Letters to Girard
Hello Girard.
I've missed you very much. I have to admit, I thought that you exaggerated the chaotic nature of the group that you had met, but now that I have been with them for these weeks, I see that your description, as always, was no more or less than the exact truth. Things have been very exciting in this past time. Several times I have felt the hand of Pelor extend in our behalf, and I hope I have not disappointed him with my actions.
The last note I sent to you was written while Kespin was conversing with the Dragon Voldsebai that we met upon the road on the 4 th of Reaping. We were leading the freed slaves north to Safeton where they could start a new life. It seems that the dragon had actually heard of the exploits of our new friends from Suundi. I guess they weren't entirely overstating their past deeds, though their dismissal of the "armies" that they have faced still leaves me dubious. The dragon told us of a Paladin of Hieroneous who is in charge of the city guards named Bendelle. Kespin told the dragon about our capture of Gil and the information we gleaned after his capture (though he left out the methods we used to gain the information), and the dragon, in turn, shared some news with us. It seems that Gil's contact in Fax, a piece of filth named Davis, fled Fax and headed for Highport. Other "friends" of the dragon intercepted him on his journey; it seems that collecting slavers and their agents is something of a hobby for Voldsebai and his friends. Voldsebai seems to think that there are several agents per town. The names that Gil gave us are probably key agents and well worth watching. All the trails seem to lead to Highport, but then they go cold. It would seem that Highport is indeed the center of the slavers' system, though they do have a strong presence in Fax and Badwall.
I wish you were here to talk to the dragon yourself. Your ability to see put together disparate pieces of information and ask leading questions is so much better than my own. I do not know about Kespin's ability in that arena, but I'm sure you could help him.
The dragon also told us about a city southwest of Highport that is not marked on any map that we have previously seen. He said that this is an area of red dragons, and there are legends of an extremely ancient Red Dragon sleeping there. The way he spoke of it….I am not certain I have ever heard of a creature of such age and immensity that he described.
When we returned to Safeton on the 5th of Reaping, we met with Bendelle to hand over Gil and pass over the freedmen to her keeping. As I suspected, the temple of Pelor was central in taking over their custody. When we told Bendelle about Motto, the city guard whom Gil implicated in the slavers' activity, she told us that he had not reported for his shift. We soon found out that he was escaping on the Longspar. We took ship on the Pegasus with her captain Sir Adrian, and gave pursuit. Kespin and Voldsebai had stayed outside the city, and we asked Bendelle to send a rider out to let them know of our actions. They soon caught up to us, and Voldsebai swooped low past the ship while Kespin landed on the deck, making a dramatic entrance (as always).
While we were sailing after the Longspar, the strangest thing happened! A Hound Archon (much like that dolt Jared had contacted back at the Temple of Hieroneous at home), a woman, and a half-orc appear on the deck! I prepared to do battle, but our comrades embraced him. It seems that this half orc is Kobort, a cleric of Hieroneous and a Glaive of Azharadian, and was a member of this group back in Suundi. I had heard some mention of him from the group (Wrye seems especially influenced by him), but they had never mentioned the fact that he is a Glaive. He bears a sword that seems to have some faint presence radiating from it. Perhaps. It could simply be that the local environs are confusing my senses. The Hound is called Tyrouche or Ta'Ruush or something like that, and the woman is Fiona, his wife! I don't know who is crazier. Fiona, for marrying him, or Hieroneous himself! Then again, the Hieroneon priesthood has always been more war-like than those of us of Pelor or Rao, so I suppose this Kobort fits in with them well. He told us of some problems that he encountered while using the Word of Recall spell. Instead of bringing him back to the temple he expected, it brought him to an entirely new place. It concerns me that some power could be affecting the Word of Recall spell. Please, Girard, tell the elders of the temple about this so that they can protect themselves.
We soon caught up with the slavers, and did battle upon them. There was a half-dragon (named Thyrus) on the ship who seemed to be the overseer of the slaves. With Pelor's aid, we were victorious, and the slaves were freed. At that time, a small red dragon beckoned to Wrye to follow it below. It led Wrye to a gnomish slave wizard named Miranda or Minerva or something like that. She has declared that she owes Wrye her life or her freedom or something, so she is going to join us. I would be happier about that, as her powers could prove to be very helpful, but her attitude makes her difficult to be with. To be honest, it might be easier to deal with molting sphinxes in heat than to deal with this one gnome. I know I need to work on my patience, love, but this one gnome represents everything that caused me to conduct all of my previous work alone!
We are keeping this ship as well as all information kept by captain about slavers, in the hopes that we will be able to track down the slaving hierarchy if we have our own transportation. We sailed back to Safeton to outfit the ship, where we were told that it would be good if we did not linger overlong with the newly-liberated slavers ship. Their concern is well-founded, though it does not sit well with me. One of the slavers is staying on with us, as Kobort has managed to convert him to the worship of Hieroneous. I am suspicious about his convenient conversion, but if he has truly decided to follow a path of good and honor, I suppose Pelor would require that I give him as much support as I can. He did give us quite a bit of information, though. He said that they came to Safeton from Eldredd. They had been to Hardby a couple of times, where they met at the Black Crane Tavern. Other slave ships that he knows of are the Longspar (Captain = Vessa) and the Ghoul (Captain = Grana (Elf)). He also knew of some merchant ships, one of which is named Storm Seeker. They usually met the merchant ships off the Wild Coast . Westwind and Wrye exchanged some significant glances when the name of the Ghoul came up. I think that that may be the ship on which they were imprisoned.
