Chapter 1: A Peaceable Kingdom

[Jeff]

Oss and Pellorien resume their walk.

In the thickening crowds, a thought occurs to Oss. As they walk, he checks his pockets: one of his money pouches has been pilfered, with a total of thirty galifars now gone. The last time he'd been in this city for any length of time, he was in the company of warmage colleagues; together, they represented a powerful institution. Thieves never dared to mark them.

When Pellorien sees the look on Oss's face as he pats down his belt and clothing, it occurs to her: the half-elf boy was in on the job.

More careful now, the two reach their destination.

Temples and churches are arrayed in a cluster at the center of the Sovereign Ward, with residential tenement buildings and individual houses encircling them. On a street just south of the largest temple, Pellorien confirms the address and soon points out to Oss the townhouse that served as Fenwolt's place of residence, according to his identification papers. A carved wooden sign even denotes the family name: Ferenthoron. The place seems large enough to house more than one family.

However, it seems they're not the first to arrive here. An armsman wearing grey leather armor and the livery of House Orien stands at the bottom of the steps that lead up to the front door, keeping an eye on passers-by. The door itself is wide open, and through the front windows Oss and Pel can see more than one person moving around inside the Ferenthoron residence. There is no sign of any gnomes from where they stand in the street.

Standing just outside the door, at the top of the steps, is a woman in a silvery chain shirt. She has a sword at her hip and a light crossbow, unloaded, in hand. She stands, grim-faced, staring out at the crowd. A dragonmark—the Mark of Passage—spirals out from her hairline on one side of her face.

For one moment, her eyes sweep over Oss and Pellorien, lingering there with possible interest, then move on. She appears very alert. Pellorien can tell that if they linger in the crowd too long, they'll be noticed by the sharp-eyed Orien woman.

[Joe]

"Master Streko, I would enjoy hearing more about your sister, Varna."

"Truth be told, my Lord, I know very little of her. She left our home in Breland over a decade ago. I have been searching for her ever since. My travels have taken me across the breadth of Breland and, only in the past several months did Olladra call me up here to Fairhaven, where, by her divine grace, I finally found my sister, just as she was leaving for Passage on what she said was an important task. I was under the impression she was delivering something, but, being alone, I can't see that it would have been of much value. She promised me she would contact me when she arrived. I had waited so long...so many years, to finally see her again..."

Despite his best attempts, tears well in his eyes and dribble down his puffy cheeks. After a few moments, he gathers himself...

"So, I found a place to stay, to wait for her to contact me. I had hoped it would be today, sometime. When I discovered that there had been an accident on the lightning rail, I quickly went to the Orien enclave, which dismissed me out of hand. I went back to Jorasco to see if any survivors had been treated or otherwise contacted. Nothing. So, finally, I had hope that House Deneith could assist in my concerns.

"That is when you came along, my Lord. And, here I am. If you are willing to assist me in my search for my sister, then I am at your disposal to assist in your quest as well. However, I must ask you one thing. Earlier, you mentioned she was left in someone's care. Perhaps if you can tell who this person was, or describe him, it might be another piece of the puzzle."

[Darren]

"Truth be told, Master Streko, I do not recall the boy's name. He was a young human with red hair. It seems that she may be part of this puzzle, and I'm sure that with the assistance we receive from Lady Korvine, we will be able to locate her."

Looking around the room, Kal murmurs, "Where are those two?"

[Jeremy]

Goran grunts and casts an eye over his shoulder towards the door.

"Don't know where they've gotten to. I hope they haven't taken matters into their own hands. They both seemed a bit...impatient, earlier. The rest of us argued to wait until tonight to settle our business, but I don't know if they bought it."

Goran is still hoping for some coffee or strong tea from the innkeeper. No one likes a grumpy half-elf and weapons of destruction in easy reach.

[Jeff]

The barkeep gives Goran a mug of steaming Daskaran tea at the cost of 2 crowns. "If you want something else—stronger or more exotic—you might consider making a trip to the Distant Exchange."

Goran has no idea what that is.

[Josh]

Grafth looks out toward the front door, "It wouldn't surprise me..."

Grafth looks around the room, looking for old and new faces from earlier. "Hopefully they'll be back near dinner, at any rate. Unless I'm mistaken, the young lady was the only one with knowledge of where we were to head.

"Regardless, I wish to be on my way to Passage in the morning. It's not as if the gnome's fate can be altered at this point." At this, he seems to catch himself, glancing at the halfling. The shifter trusts him for some reason, but doesn't know how much he already knows, or whether he should becoming too involved in their problems.

"Kalarian- you mentioned that we were to meet with a 'Lady Korvine' later? I'm not sure it is so wise trust so easily- however, if we are to do so, I'd like to scout around this area prior to the meeting, to avoid an ambush of any sort. You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical that she has our best interests at heart. So far, no one has."

