to Fairhaven had worked, was to teleport to Sigilstar inside Thrane and lie low before teleporting into Zilargo to visit with the ambassador there, but a missed jaunt had thrown that plan out of kilter, and so they teleported a day early to the rendezvous point in the Eldeen Reaches.
Day Three - Last Chance for StormreachThey waited nervously for a day, hoping that their allies would reach them. Indeed, they did, but they weren't the first ones to the rendezvous point. As midday approached, and a warm spring rain began to fall, the Wolves heard the roar of an elemental fire ring and then saw an airship heading in their direction. They braced for an attack, drawing weapons and preparing wands, but they softened their stance as they saw a familiar form leap off the airship and begin levitating toward the ground. Tworock, the half-giant who had once fought beside them, came to rest gently on the earth, his eyes glowing with psionic power, and then he greeted them with a hearty "Hail the Wandering Wolves!"
Tworock explained that the ship was called The Last Chance and that it's captain, Garth d'Lyrandar, was a Windwright Captain of House Lyrandar who had recently come to Xen'drik. Medrea, the drow oracle of the Native, had been keeping tabs on Brand by scrying ever since he rejoined the Wolves, and though she wasn't able to see him when he was in the Demon Wastes, she did reacquire him once he returned to the Eldeen Reaches, and so they knew of the rendezvous plans. The Native hired Captain d'Lyrandar and the Last Chance to fly to the rendezvous and pick them up, and he sent Tworock so that they'd know they could trust the captain and his ship.
The Wolves spent the night in the cabins of the ship, floating above the rendezvous point, and they got to know the captain and his half-elven crew. Garth confessed to Pel privately that he was a follower of the Traveler, and that he knew that the Wolves were innocent. He suggested to them that his services were being paid for by The Native until he got back to Stormreach, but if they needed help and he wasn't engaged in other business, he would be happy to hire his airship out to the Wolves at a moderate rate if they needed transportation.
The next morning, after eating a breakfast in the ship's galley, Brand used his dimension door ability to teleport to the ground and wait for Luggoth, Cavoletta, Savannah and Borgoth to return. It was midday the next day when they reached the rendezvous point, but they stayed out of sight, fearing danger from the airship. Fortunately, Brand spotted them, and he told them what had transpired with the airship. He teleported the group up to the deck of The Last Chance, and the ship was underway for Xen'drik.
On their journey over the Shadow Marches and across the Thunder Sea, the reunited Wolves shared their experiences in the days prior. The trip took about six days, all told, a fraction of what traveling by boat would have taken. There were several bad storms passing across the Thunder Sea, but Captain d'Lyrandar was a skilled pilot, and he and his crew gave the Wolves a safe, if not always comforting, ride.
Arrival in StormreachOn Dravago 9, the Last Chance sailed over the city of Stormreach, and Garth flew them over to the docks, where the Native's diplomat, Yanesh Hite, was waiting to receive them. Hite was dressed in a glamerweave set of monk's robes, a strange dichotomy of humble fashion and flashy fashion sense, and his manner was likewise somewhat fractious. He was friendly and robust with Brand and Tworock, whom he had spent plenty of time with, and seemed deferential and friendly towards Pel, but his mood towards the rest was courteous but standoffish. Lysander thought he sensed a particular dislike from the man, although Pel assured him that he was being paranoid. Hite handed a bag of gems to Garth, who thanked the Native for his service and expressed that if anyone needed him, he'd be staying at the House Lyrandar enclave for at least a few days. Pel caught a glance at the bag of gems, and although he wasn't sure, he estimated their worth at well over 10,000 gold... clearly The Native had paid a pretty penny to get them safely to Stormreach.
Lysander adopted a disguise using his hat, and Pel changed into a disguise as well, and they went to the Chapterhouse, the joint venture of House Phiarlan and House Ghallanda. They met with Bethesne, who turned out to be a lovely young elf who performed a singing act at the Chapterhouse each night. She expressed admiration for Lysander's songs and tales, although she hadn't seen him perform them since she had been living in Stormreach for the last 30 years. As previously arranged, all responses to messages they put out in Khorvaire had been sent to different contacts in House Phiarlan, who then sent messages to their own contacts in House Sivis, who then sent messages to Bethesne in Stormreach.
As a result, Bethesne had several messages for the Wolves. Arenydee and Ceranda reported that they had discovered some information that might be of interest to the Wolves: Someone high up in the Aundarian government had dispatched a covert force to Stormreach on some kind of mission, but they didn't have any more details on that just yet. Lady Elaydren had sent along a message of support, although she warned that her own influence in House Cannith was on the wane due to her links with the Wolves. A message from Dahlia Hume d'Orien promised similar support, even offering to abandon her post in Sharn and come to Stormreach to continue helping brand learn the ways of the Blade of Orien.
There was also a message from Elias Volan containing the information he had gotten from the Morgrave Archives. Tracking down the clues they had given them, he came across a reference to a fallen warforged professor named Seeker, wo had died in Xen'drik seeking out some kind of grove of ancient spells. The Morgrave Library had, in a sealed area, a record of his final expedition last year when he sought the frozen giant city of Yaoteco Venta that supposedly contained a vast array of powerful giant magic. There was also a record of what was on his final messenger. It was an image of glowing runes on massive stone walls, encased in ice, and the message "Such arcane treasures! Bring another translation stone, for spells of life and death, of terrifying insight, dimensional upheaval and arcane construction abound." Elias saw that at least a dozen others had checked these records in the past few months, and he gave them the list of names, although he expressed that many of those names were probably false. The records also mentioned a new expedition being prepared in Stormreach to leave in the month of Dravago.