In Safeton, we re-outfitted the ship, now renamed to "Radiance". It's a 3 level ship, which supposedly means that it can carry 50 tons of cargo. We hired a blacksmith (Brader 3 sp/day), 4 mates 3 sp/day (Cartus, Banhan, Invergith, Odiveer), a navigator (3 sp/day) (Bancil), a Captain 5 sp/day (Glim), a cook 1 sp/day (Fakal), 2 carpenters 2 sp/day (Unar, Odimus), and 27 more crew (+ ex-slavers + marines) 1 sp/day. Gathering the crew and food and such took us a couple more days. I gave 1000 gold pieces to the Temple of Pelor to help with the re-outfitting of the slaves. I know that Pelor will watch over them as they rebuild their lives.
On the 9th of Reaping, we sailed to Hardby, and we arrived on the 10th. Girard, I wish you could see it here! At the mouth of the bay there were two giant statues (men in loincloths) where we were met by a galley, run by one of the largest men I have ever seen. His name is Wilbrum Carrister, and he wanted to know our business before allowing us to enter Hardby Bay . Kespin donned his "Miloki" disguise, and we went to the third pier in. The trade town is northeast through the main town wall. It's a fairly nice city, but they really discourage the use of magic. Despite that, there is a magic Shop in town, run by a gnome named Diran Cornellian. While we went shopping, Minerva stayed on the ship, working on deciphering the ledger.
She found that there were stops in Safeton, Highport, Fax, Hardby (and others). Some stops (Blue, Port Toli, Prymp, and Crocurlet) include pick ups of slaves, but most offloading of slaves occurs in Highport. There were also letters from the captain of Longspar to a Mistress Adrol and a Sturm Bookhotts in Highport that spoke of progress in the "Gold Plan". There was also a letter to Eon Wolf (Lord of Nine) that said to bring a special shipment of Black Lotus to Crocurlet, as well as a commendation. There was a letter warning about the loss of the Ghoul with descriptions of Wrye, Westwind, and Kespin. This matches with what they told you, so again we have some corroboration of their tale from another source. It seems, though, that Kespin has not always had the same aspect that he has now. It seems that back at the time of their abduction, he was more human than he is now.
On the night of the 11th, our ship was attacked on the dock. The cowards attacked at night, and threw firebombs on our ship! Wrye, Westwind, and Kespin fought back with arrows and swords, and with the help of Pelor, I summoned a Water Elemental to put out fires on boat, but the gnome Minerva flew off after the attackers and cast a fireball at them. So much for the restriction on magic use! The Matriarchal Force came to investigate, under the direction of Judge Alita, and we were all (excluding the gnome, of course) arrested.
We spent the night in jail, where Westwind and Wrye competed in the number of rats they could catch. There seems to be a story behind this, though I don't understand it. The food we were given wasn't that bad! At breakfast, Kespin (the Fool!) cast Detect thoughts and in doing so set off the alarm which resulted in a 5000 gold piece fine. Finally our lawyer arrived. Love, you would have thrown her out on her ear if you could have been here! Her name was Selcordia Annasil (the younger). She didn't seem convinced of our innocence in the least. Indeed, she couldn't even be convinced that I am a cleric of Pelor, despite ALL evidence to the contrary. I swear to you, love, she seemed to be about 18-19 years old. She met with Wrye first, and asked him if he is involved with smuggling, burglary, robbery, slavery, and murder. Unfortunately, the little halfling's answers were not as decisively negative as she would have liked. She then met with Westwind, Kespin, me, Kobort, and Lysander. She expressed some doubt as to my and Kobort's true nature, and then Kobort and I expressed some doubt (privately of course, as we didn't want to make a bad situation worse) about her own intelligence.
Lysander told her that his real name is Therian Crasec (or something) and showed her his signet ring. This seemed to mean something, though what it is, I do not know. We spent the next two days incarcerated before the local temple of Pelor could send someone to verify my identity. I met with an acolyte named Carhan and convinced him of my identity. Despite the experience of Selcordia, this did not seem to be a hard thing to do. It seems that in the meantime, there have been mobs coming to courthouse demanding that captives (that would be us) be released to mob. Someone was spreading rumors about us, tying us to recent slaving activity!
Finally, on the 14th of Reaping, I was released. I got the papers from ship, and tried (unsuccessfully I am afraid) to reassure crew. I am not an orator, love. You are the diplomat, and your aid would be invaluable here. Still, we muddle on. I went on to the temple and met with Mother Serena, a lovely, small, white haired woman. She expressed some (well-deserved) mistrust about my comrades still in jail, but I said that I would stay with them as long as their fight continued against evil. She told me of some undead overrunning Stonebreach, a small village one days travel inland from Hardby. We shall have to return to address this, but at this time, we need to finish the quest we are on.
I completed some general errands at the gnome's store, and returned to the ship. I wanted to let my comrades know what was occurring, so I went back to the courthouse. On my way back to the ship, I was attacked by something very odd. It felt like something undead, but when I fought back, it looked like the person "died". Then, when I went to look closer at it, I felt something tugging on my mind. Pelor protected me, and I was saved from the mind-control of the creature, but the sergeant who came to investigate the scene was not so lucky. Surprise, surprise, I was arrested again!! I am afraid that I am not doing the name of Pelor any good in this town, but it seems outrageous to me that those who would do evil can walk around inviolate, while I would be imprisoned for the supposed "crime" of channeling the might of Pelor to bring about their end!
That night, the ship was attacked by a mob from the city. Luckily, Minerva, Fiona, and Ta'Ruush saved the ship, but it seems our unknown attackers have overreached themselves. It has become clear to the Matriarchs that someone is trying to undermine us by setting the mobs against us. We were released and asked to leave Hardby after paying 5000 gp fine for Kespin's spell.
