A long expected party

Captain Farsig left the group behind while they were finishing their breakfast. Erleothir asked Jalfeera about Altrek and if he already returned, but she explained him that this will probably take some more time and there is no need to worry about him yet. After she finished her breakfast, Rameldin was eager to go shopping and get a nice dress for the party that evening. She asked Yesnarel, but he did not feel like spending an afternoon in the clothing shops of Kitaezi. Draug offered to join Rameldin, but she was not to eager to spend the afternoon with Draug alone. Erleothir thought it would be better to join his 2 companions into the city. Mulchanor shrugged at it, ordered another beer and he stayed at the inn with Yesnarel

Even though it was very crowded in the center of town, Rameldin quickly found a store with elegant dresses. Inside the store, Erleothir saw 2 men sitting on a stool in the corner. One looked at the floor, the other towards the ceiling and both were visibly bored. The dressing rooms at the back were occupied and Draug decided to flex in front of them. Of course the curtains were still closed, but he would be ready for the ladies. While Rameldin tried on a dress, Draug was suddenly tapped on his shoulders by one of the men. “Are you trying to seduce my wife?”, he spoke in a dark low voice. Draug looked at the man and saw he was about the same size of him. Nothing he could not handle, but Erleothir interrupted Draug before he could answer anything and guided him outside. After that, Rameldin was eager to show her new dress to Erleothir. The dress did put the accent on the right places of Rameldin and while she obviously showed the good knight her curves, Erleothir felt his knees trembling a bit. “This will be my new dress. It seems to me that you like it as well. You can look for Draug while I pay for this dress”.

Erleothir quickly went outside looking for Draug. The streets were so crowdy however that it was not easy to find him so quickly. After a while, he suddenly saw Draug amidst a group of exotic dancers who were dancing around him and filling him up with drinks. Draug looked very happy and was not eager to leave the girls. Erleothir pulled him away and while walking away, a voice was heard from behind: “What about payment?” The knights turned around. “You drank a lot little knight, so don’t think we let you leave without proper compensation.” Even though they were not as big as the men in the store, they appeared more frightening to Draug. “Well, I don’t have any money on me, but ….” SLAP, the sound of a hand on Draug’s face could be heard. “ouch, let me finish….but I’m sure Erleothir will pay for me.” Erleothir was just baffled when he heard Draug saying this. “So much for a knight’s codex”, however Rameldin was kind enough to pay the bill for Draug. Being a woman, she even managed a small discount.

The group continued walking back towards the inn, while suddenly Rameldin disappeared in the crowd. Erleothir quickly followed her and saw her going inside a post office. He followed her inside; “What are you doing here?” he asked. Rameldin just answered: “Why are you following me? You should look after Draug. Did you leave him outside?”. Erleothir felt bad about following Rameldin and went outside fast only to find Draug standing in front of a fruit stall. “Nice melons you have there, young woman!”. “I hope you’re talking about the fruit we sell!”, a dark voice was heard from the back and a big man appeared. Erleothir ran towards the stall, but when he reached Draug, he was already standing with 2 melons in his hand. “Erleothir, you know that I have no money, but can you maybe….?” Erleothir just sighed and paid the price for leaving Draug alone. The rest of the way back followed without incidents and the group arrived at the inn with plenty of time left.

Rameldin went into her room with her new dress, while Erleothir took Draug to the bar. Draug started: “Why hello dear Jalfeera, how about a …..” “NO”, interrupted Erleothir, “No alcohol for you anymore Draug.” He turned towards Jalfeera: “Can you make some special recipe to get him sober again?” After a while, Erleothir got a bottle with “Salad Bowl”. “Give that to him, that should work.” and gave a shot to Draug. He drank it up all at once and fell on the floor…unconscious.

“Let me help!”, the group suddenly heard from above the stairs. And there they saw Rameldin. She came down from her room in her new dress and attracted all eyes on her. She went to Jalfeera, asked some ingredients and brewed a potion, which she provided to Draug. Soon after that, he was on his legs, feeling splendid again. Rameldin asked: “What are you planning to do with these melons actually?” and only after that Draug realized he still had them in his hands. He gave them to Jalfeera, but she was not really impressed. Then Yesnarel came down the stairs, he was dressed in a fine cloak worthy of a prince and had a sable at his side. Rameldin tangled her arm in his and were ready to go to the central plaza to meet with Captain Farsig.