Volan had one postscript to his message. After leaving Morgrave to go to the Sivis message station, he found a letter in his pocket, addressed to Pel. He didn't know how it had gotten there, but inside he found a short note he was supposed to pass along. It said simply "Green allies report a pale former friend has broken with their organization and taken a dozen of their agents. He seeks revenge, and may be in Xen'drik even now. Be on your guard."
As Lysander and Pel prepared to leave, a halfling barmaid came over with a bottle of wine from Sharn. Stuck to the underside of the bottle was a small folded note that read simply "Von Ruthvek's Splendors - Dravago 16 - Wear Disguise, I'll Find You - KJ" Lysander looked around, but was unable to determine who had sent the bottle, and the halfling barmaid said that she had found it sitting on a tray at her station with five platinum pieces and a note that told her to deliver it to a man fitting Lysander's description (in the disguise he was currently wearing.)
While Lysander and Pel were having their meeting, Brand and Luggoth went to buy and sell equipment. They visited The Citadel of the Twelve to purchase spells, magic items, weapon enchantments and the like, using a signed note from Baron Elvinor that indicated they were purchasing for her in order to avoid The Twelve's traditional 5% mark-up. They sold some goods to Black Iron, the smithy that specialized in giant-sized goods, as well as some to Von Ruthvek's Splendors of the South, one of the Stormreach's best known antiquities dealers and the best place in town to get strange and magical items identified. It was there that they first heard about the auction going on in one week's time.
As it turned out, a Professor Greyare, who had been presumed dead after going missing along with the rest of a Morgrave University Expedition a year ago, had returned to Stormreach about a month ago in the company of a pair of adventurers who had rescued him from a band of drow in the jungles of Xen'drik. Greyare had the journal of the head of the expedition, a warforged named Seeker, which purported to point the way to an immensely valuable lost giant city, and Valexa Von Ruthvek had partnered with Morgrave University and The Wayfinder Foundation to hold an auction for the journal. Von Ruthvek's is decked out for an enormous party to celebrate this auction, which also includes an auction for a number of smaller antiquities. As part of the money she paid them for antiquities and magic items purchased, Valexa gave Brand and Luggoth (in their disguised identities) four invitations to the event.
You have one week in which to get enchantments done, which means basically anything costing 7,000 gp or less (or any item you're buying new) will be finished. Anything costing more than 7,000 gp (like bumping a +2 weapon up to +3) will not be done by the time of the auction, which as you might have guessed is where we'll be starting the next adventure. So you'll be out that weapon when we start the adventure, waiting on its return from the sorcerers at The Citadel of the Twelve.
While in Stormreach, the Wolves discover a few interesting things about the city:-Local crime is mostly run by The Bilge Rats, who run mugging, protection rackets and robbery from the ships and warehouses and who have loose ties to the Boromar Clan.
-There is a small inn named The Ship's Cat which is run by a shifter named Harysh and, as long as the Wolves don't mind sharing the inn with her dozen cats, they find that she offers excellent care to animal companions, as well as fair dealing and discretion, the latter of which would be hard to come by at the busier Chapterhouse.
-Just about every god is worshipped here, some under unfamiliar names taken from the giant pantheons. Since the Dark Six are worshipped openly in Stormreach, Pel finds the first public temple to the Traveler he's ever seen.
-House Jorasco has an impressive setup here, including a high-ranking spellcaster who can cast raise dead and a resurrection altar that can be used on behalf of favored clients. Pel wishes ruefully that they had discovered this before they made the deal with a cleric of The Keeper to resurrect him on their first trip here.
-There are an astonishing amount of gladiatorial battles held in the Red Ring, all legal under the auspices of the Storm Lords who run Stormreach.
-Once a month, a ring of ancient stones known as the Circle of Visions produces a programmed image that changes each time, sometimes something simple and sometimes something more sinister. No one knows if these are works of art from the Age of Giants, some sort of ongoing communication or prophecy or something else. While the Wolves are there, the Circle produces an image of meteor showers crashing into the jungles.
Questions for the comments section:Does Luggoth take Cavoletta up on her offers? And if so, will he try to keep it secret from Savannah? If he's going to resist, I'm going to need three separate Will saves, at DC 15, DC 17 and DC 20, as his new ties to his bestial nature make her nature hard for you to resist.
Does Lysander want to scry on anyone in the 17 days between leaving Sheryn Wayfinder's community and going to the auction?
Will Brand try to sneak in some time with Saia while he's in Stormreach, even though it might put him at risk?
Does Pel have anything he wishes to do in Stormreach?
With a relatively secure but risky message system, is there anyone you want to send a message to back in Khorvaire? Keep in mind that each time you send a message, there's a chance that the system House Phiarlan has set up will be compromised, and you could lose contact with House Phiarlan in Khorvaire as a result.
Not the first time an epic battle has been inspired by a well-painted miniature, and surely not the last. Here, Matay of the Harosh clan charges atop his mastodon mount, accompanied by his pet winter wolf. When Matay fell, he fell hard.
(Randy: feel free to reformat this post into your usual "character"-style.)
Name:Ayrmidon Dannelorn