Finally on the 15th of Reaping we were allowed to sail away! Less than an hour away from city, we saw red dragon and two sails appearing on horizon. (Have I mentioned that this trip has been nothing if not exciting, love?) A Red Dragon arrived first and started to dive. It pulled out of its dive and cast a spell that sucked all moisture out of air. This dragon was different then other dragons I have encountered (Voldsebai being the first). It had an evil, extra-worldly aura about it, similar to something demonic or fiendish. Then, the dragon breathed a clinging fire. . Kobort (totally buffed with protective and enhancing spells and flying) and Kespin engaged the Dragon in melee combat. . Then Kespin made an incredible called shot to the neck, and Kobort made a couple mighty hits as well, and the Dragon fell to the ocean. But in the meantime, the other ships were closing. Some of our crew was dowsing fire from dragon breath, others were rowing, and some were manning the ballista. We had a Longship and Galleon approaching. The longship became the target of Minerva's Fireball. The galleon had a big bad bug bear and Priestly-looking guy in rear of ship, and orcs manning the deck. The longship's catapults fired flaming balls at us. One hit at the foredeck (near Minerva and Lysander). At that point, a Fireball appeared amidships and 5 identical robed figures appeared in midair above us. Wrye shot one, and Lysander cast a fireball at remaining 4, though they didn't seem particularly bothered by the effort. The longship was rowed by 12 Ogres and commanded by 6 hill giants and 1 frost giant. They threw boulders at Westwind flying at water level, but he used a force bead, and almost put a hole in their hull. Wrye continued to focus on the mage in the air above our ship, and took out a couple of images. Then the mage cast lightening bolt, making Wrye swear. A lot. In an act of genius (if such a phrase can be used), Kobort cast Blade Barrier in front of the longship. This proved devastating! The Giants and Ogres all jumped off the ship and began swimming (for now). Their boat was in splinters.
Now it was clear that the galleon was going to ram us! Minerva magic missiled the big bad bug bear, and I called down a flame strike in mid-ship. Lysander dispelled the mage's spells which seemed to pain him a great deal more than a standard dispel attempt. The mage magic missiled Wrye, and in return Wrye stuck him with an arrow. Lysander dispelled the mage's spells again, and the mage teleported away, beyond the range where we could find him! At that point, we were struck by the Galleon. 20 grey creatures, radiating an evil aura (Meanlocks) appeared around us. I stayed up, but Minerva and Lysander were catatonic. Kobort called down a Rain of Embers and took out all the Meanlocks. I was very disappointed by the fact that there were no more creatures for me to deal with. Kespin was poised at the rear of the Galleon with the big bad bug bear (hence BBBB) and priest while invisible. Unfortunately, the BBBB heard him and swung at him. The, the other bug bears came and attacked Kespin as well. Kespin grabbed the priest and lifted him up in the air. Westwind shot a magic missile at the priest, while Kobort Smote the swimming ogres and giants three times with the power of Hieroneous. Lysander and Minerva were still catatonic when a Bug Bear attacked me. With Pelor's might behind me, I took him down as the BBBB attacked Kobort and missed. Wrye hit the BBBB, Ta'Ruush hit the BBBB, the BBBB took down Ta'Ruush, I attacked the BBBB, and then Wrye killed it. It was truly an epic encounter, my love.
At this point, our ship was sinking, and the Galleon was the only sea-worthy vessel remaining. Lysander took the duty of watching the priest while Westwind investigated the below-deck areas. Wrye and I concentrated on getting Tiny (you remember Kespin's horse, right?) over to the other ship while Kespin and Kobort got all the other horses out. Of our crew only Odiveer (one of the mates), Brader (the blacksmith), Odimus (a carpenter), Fakal (the cook), and 26 crew men survived the battle. May Pelor keep the rest in his care. Westwind recognized one of the slaves as a priestess of Tritherion named Rowera. I understand that this is the woman who was responsible for setting up the group with the ship that ultimately imprisoned them! He asked the slaves where the overseers had gone and was directed to two rooms on either side of the hold. He tried to trick the overseers into voluntarily emerging into the hold, but failed to gain their trust (go figure). He managed to gain entry on his own (that arm of his is amazing!), and inside he found a huge half-beast, half-man creature wearing armor and carrying a huge sword, with several smaller beast-men around him, Westwind called out for help (very unlike his normal behavior), and Lysander (who was the only one close enough to hear) passed on the request to the rest of us. Kespin finished ferrying over the horse he was carrying and came to assist. Westwind killed all the smaller creatures, and then Kespin and he took on and defeated the larger beast. Lysander tried tying up the priest but ended up in a wrestling match that only ended when he shot the priest with his arcane power. Westwind found two half-orcs hiding behind some crates (Larog and Gladgrat), and freed the slaves using the keys found on the body of the large beast-man creature.
Once the slaves were freed, Lysander, Kespin, and I did what healing we could. Westwind tried greeting the priestess that he recognized, but she didn't seem to know who he was! She told him that she had been kidnapped over 6 months ago from Irongate, but he said that he had met her only 4 and a half months ago! It seems clear that the priestess had been doubled, and that there is a spy in the ranks of the priesthood in Irongate! Twelve of the slaves have agreed to join us in the fight against the slavers. There are three Halflings from Idee among the slaves (Cormoran, Wesal, and Rowapad). We will take the remainder to safety in Hardby, though what the people of Hardby will think is another story. After all, we left only a few hours ago in a completely different ship after being thrown out to do an excessive use of magic. This new ship of ours is very similar to our old ship, with the addition of a battering ram and a few more armaments. It is called the "Eternal Sun". I cannot think of a more appropriate name for this vessel. Pelor has been guiding us, and He will lead us to the defeat of the slave lords. Truly, the "Eternal Sun" is with us always. I am certain that the authorities of Hardby will be able to verify our story by talking to the slaves. I am also hopeful that they will agree to take our captives. We do not have the facilities (nor, I am afraid, do the Halflings have the patience) to keep captives here on board. Their alarmed jail cells should be strong enough to hold the priest. At the very least, these men are guilty of piracy, though slavery may be allowed in the open sea. As you well know, the finer points of law have always escaped me, love.
