Four Fates Under the Southern Sun, 3.5, Session 29

Start: 11 am, Foreautumn 23, 401 GA

Upon waking, Voltaea spoke with the party, appearing quite troubled. She first asked if they had any knowledge of the movements of foreign mercenary vessels in Fortisskari waters. They, of course, denied this. Her expression and body language indicated something bad happened, something related to security or safety. She appears uneasy, as if her or her people's safety are threatened.

Alasdair, with Ryardynin translating, managed to convince her to tell them what she knew. Voltaea's understanding of the situation was limited, but she knew a fortisskari ship was stolen, and there was a 'massacre at the cove'. One survivor, a Yoggite mercenary, escaped with the ship, headed northwest. This revelation appeared to trouble Holow the most, who took to her Helm of Telepathy to read Voltaea's thoughts. She discovered Voltaea is somewhat afraid of the party, but is not hostile. She is loyal to Fortisskar, and wants this situation to resolve peacefully. This, perhaps instilled trust, or dispelled ideas of deception on Voltaea's part.

The party concluded discussions and made their way back to Fortisskar hastily, thanks to Emilia's magics. There, they were met by Şartom Eluë. Onlookers appears wary around them and nervous at their presence. Şartom begrudgingly accepted the fact Emilia returned with the circlet, and was entitled to requesting what tradition would afford her. Emilia requested a cape and bag of holding full of Blue Ice. He complied with this request, and brought her to an audience with the warden.

The Warden appeared to be a hard traditionalist. He appeared to not bear the disdain Şartom had for the party, and seemed to be a 'true believer' in Ilishlu. Still, he seemed to not forget the party are foreigners, and thus, dangerous. He greeted Emilia as Ilishlu. He pledged a military alliance in preparation for the coming Upheaval, and discussed petitioning the council of laws to permit the party to roam and trade in Fortisskar. At this time, they could not, however. The council would be convened within the month. Emilia informed the Warden a sending would be the best way to contact her.

With the audience concluded, the party took their leave. They decided to investigate this massacre, and to this end, Emilia conjured an ice galleon. In this process, she discovered spells which conjure or manipulate cold or ice simply do not function in Fortisskar. It is not a dead magic zone, but to her senses, it seemed as if the magic of the spell were whisked away, or fully occupied elsewhere.

They made their way to the cove, which had evidence of scavenging or predation of a large creature, judging by bloody drag marks, as if bodies were pulled from inside the cave to the outside of the cave. They pressed on. Inside, they indeed found a massacre. Pinned to one of the elven corpses with a seax, Holow found a note reading as follows:

'Last message. The cyclops isn't here. Monolith Isle is my last lead.

Whomever is reading this - don't follow. The hunt for Yolrud is a wild goose chase, and the money isn't worth it. If you made it this far, turn back. Lost my boat, lost my crew to these blasted ice roaches, and now I'm on my own to finish this, whether or not it kills me.'

- D. S.

This deeply troubled her, as she would reveal to the party, as these are the initials of her lover, and matches the description of the task she was undergoing when they last parted. In fact, it might be why she is in this (literally) cursed land in the first place. Even so, it was a lead.

The corpses were picked clean of belongings, and several were missing. As the party began to leave the cave, they were interrupted by a crag linnorm. Emilia made quick work of the creature with her augmented ice powers, circumventing the curse it puts on its killer, and neutralizing the threat entirely. Additionally, whomever investigated this cave in the future would have a masterfully crafted ice sculpture of a crag linnorm to enjoy.

They left, returning to Fortisskar, and decided their business was concluded in this place, for the moment. They contacted captain Ramos to pick them up in the harbor, and assured him of his safety. Until then, they decided to defy tradition and take a bath in the unseasonably warm waters of Fortisskar. This, naturally, attracted a lot of attention. Şartom broke up the scene and informed them of how this was not expressly forbidden here, it was strongly frowned upon. They decided not to incite a riot, and wrapped up their bathing.

They waited out Ramos's arrival. He seemed happy to see them. Holow was introduced to him and the crew, and he seemed somewhat uncomfortable with her presence initially, until Pan and Ryardynin vouched for her. He accepted perhaps he jumped to conclusions and was overly judgmental, but still seemed cautious of having a harpy aboard. Regardless, he trusted in the judgement of the Archons.

The Archons journeyed back to the Viszudar. There, they made purchases in the marketplace. Alasdair, namely, purchased an exquisite gold ring with a large bloodstone prominently displayed in it. Returning to the guildhall, they spoke with Malthuzar.

Malthuzar had cursory questions about their adventure and remarked how quickly they returned. The renovations upstairs would be complete shortly. After sharing what they knew with Malthuzar, he remarked he would have to consult Sahil on the nature of the altar which teleported and transformed Pan deep within the bowels of the place. He seemed irritated by this, but to respect Sahil's expertise on the subject of esoteric history to call upon him.

Malthuzar expressed alarm at the nightwalkers, and suggested they sealed or weakened one of the fronts of the upheaval, based on the description they provided. The party took some time to warn the Warden of the south of this.

When questioned on mist elves, Malthuzar was not extremely helpful, but he told the party they expect gifts. He was more specific on the nature of which gifts to not give them than which gifts they like. He seemed to find the question odd, given Emilia and Pan were included in the conversation. He informed the party they find items of worked wood offensive, and value gifts which the owner has great sentimental value for as highly as expensive or practical gifts. He warned the party of some of the dangers of Monolith isle, such as flocks of Wyverns, and Krakens guarding the seas. Additionally, the domain of the Mist elves is protected by illusions. They are a reclusive people and may be difficult to find if they do not want to be found.

XP: 800
End: 8 pm, Foreautumn 25, 401 GA