Chapter 10: Eye of the Storm

[Ken]

Team B

When Shorak goes back inside, Belarin looks around to see whether they've drawn any unusual attention. He certainly doesn't want to risk an investigation, based on what he's seen of Stormreach's guards so far.

While he's waiting for Shorak tor return, he again tries to figure out where that spike of magical power came from.

As soon as Shorak is done, though, he'll bid Ptolyn to lead the way to the new location.

[Dave W.]

Team B "Shorak," Adamant calls in the doorway, "please, we need to leave here. There is a mystery and we should look I to it, but not now. We are exposed here."

"I am sympathetic; but there is nothing we need here now more than we need to be away from here."

"Master Nerrin, there was another watching us from the rooftops. We should have left by now."

[Ken]

Team B

"Inconvenient, that is, Redoubt," says Belarin in Nerrin's nasal voice. He starts to fidget. He steps to the doorway and calls in, "Twenty seconds, Shorak. Company is coming."

[Jeff]

Team K

"Yes, my lady, we have taken up too much of your time. It would seem that Lord Greigur is not the man we want to talk to. Perhaps you could point us to someone more...appropriate?"

Bereschel shakes her head. "I could direct you to someone, my lord, but I don't yet understand what you're truly after. Few of the lords up the hill will welcome a visitor with a vague purpose, or anyone who sends them to their way. You wished for someone 'in charge' and Lord Geigur is that, but to help you further, I need to know what for."

[Jeff]

Team B

Shorak hears his companions calling out to him. But after a disappointing lack of evidence, he does spot one thing on the way out: a single coin lying underneath the kitchen table in his landlord's flat.

Instead of a monarch or face, it has two strange runes imprinted on it, one on each side, that Shorak doesn't recognize. The metal is amber in hue, reminiscent of both gold and silver. He's not quite sure what kind of metal it is. Not platinum, not gold or silver, he's fairly sure.

[Darren]

Team K

"Resources," Kal says quite simply. "I need resources to help me in seeking the Eye. And that is all I will say of it out here where anyone can hear us."

[Dave B.]

Team B

Shorak grabs the strange coin and pockets it for future examination. He is about to head up to his own flat when he hears his friends' calls to hurry.

Seeing how everything is pretty much as it should be, except for the lack of inhabitants, he heads for the front door. Shorak pulls the door closed and makes sure it is locked properly, then turns to Nerrin/Belarin.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding, Master Nerrin. I will return when you give me leave to do so." Adamant/Redoubt and Belarin/Nerrin can see the anger and frustration on his face, but Shorak as always, forces his usual smile through his pain.

[Jeff]

Team K

Bereschel nods. "Beyond the gate, after you've secured attire for your...assistant there, head in through the front doors and at the desk, tell them I sent you, and to ask for Eren. That is Greigur's personal assistant. Best to start no further than her."

[Ken]

Team B

"That's all right," says Belarin/Nerrin. "Your home has been violated. We'll find out what's going on... and seek retribution if necessary. But our actions have been watched, and unwelcome arrivals are sure to come. So first..."

He turns to Ptolyn. "Please lead the way. I'm eager to share what we've learned."

[Darren]

Kal offers Bereschel a nod, then a salute. Then he turns to lead the way to the shop she pointed out.

[Joe]

Streko bows to the Lady, then follows Kal quietly.

[Jeff]

Team K

Up the hill and through the enclave gate you go, Rinti staring with wonder with every step. The raised portcullis is shaped to resemble a roaring lion's mouth, with dragonlike teeth curved down to form the bars.

Just beyond the gate is a wide courtyard, where soldiers come and go. To one side, new recruits are training on an open expanse of gravel. Straight ahead is the actual keep, with its own side of double doors. To the left is a series of shops catered specifically to the needs of House Deneith: the provide arms and armor, uniforms, clothing, and house regalia.

Kal easily spots the vendor where garb can be purchased for pages and squires. Most of the suitable clothing for house servants can be found here, usually plain grays with emblems of the crest, but he knows that most of them are forbidden for servants not sworn to the house. Rinti may be his hireling, but it would break protocol to let her wear the full Deneith symbol yet. He sees, however, see a plain gray uniform with only goat symbol sworn into the shoulder. He knows that would be permissible.

But the half-elf girl just stares. Kal doubts she's worn clean clothing in a long, long time.

Condign feels more stares on him, which is a little annoying. Since docking in Stormreach, for the first time in a long time, he wasn't getting stares in a populated place because this city is racially diverse. But he can feel the question in the air: What's a tiefling doing here? Fortunately, he doesn't sense judgement in the people's eyes, just curiosity. In fact, clad in armor and carrying an impressive weapon and shield, he feels a sense of martial respect radiating from this crowd. A warrior is a warrior, whether he's got soft pink and brown skin or red skin with horns jutting from it.