On the way back to Hardby, we found that the captain has a locked chest in his quarters that is guarded by a Death Rune.. We have not yet been able to open it, but it seems to be highly protected by both magic and poison. We are continuing to work on it. We also started questioning the priest we had taken prisoner. It seems that the ship sailed from Blue. He was given information about us by someone named "Ajoxtu". More disturbing was the information he had on the slave lords. As we had begun to suspect, the slave lords are operating out of a base in the center of the mountains in the Southern Pomarj, where the dragons are supposed to rule. This priest (named Kowse) seems to be a priest of some dragon cult, and spoke about an "Earth Dragon" that rules over all other dragons. His immediate superior is the high priest of the Earth Dragon. Supposedly, this "God Dragon" resides in the center of the mountains, near or at the base of the slave lords' operation. To get to this base, we will need to take the pass up through the center of the mountains, through a stockade or two. Having contacts would help, except for the fact that our little band is so well known that we would be immediately recognized. He knew of no other ships than the ones of which I have already written (Longspar, Ghoul, Radiance ( a.k.a. Longspan), and the Eternal Sun). Kepsin added that he has heard of the cult of the Earth Dragon. It is connected to an ancient (X4) legend about the 4 dragons that created the world.
I need to wrap up this letter, love. We will be sending Ta'Ruush to you with a package of information soon, and I will include this letter in the package. He is also bringing a similar package to Count Hazendel (the Halfling's sponsor back in Suundi) and to the mayor of Irongate. I miss you very much, my love. I am convinced that it is the will of Pelor that I work with these people for now. I believe that there are things I need to learn from them, though I hope I can pass along something of the peace and love of Pelor to them as well.
Be well.
Tesseran
Hello Girard!
I was unsurprised to hear of your enthusiasm regarding our activities after Ta'Ruush's visit to you. We have continued our pursuit of the slave lords since then. It seems that Count Hazendel has darker news to report: He has lost touch with a large part of the Southern Fortresses. Additionally, the Grey Havens seem to be raising an army out of the swamps against the North. Nevertheless, he wants to the campaign against the slavers to continue to the end. The Mayor of Irongate also wants the group to continue. He reports that Arch Mage Mystica has pieced the veil that has blocked scrying over the heart of the Pomarj, and she says that there is a powerful, unearthly magic at the source of the slavers keep. Additionally, there are Giants attacking Keoland. He was very generous with the group, giving us many potions, a wand of curing, a large diamond that would work to bring back someone from the dead (if they were willing), a scroll to do the same, and a Greater Arrow of Dragon Slaying.
We were finally able to open the captain's chest. There was an explosive rune placed on the interior of the chest that went off when the chest was opened. It destroyed many items, but some survived, including an ivory mask that radiates a necromantic and/or transmutation aura and a small box/cube. It seems to be a lock of some sort? There is a strong source of evocation and/or transmutation magic coming from within the box.
We put the freed slaves into the care of the temple of Pelor here in Hardby. We gave the temple 500 silver pieces for their care, and I added an additional 500 gold pieces to the fund. Hopefully, it will be enough to give these people a new life. Pelor is watching them, so I know they will prosper. The temple of Zilchus is helping us restock. It seems that Westwind is highly regarded with the priesthood of Zilchus, though not highly enough to warrant good rates for transactions. We asked both temples to find us a navigator. The only one that the Zilchans found is someone that the Pelorians did not come across in all their searching. We shall have to keep an eye on him. It is possible that he is a spy or a target for scrying that has been placed among us.
We had to leave Hardby after only one day, so on the night of the 16th of Reaping, we stopped at the village of Orz , the very first village we came to. It's a very small fishing village to the east of Hardby. We allowed a quarter of the crew to go off for shore leave, which really helped morale. That night, we saw a strange thing: dancing lights appeared in the sky. It seems that this happens every week, and has for as long as the villagers can remember. They don't necessarily feel evil, but I do not know their source, and that makes me uneasy.
Later that night, Kobort's sword, Valor, spoke to him! I guess this is not an impossible thing, but it is highly unusual. He said that his brother Mercy was approaching. It seems that Kobort is carrying one of the relics of Hieroneous! I know that you would love to see this artifact for yourself, my love, and I hope that one day you shall. Anyway, there are 12 such swords, but some have been corrupted in the hands of Blackguards, and one of these twisted swords was heading toward us at great speed. We ran topside, and watched as a figure mounted on a small(ish) dragon approached and then swooped over the ship. He then challenged Kobort to single combat, and Kobort accepted!
I don't know about the honor to be found in single combat, love. I know that you disapprove of the use of combat to determine anything, but I really don't understand single combat. If you are up against an evil opponent, then you must rid the world of that evil without hesitation. Why would you not allow your comrades to aid you in any way possible? There is no honor to be found in allowing evil to triumph, or even giving evil a "sporting chance". For me, there is no question of honor here. There is good, and there is evil. Good destroys evil so that the world is a better place. But, I digress.
We traveled one hour inland, to a flat field. The evil being greeted us, and greeted Lysander especially. There is something the mage is hiding. Whether or not it is something that needs addressing is another question. I will need to talk to Lysander at a later date.
The Wyvern (for his mount is a wyvern, and not a true dragon) stood behind him as he addressed us. His face looked horrifically burned as he stood there in his ornate armor and his griffon helm. He stood over 6 and a half feet high, and he exuded an aura of fear which we were able to shrug aside without difficulty. He said that the sword "Mercy" had been renamed to "Slaughter", and the battle commenced. True to my word, I restrained from entering the frey, though we had been able to cast protections on Kobort before he entered the fight. The rest of the party was similarly eager to enter the battle, though we all stayed out to give Kobort his chance to slay the evil he faced. At first, Kobort could not seem to hurt the evil knight. His blows seemed to be healing far too quickly. Then, Kobort made a mighty hit and gave every ounce of his energy into his sword. Valor spoke to all of us, saying, "This corruption must end!" The battle turned at that point. Nevertheless, for all the damage that Kobort did to the evil knight before him, the knight did as much damage in kind. Then, with one blow, Kobort died.