[Darren]

"Agreed, my friend. That was why I arranged for our meeting to be in the street, at least initially. I do not think she would jeopardize her position within the house within sight of the front gates. Of course, that is assuming that the entirety of House Deneith is not against us." Kalarian gives a smile, but even he is not completely reassured by it.

[Joe]

"Truth be told, Master Streko, I do not recall the boy's name. He was a young human with red hair. It seems that she may be part of this puzzle, and I'm sure that with the assistance we receive from Lady Korvine, we will be able to locate her."

Streko's eyes widen. "Red hair? Did you say he had red hair? This cannot be a coincidence. If this is the same person, it cannot be a coincidence."

Streko leaps down from his high chair and begins pacing back and forth.

"But he wasn't supposed to be on the train with her. He was...where did he say he was going?"

He turns back to the group, climbs back into his high chair and tosses one last piece of biscuit to Tangat.

"He had an errand to run and couldn't go with her. He was supposed to take the road south and rendezvous with Varna at some point. I didn't think much of it at the time. It was just...my sister...after thirteen years, you see...I didn't think about it. Why would they both head south from Fairhaven, one by lightning rail to Passage, the other by road, and then rendezvous elsewhere? It doesn't make sense! Why would Malov lie to me about being onboard the lightning rail with my sister?"

[Jeremy]

Goran chimes in.

"I agree with Grafth. I do not presume to know better than you with your own people, Kal, but I think it couldn't hurt to be ready. Times like these make people do things they might not ordinarily do.

I will scout the area with Grafth, if he agrees."

[Jeff]

Note that the seventh bell is still four hours away.

[Josh]

"Certainly, friend- when the time comes, say, sixth bell, let us plan our movements. If you will excuse me, I'll be off for a bit of fresh air, and a stretch. The rest did little for my sore muscles."

Grafth walks to the front door of the Inn, and meanders about outside. He makes not of the surroundings immediately around the entrance, and what he can see beyond. He does not venture beyond the inn's front facade.

[Darren]

"Yes, my friends, yes. I agree. Let us be prepared. I told Lady Korvine of you, but not your names. We have a bit of leverage if there is a trap being planned. Let us not forget that there are also many groups that seem to be arrayed against us. Lady Korvine, I believe, is telling us the truth. But a trap may be set for both us and her, and I would not take kindly to her being hurt, either. So yes, let us be prepared."

The halfling's concern is of particular interest to Kalarian. "Slow down, Master Streko. I think we need to know more about your sister and her companion. Do you know what she was delivering? Please, start from the beginning."

[Jeremy]

"Well then, if master Grafth (or someone) will wake me at six bells, I'm going upstairs for a bit of a lie down. I have a feeling tonight's going to be a hell of a night, whatever happens. It won't hurt to be a bit more rested when the madness begins."

Goran smiles as he finishes his sentence, and takes his tea with him as he walks upstairs. He'll chug it (albeit cold) when he is woken.

---

[Joe]

"Slow down, Master Streko. I think we need to know more about your sister and her companion. Do you know what she was delivering? Please, start from the beginning."

"The beginning? My lord, which beginning? The one in which I was a young lad who idolized his older sister and wished to follow every one of her footsteps? Or the beginning in which I rescue a red-haired human who takes me to a sister I had been searching for 12 years...almost 13 hence?"

Once again, Streko's agitation leads him off his high-chair and directly into pacing mode.

"The beginning in which I fled home, almost died, but rather found the wonder and glory of Olladra, or the one in which I gazed upon Varna's lovely smile, only to watch it leave in favor of an important mission in Passage and never arrive, thanks to an "accident" on a lightning rail?"

Streko realizes immediately that his speech has risen a couple octaves and he's warn a path in the floor. He returns to the table.

"Apologies, my lord. It seems that, even when she isn't around, my sister insists on flustering me.

"Olladra sent you to me and the Goddess of Fortune would not have done so without cause.

"If I were to see Malov again, the red-headed human, that is, I would recognize him immediately, should he be the one you claim is with my sister.

"In any event, it seems to me that both of our quests lead us somewhere south of here, in the direction of Passage if not in the city itself. If you should choose to leave this evening, I have all that I need with me now. I need not return to my...lodgings...here in Fairhaven."

Streko smiles, then closes his eyes, grasps his holy symbol and begins to pray.

[Darren]

Kalarian gives a smile that could either be friendly or condescending. "I believe it will be sufficient for you to simply start with what mission your sister was on, and who was the red haired man? It may have some bearing on the attack. And, Master Streko, do be brief. Goran is right, and I too, could use some rest."

[Jeff]

Grafth steps outside and has a look around. The warforged sitting there looks at him. "In. Out. In again. Out again. Enjoy it while it lasts, until Lady Too Rich To Be Bothered decides she doesn't like shifters, either."