Streko notes that there are hardly just humans here. Sure, Deneith is a human-based house, but he sees a fair mix of other races coming and going. He even spots a trio of human and halfling workers in House Ghallanda attire walking toward the gate: caterers.

[Darren]

Team K

Kal smiles, then frowns. Then he smiles again. Such a strange mix of emotion washes through him. He scans the courtyard, and his gaze finally comes to rest on Rinti. Now his face splits into a wide grin. He lifts his chin, studying the girl. Then he looks at Condign, Streko and finally down at himself. "Of course," he says. "We should have cleaned ourselves up more before coming here. Purchased proper attire for all of us. What was I thinking, just marching in here off the street?" Placing one hand on his chin, Kal sighs. "Oh well. Nothing to be done for it now. We'll simply have to play up our rough exterior. But you," he says, pointing at Rinti, "you we can do something about. Come along."

Kal marches towards the shop, intent on buying Rinti the finest quality clothing he can while still maintaining the proper level of respect for house customs.

[Brian]

Team K

Condign does his best to ignore the stares of the others around him--after so much time around humans, he should be used to it. Still, he is uncomfortable with such attention; he is Gaash'Kala, after all, member of a sacred brotherhood, and he has been purged of any desire for self-promotion.

Though, if he were to be completely honest with himself--and Lorjad had always insisted that he be honest--he has, on occasion, enjoyed the notoriety that seems to follow his friends.

Condign gives a mental shrug as he follows the others into the shop. Maybe Kal is starting to rub off on him.

[Jeff]

Team B K

Without another word on the subject of Shorak's home, Ptolyn turns and leads his warriors, and your group, southward again, back towards the Harbor. Once you've passed through into that word, the crowds thicken and grow rowdier again.

Erected on the edge of the Harbor and looking out over the docks on the north side, Thaendyr's Rest is an unassuming inn merged with the building adjacent to it. Stone steps lead up to a door to the second floor of the structure and the only thing obviously elvish about it is the wooden sign hanging over the door. The wood actually has a few steps and leafs growing out of it. Livewood? The sign bears the image of a golden mask above a fountain, along with the name: Thaendyr’s Rest.

Above the sign is a man-sized alcove carved into the facade like a worked crevasse. Shadows conceal whatever is kept there. A statue? It's hard to make out, but there's definitely a figure standing there.

At the bottom of the steps, Ptolyn looks up, then stops and turns. "Please, keep your weapons away inside. The residents allow non-Aereni to visit in the company of our own, but there is no cause for making them wary." He waits a moment to see if you take any steps to comply or otherwise make yourselves appear more unarmed.

[Ken]

"I understand," says Belarin/Nerrin. He turns to Shorak and Adamant and says, "Shorak, Redoubt, we are guests here... and among the friends of a friend. No need to make the locals inside more anxious than necessary." He gives Shorak a very Belarin-like smirk as he looks over the drow's gray skin. Yet it's Nerrin's put-upon sigh that comes out as he says, "Some things can't be helped."

He turns back to Ptolyn, his hands clearly visible to the elf and the wand nowhere to be seen. He nods.

[Dave B.]

Shorak nods, showing that his hands are indeed empty. In fact, except for a glimpse of the short sword he wears at his side when he walks, all of Shorak's weapons are quite out of sight.

[Dave W.]

Team B 
Adamant puts the last of his throwing hammers in his back pack. He pauses and unbuckled his sword belt.

Wrapping the belt around the scabbard and presents the weapon to Haralee, "Could I impose upon you to watch this for some time?"

[Jeff]

Team K

It doesn't take long to find the right clothing and fit for Rinti, and it costs Kal a single galifar to purchase it. But Rinti hesitates before the changing room door, holding the gray uniform in her hand. She looks up at Kal, and Kal can see she's fighting to keep her eyes from watering.

"My...lord." With Condign and Streko also looking her way, she casts her eyes down, embarrassed. "I don't know if I can wear this. I've...stolen before. I might have to again. I'm no soldier. That's not my lot, my lord. You'll be gone again from this city, as warriors like you always are. Maybe to return, maybe not. Most certainly to die gloriously in battle someday." A slight smile, and a sniffle. "A warrior's death. That's not what I'll have."

______________________

Going to start picking up the pace again, if I can.

[Darren]

Team K

Kal's mind fills with images from the Talenta Plains - images of broken soldiers, mangled by the machine of war. Worse were the ones who lived, forever maimed and forced to spend the rest of their days as incomplete men. "It's not as glorious as it sounds, Rinti."