Kespin flew into a rage and attacked the blackguard, and with one blow, slew the corruption before him. With his death, though, the Blackguard gave off a burst of energy that nearly dropped Kespin. The Wyvern jumped up and tried to grab the body of the evil knight and the two swords, but Kespin was able to hit it badly as it passed him. Wrye nearly finished the creature with an arrow, and Kespin was able to slay it completely. So, now we had the body of the Blackguard and his corrupted sword, and the body of our friend and comrade Kobort and his living sword. Before taking Kobort's body back to the ship, I called upon Pelor to consecrate the body of this ex-Hironeon knight. It might have been better to have someone who could talk to Hironeous directly, but I feel that my efforts brought some peace to an otherwise tortured soul. When we got back to the ship, I asked Pelor to bring me in contact with the spirit of Kobort so that I could see if he wished to return. Neither Pelor nor I will be party to bringing back an unwilling soul, and Kobort had done so much that he might well have wished to remain in the domain of his God. Nevertheless, he wished to return, so I summoned what strength I had to petition both Pelor and Hironeous to allow his spirit to return to his shell. Love, this was the most painful spell-casting I have ever accomplished, though also the most rewarding and uplifting. I felt so closely connected with Pelor as the energies ripped through me. Twice, I could feel Pelor asking me if I wished to continue, as the price might be higher than I could physically bear, and I could feel his warmth and love as I agreed to whatever the price might be. I do hope to avoid a repetition of this in the near future, though, so it might be a good idea for Westwind to teach Kobort how to dodge such attacks. It seems that there is an additional benefit to the battle: the energy that Kobort poured into Valor has given the sword a greater edge (if you'll pardon the pun) against the undead.
I don't know what we will be doing with the sword at this time, but if you could do some research into the sword called "Mercy", perhaps we might find out who the fallen knight was.
Be well, love.
Tess
--
"A group of people who all share the same mental illness does not constitute a culture." - Mike Bilodeau
I've missed you very much. I have to admit, I thought that you exaggerated the chaotic nature of the group that you had met, but now that I have been with them for these weeks, I see that your description, as always, was no more or less than the exact truth. Things have been very exciting in this past time. Several times I have felt the hand of Pelor extend in our behalf, and I hope I have not disappointed him with my actions.
The last note I sent to you was written while Kespin was conversing with the Dragon Voldsebai that we met upon the road on the 4 th of Reaping. We were leading the freed slaves north to Safeton where they could start a new life. It seems that the dragon had actually heard of the exploits of our new friends from Suundi. I guess they weren't entirely overstating their past deeds, though their dismissal of the "armies" that they have faced still leaves me dubious. The dragon told us of a Paladin of Hieroneous who is in charge of the city guards named Bendelle. Kespin told the dragon about our capture of Gil and the information we gleaned after his capture (though he left out the methods we used to gain the information), and the dragon, in turn, shared some news with us. It seems that Gil's contact in Fax, a piece of filth named Davis, fled Fax and headed for Highport. Other "friends" of the dragon intercepted him on his journey; it seems that collecting slavers and their agents is something of a hobby for Voldsebai and his friends. Voldsebai seems to think that there are several agents per town. The names that Gil gave us are probably key agents and well worth watching. All the trails seem to lead to Highport, but then they go cold. It would seem that Highport is indeed the center of the slavers' system, though they do have a strong presence in Fax and Badwall.
I wish you were here to talk to the dragon yourself. Your ability to see put together disparate pieces of information and ask leading questions is so much better than my own. I do not know about Kespin's ability in that arena, but I'm sure you could help him.
The dragon also told us about a city southwest of Highport that is not marked on any map that we have previously seen. He said that this is an area of red dragons, and there are legends of an extremely ancient Red Dragon sleeping there. The way he spoke of it….I am not certain I have ever heard of a creature of such age and immensity that he described.
When we returned to Safeton on the 5th of Reaping, we met with Bendelle to hand over Gil and pass over the freedmen to her keeping. As I suspected, the temple of Pelor was central in taking over their custody. When we told Bendelle about Motto, the city guard whom Gil implicated in the slavers' activity, she told us that he had not reported for his shift. We soon found out that he was escaping on the Longspar. We took ship on the Pegasus with her captain Sir Adrian, and gave pursuit. Kespin and Voldsebai had stayed outside the city, and we asked Bendelle to send a rider out to let them know of our actions. They soon caught up to us, and Voldsebai swooped low past the ship while Kespin landed on the deck, making a dramatic entrance (as always).
While we were sailing after the Longspar, the strangest thing happened! A Hound Archon (much like that dolt Jared had contacted back at the Temple of Hieroneous at home), a woman, and a half-orc appear on the deck! I prepared to do battle, but our comrades embraced him. It seems that this half orc is Kobort, a cleric of Hieroneous and a Glaive of Azharadian, and was a member of this group back in Suundi. I had heard some mention of him from the group (Wrye seems especially influenced by him), but they had never mentioned the fact that he is a Glaive. He bears a sword that seems to have some faint presence radiating from it. Perhaps. It could simply be that the local environs are confusing my senses. The Hound is called Tyrouche or Ta'Ruush or something like that, and the woman is Fiona, his wife! I don't know who is crazier. Fiona, for marrying him, or Hieroneous himself! Then again, the Hieroneon priesthood has always been more war-like than those of us of Pelor or Rao, so I suppose this Kobort fits in with them well. He told us of some problems that he encountered while using the Word of Recall spell. Instead of bringing him back to the temple he expected, it brought him to an entirely new place. It concerns me that some power could be affecting the Word of Recall spell. Please, Girard, tell the elders of the temple about this so that they can protect themselves.