Then he makes a strange gesture. "Oh, if you're going to sightsee, mind your pockets. The gangs are trying to meet some sort of quota this week, I think."

[Jeremy]

...zzzz.....

[Josh]

Grafth inspects the warforged with interest- he has had little experience with that kind.

"Thanks for the advice. You are truly unable to enter the inn? Is there not another establishment nearby with less... oppressive management?"

[Jeff]

The warforged looks fairly standard: a bulky man-shaped construct over six feet in height, composed of steel, stone, and wood with a composite metal plating.

He turns his full attention to Grafth now, as if waiting for just such a question. "Oh, I'm able to enter. And this place usually accepts me and my kind, but is obviously content to discard me when it receives complaints from one of its more acceptable, high-brow customers."

"Oh yes. 'None of those beastly machines will be staying here, surely!'" The warforged attempts to imitate the voice of a woman, failing badly.

"So here I am. Steer clear of her, shifter. She's probably afraid of your kind, too."

[Joe]

"I believe it will be sufficient for you to simply start with what mission your sister was on, and who was the red haired man? It may have some bearing on the attack.

Streko finishes his prayer, opens his eyes and smiles at Kal. "Brief. Of course, my Lord. I am nothing if not brief." He closes his eyes, mutters something to himself and tells his story:

"I had just arrived in Fairhaven, from Passage ironically enough, coming from Breland, as I mentioned before. I stepped off the Lightning Rail and headed toward...the other side of town when I heard a scuffle in an alley I was approaching. Making myself, er, harder to see, I watched as a red-haired human, about 25 or so human years of age, took a mace blow to the head from an older human who looked and had a Brelish accent. At first, I suspected a common mugging and, after the man fled, I made my way into the alley and healed the red-headed human, who introduced himself to me as Malov. I asked him what the altercation was about. He told me that the man was a Bounty Hounter...of sorts. Well, needless to say, my Lord, I felt a deep concern for my own personal safety now, as well as a tinge of guilt regarding the assisting of a possible lawbreaker. However, Olladra's will is such that I heal and Her reasons are Her own. I demanded an explanation and Malov explained to me that he needed to lay low from the Watch, which surely the Bounty Hunter was notifying even as we spoke. He said he needed to find his travelling companion, a halfling woman. I asked him who this woman might be and, as the Wonderous Olladra is my witness, he described my sister. I felt that it HAD to be her, that Olladra had sent me to Fairhaven for just this reason...to find my beloved sister. I promised to use every resource available to me to assist him, IF he would get a message to her asking for a meeting with her brother, who had been searching for her for so long. He agreed and I held my end of the bargain to the fullest.

As did Malov. That very evening, by the docks, I saw Varna for the first time in almost half my life. I knew it was her. The rest you know. She told me she had to leave on an errand of great importance. That she would contact me via Sivis speaking stone once she was in Passage. I begged to go with her, but she refused to allow me. She told me she would regail me with everything that had happened to her over the past 12 years once she returned.

"Now, I fear, I may not get that opportunity. Olladra would not have sent me this far for this long simply to see my sister for but a few moments and lose her again. She WOULDN'T!"

Streko closes his eyes, grasps his holy symbol once more, and prayers. A single tear leaks out from beneath a closed eyelid and travels alone down his face. He takes in a DEEP breath, lets it out slowly, and opens his eyes.

"There, my lord, a brief summation, from the beginning, of what I know concerning Malov and my sister."

[Josh]

Grafth smiles in solidarity with the warforged, "I wouldn't be surprised. Can't say that it's anyone's business but the innkeeper's as to who stays where!"

Not one to loaf about by nature, the shifter paces liesurely around the inn's entrance. "Is the rest of this town so unaccpeting, do you think? I like to avoid such displays of ignorance when possible."

[Jeff]

The warforged shrugs; this, too, seems like a forced gesture, as it is clearly not natural for him. "It's not so bad. There's more acceptance here than the small towns."

"Did you hear about the rail crash?" he asks Grafth, standing up from his stool for the first time. "I heard one man say it was the work of some Dragon Below cultist, killing himself on a crowded cart by calling on some profane magic. Such nonsense. Ask me, I'd say it was some disgruntled Zil's* work. Canny little buggers."

While Grafth hasn't spent a lot of time around warforged, he gets the feeling this one's particularly loquacious.

_______________________________

* A Zil is a person from Zilargo, the gnome country.

[Lara]

admin said:

For one moment, her eyes sweep over Oss and Pellorien, lingering there with possible interest, then move on. She appears very alert. Pellorien can tell that if they linger in the crowd too long, they'll be noticed by the sharp-eyed Orien woman.

Pellorien searches ahead, looking for a vendor where she and Oss can linger for a moment or an alley they duck into.