He smiles and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I promise you, you will have a place within House Deneith for as long as you want it. There is work for you here and you need not steal again unless you choose to." He sees her expression grow hopeful. "No, I will not take you with me when I leave the city. Where I am going is far too dangerous for that, and you are not ready for that kind of danger, yet. But I promise you this: when I return to the city, I will come back here to find you. If you work hard, practice every day, learn whatever you can from whoever you can, then when I return to my home, I will take you with me." Kal extends a hand to the girl. "Do we have a deal?"

[Jeff]

Team B

Haralee accepts Adamant's weapon reluctantly, then nods. Ptolyn leads the way inside Thaendyr's Rest.

The common room is cool, quiet, dim, currently lit only with the the daylight filtering through the arched windows on one side of the room that command an impressive view of the Stormreach cliffs and docks. The day is still bright, and it gives the otherwise dark interior a semblance of life.

Because the elves sitting around the room don't look particularly lively—and there are only elves in here, mostly dressed in Aereni-style, flowing garments. They sit together in small groups and give your party an appraising look. While Adamant feels out of place, Shorak certainly does. He's known about Thaendyr's Rest—it's said to be run by an Aereni elf more than three centuries old—but never felt like he'd be welcomed in here. The are no known clashes between elf and drow in Stormreach beyond the personal, and certainly the elves of Aerenal don't have a strong presence in this city, but the ancient enmity between the elves and the brethren who did not join them millennia ago still endures.

This is what a tavern might look like if it was combined with a temple or governmental hall, in that it is stark but still elegantly-shaped. There are columns and a vaulted ceiling higher than most common rooms go. In fact, you see another person-sized alcove carved into the wall above the door, a good fifteen feet up. It might even be connected to the one you saw on the outside. And in the shadows you see a figure standing there, too. A statue, or someone holding very still.

Ptolyn leads you to a window table. "Please, sit."

Somewhere along the way, the other elves in Ptolyn's group have melted away into the crowds. Only he and Haralee are still with you. She sits and fixes Shorak with an uneasy look. He can't help but think that she'd be prettier if she didn't look so upset all the time.

[Jeff]

Team K

Rinti smiles, but she merely nods and disappears into the changing room. Kal can sense the doubt she feels in his promises: she is a child who clearly has no parents, or does and is better off without them. Abandonment is generally the first thing an orphan feels, whether an orphan or war, poverty, or any of the grim realities so many face these days.


She steps out again with her old clothes bundled under her arms, her new Deneith attire making her look a lot less like a street urchin. Though, she herself isn't as clean as her new clothes.

She pats the knife on her belt and smiles embarrassedly again. "Just tell me who to slay, my lord. Or who to defend."

[Darren]

Kal looks seriously at Rinti. "Me, of course," he says. "It is always your job to defend me." Kal grins as he turns from her. "We must find you a pack to put your things in. Perhaps they have one here. A bath would be appropriate, too, but I'm afraid there isn't time right now."

___________
Don't want to belabor it, but if Kal can buy Rinti a pack to put her old clothes in, he will.

[Dave B.]

Team B

Shorak looks around in awe. It's been a long time since he's seen so many elves in one place. He can hardly imagine that his people and these fair beings were once related. That thought travels to another idea. He may be distantly related to one or more of these elves, very distantly, but connected just the same.

He cocks an eyebrow in puzzlement at Haralee's uneasy look and then waits for Belarin/Nerrin to sit before taking the seat next to him or as close as possible if the two elves position themselves to either side of him.

He waits for Belarin/Nerrin to start things off. He doesn't think he'll have much to say since hasn't known Syrdan that long.

[Joe]

While Rinti is in the changing room dressing, Streko approaches Kal. "Are you sure making such promises to an orphan child is wise, my friend? Granted, she probably believes you as far as I can throw you myself..."

He ponders a moment to think it through. Then smiles warmly. "You are most wise, my lord. Providing hope can be almost as powerful as providing truth. Sometimes, even moreso, especially to those for whom hope, as well as their family, has abandoned them. You never cease to impress and amaze, my friend. I am honored to stand at your side."

[Dave W.]

Team B 

Feb 8, 2012 15:07:50 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Haralee accepts Adamant's weapon reluctantly, then nods. Ptolyn leads the way inside Thaendyr's Rest. 

Adamant returns Haralee's nod. He's not sure why she hesitated; it seemed the obvious resolution. Afraid he's violated some etiquette, but unsure how or how to fix it, he simply fallows in.

Ptolyn leads you to a window table. "Please, sit."

Adamant waits for the others to sit and the eases himself into a chair.

"I'll apologize if I speak out of turn but this place is remarkable," Adamant says in obvious awe. "The wood seems alive somehow."

"How do we proceed, Masters?"