We soon caught up with the slavers, and did battle upon them. There was a half-dragon (named Thyrus) on the ship who seemed to be the overseer of the slaves. With Pelor's aid, we were victorious, and the slaves were freed. At that time, a small red dragon beckoned to Wrye to follow it below. It led Wrye to a gnomish slave wizard named Miranda or Minerva or something like that. She has declared that she owes Wrye her life or her freedom or something, so she is going to join us. I would be happier about that, as her powers could prove to be very helpful, but her attitude makes her difficult to be with. To be honest, it might be easier to deal with molting sphinxes in heat than to deal with this one gnome. I know I need to work on my patience, love, but this one gnome represents everything that caused me to conduct all of my previous work alone!
We are keeping this ship as well as all information kept by captain about slavers, in the hopes that we will be able to track down the slaving hierarchy if we have our own transportation. We sailed back to Safeton to outfit the ship, where we were told that it would be good if we did not linger overlong with the newly-liberated slavers ship. Their concern is well-founded, though it does not sit well with me. One of the slavers is staying on with us, as Kobort has managed to convert him to the worship of Hieroneous. I am suspicious about his convenient conversion, but if he has truly decided to follow a path of good and honor, I suppose Pelor would require that I give him as much support as I can. He did give us quite a bit of information, though. He said that they came to Safeton from Eldredd. They had been to Hardby a couple of times, where they met at the Black Crane Tavern. Other slave ships that he knows of are the Longspar (Captain = Vessa) and the Ghoul (Captain = Grana (Elf)). He also knew of some merchant ships, one of which is named Storm Seeker. They usually met the merchant ships off the Wild Coast . Westwind and Wrye exchanged some significant glances when the name of the Ghoul came up. I think that that may be the ship on which they were imprisoned.
In Safeton, we re-outfitted the ship, now renamed to "Radiance". It's a 3 level ship, which supposedly means that it can carry 50 tons of cargo. We hired a blacksmith (Brader 3 sp/day), 4 mates 3 sp/day (Cartus, Banhan, Invergith, Odiveer), a navigator (3 sp/day) (Bancil), a Captain 5 sp/day (Glim), a cook 1 sp/day (Fakal), 2 carpenters 2 sp/day (Unar, Odimus), and 27 more crew (+ ex-slavers + marines) 1 sp/day. Gathering the crew and food and such took us a couple more days. I gave 1000 gold pieces to the Temple of Pelor to help with the re-outfitting of the slaves. I know that Pelor will watch over them as they rebuild their lives.
On the 9th of Reaping, we sailed to Hardby, and we arrived on the 10th. Girard, I wish you could see it here! At the mouth of the bay there were two giant statues (men in loincloths) where we were met by a galley, run by one of the largest men I have ever seen. His name is Wilbrum Carrister, and he wanted to know our business before allowing us to enter Hardby Bay . Kespin donned his "Miloki" disguise, and we went to the third pier in. The trade town is northeast through the main town wall. It's a fairly nice city, but they really discourage the use of magic. Despite that, there is a magic Shop in town, run by a gnome named Diran Cornellian. While we went shopping, Minerva stayed on the ship, working on deciphering the ledger.
She found that there were stops in Safeton, Highport, Fax, Hardby (and others). Some stops (Blue, Port Toli, Prymp, and Crocurlet) include pick ups of slaves, but most offloading of slaves occurs in Highport. There were also letters from the captain of Longspar to a Mistress Adrol and a Sturm Bookhotts in Highport that spoke of progress in the "Gold Plan". There was also a letter to Eon Wolf (Lord of Nine) that said to bring a special shipment of Black Lotus to Crocurlet, as well as a commendation. There was a letter warning about the loss of the Ghoul with descriptions of Wrye, Westwind, and Kespin. This matches with what they told you, so again we have some corroboration of their tale from another source. It seems, though, that Kespin has not always had the same aspect that he has now. It seems that back at the time of their abduction, he was more human than he is now.
On the night of the 11th, our ship was attacked on the dock. The cowards attacked at night, and threw firebombs on our ship! Wrye, Westwind, and Kespin fought back with arrows and swords, and with the help of Pelor, I summoned a Water Elemental to put out fires on boat, but the gnome Minerva flew off after the attackers and cast a fireball at them. So much for the restriction on magic use! The Matriarchal Force came to investigate, under the direction of Judge Alita, and we were all (excluding the gnome, of course) arrested.
We spent the night in jail, where Westwind and Wrye competed in the number of rats they could catch. There seems to be a story behind this, though I don't understand it. The food we were given wasn't that bad! At breakfast, Kespin (the Fool!) cast Detect thoughts and in doing so set off the alarm which resulted in a 5000 gold piece fine. Finally our lawyer arrived. Love, you would have thrown her out on her ear if you could have been here! Her name was Selcordia Annasil (the younger). She didn't seem convinced of our innocence in the least. Indeed, she couldn't even be convinced that I am a cleric of Pelor, despite ALL evidence to the contrary. I swear to you, love, she seemed to be about 18-19 years old. She met with Wrye first, and asked him if he is involved with smuggling, burglary, robbery, slavery, and murder. Unfortunately, the little halfling's answers were not as decisively negative as she would have liked. She then met with Westwind, Kespin, me, Kobort, and Lysander. She expressed some doubt as to my and Kobort's true nature, and then Kobort and I expressed some doubt (privately of course, as we didn't want to make a bad situation worse) about her own intelligence.
Lysander told her that his real name is Therian Crasec (or something) and showed her his signet ring. This seemed to mean something, though what it is, I do not know. We spent the next two days incarcerated before the local temple of Pelor could send someone to verify my identity. I met with an acolyte named Carhan and convinced him of my identity. Despite the experience of Selcordia, this did not seem to be a hard thing to do. It seems that in the meantime, there have been mobs coming to courthouse demanding that captives (that would be us) be released to mob. Someone was spreading rumors about us, tying us to recent slaving activity!
