Session 10: Journey to Darkshelf

 

Having cleared out the quarry, the party convened to discuss where to go next. Kwon said he would take the slaves to the nearby town of Darkshelf, where he could either help them find their way home, or help them establish themselves in that town. The party decided that, to help make sure the former slaves did not find themselves back in slavery, they would help escort the slaves to Darkshelf. Once there, Kwon told them to look him up if they need anything, and pointed them towards the Golden Cockatrice Inn. A friend of his, Rance Norve, is there.

The Golden Cockatrice has a large festhall on the first floor, and rooms to let on the second. Outside the inn, another blink dog was waiting for them. He barked once at Volodemir, seemingly in recognition, and then appeared to go back to sleep. Two attendants man the door, and they let the party into the hall. There are two bars, and a number of people gathered at different tables. An elf woman sticks out, studying a series of handbills tacked to a screen next to the courtyard door. A man matching the description of Rance is playing cards at one of the tables. Poorly.

Ezral went up to play cards with Rance and his friends, and was welcomed warmly. Galathil meanwhile went to see what the elven woman was looking at. There appeared to be advertisements for jobs and the like, but her face told him she didn't like what she was seeing. As he approached the courtyard door, one of the bartenders called out "If you're going into the courtyard, don't forget to stay clear of the birds!" Vovon went to the manager to see about busking in exchange for a room, and struck a deal, while Dyn-Bach, Keth Vola, and Flint got a table and some drinks. The elven woman introduced herself as Lynnya, an elven ranger, looking for work after her last adventuring party fell apart.

Rance mentioned that a friend of his to the east could use some help. "He said something about eagle eggs," Rance tells the party, "But he wasn't very specific." The party figured this would be something to do, and the next day, they headed to Jorand's Inn, a fortified inn in the foothills of the Spire Mountains. When there, they met up with Rance's friend, a taciturn dwarf named Wuoldern.  Wuoldern told them that the eggs were stolen by three humans who matched the description of an adventuring party, of four people, who stayed at the inn not too long ago.

The party asked around the inn, and discovered that the party had been talking to a mage. They rejected some sort of offer he made the previous Thursday, but came back looking for him on Saturday. One of the guards mentioned seeing the mage ride east on Tuesday. The next morning the party left, and started tracking the mage on the belief that he was the one after the eggs. After about a quarter day of travel, the mage's trail turned into the woods along a path. Upon following the path for about an hour, a harpy swooped down and attacked, but the companions were able to drive it off. They then continued north along the path, wondering what they would encounter next.