[Darren]

Team K

Kal's eyes widen in surprise and he makes an irritated noise at Streko. "I don't make promises I don't intend to keep."

[Ken]

Team B 

Feb 8, 2012 23:22:49 GMT -4 Dave W. said:

"I'll apologize if I speak out of turn but this place is remarkable," Adamant says in obvious awe. "The wood seems alive somehow."

"How do we proceed, Masters?"

"We proceed," says Belarin in Nerrin's voice, "with the truth." He looks around and, after feeling relatively certain that they can't be overheard at the other tables, continues speaking ... in Belarin's normal voice.

"The three of us are allies of Syrdan Sar Dathiel, a servant of the Undying Court. Indeed, my warforged compatriot and I consider ourselves close friends of his. Shorak is a more recent acquaintance of Syrdan, but the four of us have fought together ... for the life of Princess Lerrhana." He lets that sink in for a moment before continuing. "Some time ago, back in Sharn, Syrdan was assigned to find Lerrhana -- whose noble status we were unaware of until you mentioned it. She had disappeared while conducting an investigation of the charming Major Krez. We followed clues that led us to the conclusion that Krez, aside from being an arrogant bastard, was also a powerful vampire, and he had... an interest in Lerrhana. Why, I don't know.

"Through a bizarre sequence of events and pure luck that nearly made me convert to the worship of Olladra, we ended up on a vessel that soon encountered Krez's ship, the Patriot. In a nearly suicidal gambit, a group of us -- we three, Syrdan, and several others -- used arcane trickery to sneak into the Patriot's hold. We fought, what, Shorak... nearly twenty vampires? Plus Krez, who is stronger than any ten vampires. We couldn't defeat them all -- it was a struggle just to stay alive -- but we held them off long to grab Lerrhana and retreat back to our vessel.

"Before you get too concerned, I'll repeat what we said earlier. She is alive, and her soul is intact. I'd have to say that, spiritually, she is one of the strongest people I've ever met. She has endured a lot, and persevered. However, although Krez has lost his hold on her, he can sense her somehow. He summoned assistance from that airship I mentioned, The Northern Wraith. He boarded it and then attacked us. It was brutal. He soon left, though, and Lerrhana remained safe.

"Presumably, Krez stayed onboard the airship and is already here in Stormreach. The Patriot is due to arrive anytime now, with a full squad of Claw soldiers and what's left of Krez's vampiric minions. We know that Krez is after some artifact. We don't want him to get his talons on it. Our appearances, my voice... are part of a plan to raise concerns about the Patriot and impede Krez's progress anyway we can.

"As for Lerrhana... she knows that Krez will continue to look for her. So, with aid from Syrdan, she has decided to conceal herself as best she can, here in Stormreach. It was quite clear to all of us in attendance that she would not be swayed from her decision." A rueful smile touches his lips. "I should have realized at that point that she was royalty."

He looks at the elves in turn and says, "And that's what we know. She is alive and well, somewhere here in Stormreach -- we arrived only several hours ago -- and I believe she needs help. Should you see her before we do, please tell her that her friends the clever drow, the valiant warforged, and the insane rhyming man send their hopes and their admiration."

He licks his lips. "And now I need to slake my thirst after all that." He looks at Adamant and Shorak to see whether they want to add anything to his tale.

_________________________________
Yes, Belarin left out a few things, but nothing that the elves need to know.

[Brian]

Team K

"My lord," Condign quietly says to Kal. "I do not think that anyone would question your sincerity--what you are offering the child is noble beyond measure. But I must also offer words of caution." He looks briefly at Rinti. "We do not know what will happen in the next few months. Please make sure you leave her in good care. To build up her hopes, only to have them broken? I fear if she were forced to return to the streets, it would be a crushing blow. One that may leave her worse off than when we found her."

Then Condign looks at Rinti. "Your first lesson is to learn how to protect yourself before you can protect your lord. You may have some facility with a blade, but do not yet put yourself between this man and danger. If you really want to do this, then watch me and pay close attention. Understood?"

[Dave W.]

Team B 

"We proceed," says Belarin in Nerrin's voice, "with the truth."

"Oh, praise the Host, I'm simply not constructed for subterfuge." Adamant says brightly.

The warforged listens carefully to Belarin. 

"My friend has summarized the story well, there is one detail I would add and with it a request."

"Syrdan and I were asked to find Lerrhana by a ... forgive me, I am not certain of the proper title.. High Priest, or perhaps Elder? ... By the name of Mayne Jhaelian. This was in Sharn, in a temple, beautifully constructed, that Syrdan called the Gates of Passage."

"We left Sharn under unusual circumstances and never could speak with the Elder. If there were a way to get word to him."