Finally, on the 14th of Reaping, I was released. I got the papers from ship, and tried (unsuccessfully I am afraid) to reassure crew. I am not an orator, love. You are the diplomat, and your aid would be invaluable here. Still, we muddle on. I went on to the temple and met with Mother Serena, a lovely, small, white haired woman. She expressed some (well-deserved) mistrust about my comrades still in jail, but I said that I would stay with them as long as their fight continued against evil. She told me of some undead overrunning Stonebreach, a small village one days travel inland from Hardby. We shall have to return to address this, but at this time, we need to finish the quest we are on.
I completed some general errands at the gnome's store, and returned to the ship. I wanted to let my comrades know what was occurring, so I went back to the courthouse. On my way back to the ship, I was attacked by something very odd. It felt like something undead, but when I fought back, it looked like the person "died". Then, when I went to look closer at it, I felt something tugging on my mind. Pelor protected me, and I was saved from the mind-control of the creature, but the sergeant who came to investigate the scene was not so lucky. Surprise, surprise, I was arrested again!! I am afraid that I am not doing the name of Pelor any good in this town, but it seems outrageous to me that those who would do evil can walk around inviolate, while I would be imprisoned for the supposed "crime" of channeling the might of Pelor to bring about their end!
That night, the ship was attacked by a mob from the city. Luckily, Minerva, Fiona, and Ta'Ruush saved the ship, but it seems our unknown attackers have overreached themselves. It has become clear to the Matriarchs that someone is trying to undermine us by setting the mobs against us. We were released and asked to leave Hardby after paying 5000 gp fine for Kespin's spell.
Finally on the 15th of Reaping we were allowed to sail away! Less than an hour away from city, we saw red dragon and two sails appearing on horizon. (Have I mentioned that this trip has been nothing if not exciting, love?) A Red Dragon arrived first and started to dive. It pulled out of its dive and cast a spell that sucked all moisture out of air. This dragon was different then other dragons I have encountered (Voldsebai being the first). It had an evil, extra-worldly aura about it, similar to something demonic or fiendish.
Now it was clear that the galleon was going to ram us! Minerva magic missiled the big bad bug bear, and I called down a flame strike in mid-ship. Lysander dispelled the mage's spells which seemed to pain him a great deal more than a standard dispel attempt. The mage magic missiled Wrye, and in return Wrye stuck him with an arrow. Lysander dispelled the mage's spells again, and the mage teleported away, beyond the range where we could find him! At that point, we were struck by the Galleon. 20 grey creatures, radiating an evil aura (Meanlocks) appeared around us.
At this point, our ship was sinking, and the Galleon was the only sea-worthy vessel remaining. Lysander took the duty of watching the priest while Westwind investigated the below-deck areas. Wrye and I concentrated on getting Tiny (you remember Kespin's horse, right?) over to the other ship while Kespin and Kobort got all the other horses out. Of our crew only Odiveer (one of the mates), Brader (the blacksmith), Odimus (a carpenter), Fakal (the cook), and 26 crew men survived the battle. May Pelor keep the rest in his care. Westwind recognized one of the slaves as a priestess of Tritherion named Rowera. I understand that this is the woman who was responsible for setting up the group with the ship that ultimately imprisoned them! He asked the slaves where the overseers had gone and was directed to two rooms on either side of the hold. He tried to trick the overseers into voluntarily emerging into the hold, but failed to gain their trust (go figure). He managed to gain entry on his own (that arm of his is amazing!), and inside he found a huge half-beast, half-man creature wearing armor and carrying a huge sword, with several smaller beast-men around him
Once the slaves were freed, Lysander, Kespin, and I did what healing we could. Westwind tried greeting the priestess that he recognized, but she didn't seem to know who he was! She told him that she had been kidnapped over 6 months ago from Irongate, but he said that he had met her only 4 and a half months ago! It seems clear that the priestess had been doubled, and that there is a spy in the ranks of the priesthood in Irongate! Twelve of the slaves have agreed to join us in the fight against the slavers. There are three Halflings from Idee among the slaves (Cormoran, Wesal, and Rowapad). We will take the remainder to safety in Hardby, though what the people of Hardby will think is another story. After all, we left only a few hours ago in a completely different ship after being thrown out to do an excessive use of magic. This new ship of ours is very similar to our old ship, with the addition of a battering ram and a few more armaments. It is called the "Eternal Sun". I cannot think of a more appropriate name for this vessel. Pelor has been guiding us, and He will lead us to the defeat of the slave lords. Truly, the "Eternal Sun" is with us always. I am certain that the authorities of Hardby will be able to verify our story by talking to the slaves. I am also hopeful that they will agree to take our captives. We do not have the facilities (nor, I am afraid, do the Halflings have the patience) to keep captives here on board. Their alarmed jail cells should be strong enough to hold the priest. At the very least, these men are guilty of piracy, though slavery may be allowed in the open sea. As you well know, the finer points of law have always escaped me, love.
On the way back to Hardby, we found that the captain has a locked chest in his quarters that is guarded by a Death Rune.
I need to wrap up this letter, love. We will be sending Ta'Ruush to you with a package of information soon, and I will include this letter in the package. He is also bringing a similar package to Count Hazendel (the Halfling's sponsor back in Suundi) and to the mayor of Irongate. I miss you very much, my love. I am convinced that it is the will of Pelor that I work with these people for now. I believe that there are things I need to learn from them, though I hope I can pass along something of the peace and love of Pelor to them as well.
Be well.
Tesseran
Hello Girard!