[Jeff]

Pellorien easily spots a fruit vendor on one side of the street. There's even a small line formed there—his apples, he claims, are the "best on this side of the Aundair River!"—which gives Pellorien and Oss a few more moments to stall.

Nevertheless, the Orien woman looks like she's there to stay for the time being. At one point, another Orien agent emerges from the townhouse, speaks briefly to her, and goes back inside.

[Paul]

Cutter yawns.

"I think I'll go for a nap after all. Will someone wake me up before the meeting?"

So saying, he gets up and heads upstairs.

[Lara]

admin said:

Pellorien easily spots a fruit vendor on one side of the street. There's even a small line formed there—his apples, he claims, are the "best on this side of the Aundair River!"—which gives Pellorien and Oss a few more moments to stall.

"Let's get a snack. Wouldn't you like an apple?" Pellorien nudges Oss toward the fruit vendor.

While standing in line, she observes and listens to those people around her, trying to catch any information about the goings-on in the Ferenthoron quarters.

admin said:

Nevertheless, the Orien woman looks like she's there to stay for the time being. At one point, another Orien agent emerges from the townhouse, speaks briefly to her, and goes back inside.

"H'lo, there," Pellorien says to the vendor. "It does look like you have some of the best apples I've seen recently. Still getting the dust out of my mouth from being on the road. How much for a few of the juiciest pieces you've got?"
_____________________________________
Spot check=17
Listen check=12

[Darren]

Kalarian seems as though he has been formulating a plan ever since leaving the Deneith compound. Standing, it would appear that he is ready to put it into action.

"Master Streko, I need you to do something for me." Making sure he has the halfling's full attention, he continues, "Go check with the clerk at the front desk. Ask to speak with the propietor if necessary. Find out if they have a private room we can use for our meeting with Lady Korvine. Do NOT mention who is coming. Simply say that we need a private room where we will not be disturbed. Tell them it is for me, and tell them that I am willing to pay for its use if necessary."

When he is sure that Streko understands the directions, Kalarian heads outside. "Grafth, my friend," he says as he emerges into the street, "I need your assistance and keen senses." Coming to stand next to Grafth, Kalarian turns to see the warforged with whom Grafth had been conversing. "Excellent," he says, giving Grafth a friendly slap on the shoulder. Kalarian's manner is completely at ease. He exudes confidence as he addresses the construct. "I see you've met my shifter friend here," he says, putting an arm on Grafth's shoulder and leaning upon him. "Tell me, Master Warforged, are you the trustworthy sort?" Standing upright, Kalarian places a hand on the pouch of coins at his waist, letting it jingle slightly. "I may have some work for you if you are interested..."

_____________
If a Diplomacy check is in order, then Kal is starting one.

[Joe]

"Master Streko, I need you to do something for me." Making sure he has the halfling's full attention, he continues, "Go check with the clerk at the front desk. Ask to speak with the propietor if necessary. Find out if they have a private room we can use for our meeting with Lady Korvine. Do NOT mention who is coming. Simply say that we need a private room where we will not be disturbed. Tell them it is for me, and tell them that I am willing to pay for its use if necessary."

Streko nods, drops off the high chair and, collecting himself, goes over to the front desk to speak with the clerk.

_____________________________________

Streko follows Kal's directions. Let me know what you need me to do here.

[Jeff]

Oss & Pellorien

The fruit vendor turns to Pellorien with a smile. "A mere five crowns, young miss," he says, handing her a small bag of three apples.

Pellorien opens her senses to the crowd....but finds that the crowd doesn't seem to notice or care about the Ferenthoron residence. She does learn that Queen's son-in-exile, Prince Jurien, was recently spotted at the Distant Exchange and that he evidently looked "unbelievable." Also, that a small group of priests of the Silver Flame have begun to preach on the doorsteps of their shattered church—"who do they think they are?"

Nothing about Orien or the recent incident. The crowd is gossip, but it's in constant motion. None but Oss and Pellorien are lingering.

Streko

The man at the front desk looks down at the halfling. "I believe the private rooms can be reserved. I will look into it, sir. The price will be ten galifars for the smallest room, or thirty for the largest. Is this to include dinner?"

Grafth & Kal

The warforged just stares back at Kal for a good minute. "You want to give me work?" he asks. "Well...all right. But let's get one thing straight, Sentinel boy. I'm not doing mercenary work. I get enough of that everywhere I go. I was built for war, right, right, but that's not my choice. You got that?"

He holds up his empty, three-fingered hands—although Grafth notices that he does have a punch dagger literally attached to his "hip" as if his upper leg were a sheath. "What do you have in mind? And how much are you offering?"

Goran & Cutter

Zzzzz.

____________________________

Grafth's Spot check = 22
Kal's Spot check = 14

[Jeremy]

Goran is snoozing happily, dreaming such dreams as half-elves might have with a spirit dozy on good ale...

...zzzzz....