I was unsurprised to hear of your enthusiasm regarding our activities after Ta'Ruush's visit to you. We have continued our pursuit of the slave lords since then. It seems that Count Hazendel has darker news to report: He has lost touch with a large part of the Southern Fortresses. Additionally, the Grey Havens seem to be raising an army out of the swamps against the North. Nevertheless, he wants to the campaign against the slavers to continue to the end. The Mayor of Irongate also wants the group to continue. He reports that Arch Mage Mystica has pieced the veil that has blocked scrying over the heart of the Pomarj, and she says that there is a powerful, unearthly magic at the source of the slavers keep. Additionally, there are Giants attacking Keoland. He was very generous with the group, giving us many potions, a wand of curing, a large diamond that would work to bring back someone from the dead (if they were willing), a scroll to do the same, and a Greater Arrow of Dragon Slaying.
We were finally able to open the captain's chest. There was an explosive rune placed on the interior of the chest that went off when the chest was opened. It destroyed many items, but some survived, including an ivory mask that radiates a necromantic and/or transmutation aura and a small box/cube. It seems to be a lock of some sort? There is a strong source of evocation and/or transmutation magic coming from within the box.
We put the freed slaves into the care of the temple of Pelor here in Hardby. We gave the temple 500 silver pieces for their care, and I added an additional 500 gold pieces to the fund. Hopefully, it will be enough to give these people a new life. Pelor is watching them, so I know they will prosper. The temple of Zilchus is helping us restock. It seems that Westwind is highly regarded with the priesthood of Zilchus, though not highly enough to warrant good rates for transactions. We asked both temples to find us a navigator. The only one that the Zilchans found is someone that the Pelorians did not come across in all their searching. We shall have to keep an eye on him. It is possible that he is a spy or a target for scrying that has been placed among us.
We had to leave Hardby after only one day, so on the night of the 16th of Reaping, we stopped at the village of Orz , the very first village we came to. It's a very small fishing village to the east of Hardby. We allowed a quarter of the crew to go off for shore leave, which really helped morale. That night, we saw a strange thing: dancing lights appeared in the sky. It seems that this happens every week, and has for as long as the villagers can remember. They don't necessarily feel evil, but I do not know their source, and that makes me uneasy.
Later that night, Kobort's sword, Valor, spoke to him! I guess this is not an impossible thing, but it is highly unusual. He said that his brother Mercy was approaching. It seems that Kobort is carrying one of the relics of Hieroneous! I know that you would love to see this artifact for yourself, my love, and I hope that one day you shall. Anyway, there are 12 such swords, but some have been corrupted in the hands of Blackguards, and one of these twisted swords was heading toward us at great speed. We ran topside, and watched as a figure mounted on a small(ish) dragon approached and then swooped over the ship. He then challenged Kobort to single combat, and Kobort accepted!
I don't know about the honor to be found in single combat, love. I know that you disapprove of the use of combat to determine anything, but I really don't understand single combat. If you are up against an evil opponent, then you must rid the world of that evil without hesitation. Why would you not allow your comrades to aid you in any way possible? There is no honor to be found in allowing evil to triumph, or even giving evil a "sporting chance". For me, there is no question of honor here. There is good, and there is evil. Good destroys evil so that the world is a better place. But, I digress.
We traveled one hour inland, to a flat field. The evil being greeted us, and greeted Lysander especially. There is something the mage is hiding. Whether or not it is something that needs addressing is another question. I will need to talk to Lysander at a later date.
The Wyvern (for his mount is a wyvern, and not a true dragon) stood behind him as he addressed us. His face looked horrifically burned as he stood there in his ornate armor and his griffon helm. He stood over 6 and a half feet high, and he exuded an aura of fear which we were able to shrug aside without difficulty. He said that the sword "Mercy" had been renamed to "Slaughter", and the battle commenced. True to my word, I restrained from entering the frey, though we had been able to cast protections on Kobort before he entered the fight. The rest of the party was similarly eager to enter the battle, though we all stayed out to give Kobort his chance to slay the evil he faced.
Kespin flew into a rage and attacked the blackguard, and with one blow, slew the corruption before him. With his death, though, the Blackguard gave off a burst of energy that nearly dropped Kespin. The Wyvern jumped up and tried to grab the body of the evil knight and the two swords, but Kespin was able to hit it badly as it passed him. Wrye nearly finished the creature with an arrow, and Kespin was able to slay it completely. So, now we had the body of the Blackguard and his corrupted sword, and the body of our friend and comrade Kobort and his living sword. Before taking Kobort's body back to the ship, I called upon Pelor to consecrate the body of this ex-Hironeon knight. It might have been better to have someone who could talk to Hironeous directly, but I feel that my efforts brought some peace to an otherwise tortured soul. When we got back to the ship, I asked Pelor to bring me in contact with the spirit of Kobort so that I could see if he wished to return. Neither Pelor nor I will be party to bringing back an unwilling soul, and Kobort had done so much that he might well have wished to remain in the domain of his God. Nevertheless, he wished to return, so I summoned what strength I had to petition both Pelor and Hironeous to allow his spirit to return to his shell. Love, this was the most painful spell-casting I have ever accomplished, though also the most rewarding and uplifting. I felt so closely connected with Pelor as the energies ripped through me. Twice, I could feel Pelor asking me if I wished to continue, as the price might be higher than I could physically bear, and I could feel his warmth and love as I agreed to whatever the price might be. I do hope to avoid a repetition of this in the near future, though, so it might be a good idea for Westwind to teach Kobort how to dodge such attacks. It seems that there is an additional benefit to the battle: the energy that Kobort poured into Valor has given the sword a greater edge (if you'll pardon the pun) against the undead.
I don't know what we will be doing with the sword at this time, but if you could do some research into the sword called "Mercy", perhaps we might find out who the fallen knight was.
Be well, love.
Tess
--
"A group of people who all share the same mental illness does not constitute a culture." - Mike Bilodeau
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