Mulchanor walked up front, followed by Rameldin and Yesnarel. Draug and Erleothir walked a bit behind them and so it looked as an official expedition of Rameldin and Yesnarel towards the central plaza. At the city gate they were stopped by a female guard. “Absolutely no weapons beyond this point!” she said while looking at Yesnarel’s sable. He answered: “I’m a prince. I do not intend to use this sable as this is just a cosmetic item to my outfit” in a high charismatic way. They were allowed to continue and soon arrived at the meeting point in town.

At the sight of Captain Farsig, Rameldin waved frantically towards him. “Juhu, Captain Farsig. Here we are. Look at my dress. Do you like it? It was a special prize, only 45 gold. Do you see the little details at chest? Do you like it?”. Captain Farsig was astonished to see the dress on Rameldin, but mostly because she clearly paid too much for this dress. “Do not get me wrong, Miss Rameldin. It looks very good on you, but I think you deserve something better.” He turned towards the group: “My dear friends, today is a day of festivities. Please, go around. Feel free to enjoy the party in town. Buy some presents from the stalls and afterwards come towards the spa. You will get a bath, massage and new clothes. I will see you at the reception tonight.” He bowed and went his own way mingling with the crowd.

After the group finished shopping and bought some nice souvenirs, they went to the spa and started relaxing. Each male adventurer was afterwards dressed in noble’s outfit in the colours of their home country. The outfit was completed with a sash and a sable. Being a dwarf, Mulchanor received a quiver with 3 throwing axes. Even though they were only cosmetic items, the dwarf saw the exquisite craftsmanship of the weapons. Rameldin got another dress and looked even more astonishing as she already did with the dress she bought earlier this morning.

At around 8 pm the group went towards the palace. Around them they saw many guests in magnificent outfits. The palace now rose up in front of them. Even though it was not very high and only had a few towers, it was still a very impressive building standing on its rock. Between the palace and the rest of the town was a cliff of around 70 meters deep and the palace was only reachable by a drawbridge. In times of war, the cliff would form a natural defense system against unwanted intruders. The adventurers arrived at the gate before the drawbridge and showed their passes allowing them to enter the palace. While walking over the bridge, they could see another little bridge on their right side below them. From that bridge, they saw the entertainers of the evening, consisting of bards, jugglers, a dancing bear and a magician. Furthermore there was a larger gate at water level where a ship might easily enter and leave the building.

The company crossed the bridge and went inside the palace. They were guided through some corridors and arrived in one of the patio of the palace. From there they entered a huge double door and into a ballroom, which was decorated for the festivities of the evening. Many guests already arrived inside and among them they also saw several palace guards. Most in white/grey outfits, but also some wearing either blue, red or green armor. On the east side of the room, you could see through the windows a very large balcony with a beautiful view of the city from above. A large table was built up in front of it with all kinds of foods and beverages. Also there was an ice sculpture representing a ship. Yesnarel checked the details of the ship and could see there were neither masts nor sails. It looked very sleek and aerodynamic. The only thing that did not quite fit was a small hut at the stern of the ship.

Captain Farsig joined the group: “Ah, I see you have made it inside and if I may say so; you look splendid tonight and perfect for the occasion. And my dear Rameldin, you look splendid in your new outfit. Please allow a dance with me later this evening.” Rameldin happily accepted the offer. Mulchanor then asked: “We were admiring the ship on the buffet. Can you tell us some more about it?” Rameldin added: “Yes, for example, what’s the name of the ship?” “It’s a prototype for the new battle ship for Kitaezi.” was the answer of Captain Farsig. “It’s details are currently very secret and only on a need-to-know-basis and you don’t need to know. In case you want more information, you should ask the Commanders. But they will talk about it during the evening, I guess” He slipped a little note to one of the servants in the room, who then knocked on the floor with a big staff. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I kindly ask for your attention. May I introduce to you … Journeyman Prince Yesnarel of Valerion accompanied by the beautiful Miss Rameldin. Also we have more visitors from abroad. Knight-Aspirant Draug Ohtar from the republic of Palmyrion, Knight-Warrior Erleothir, son of Leobard from the Sommerlund realm and Mercenary-Sergeant Mulchanor from the dwarven kingdom of Bor.” All listeners were in awe and the group greeted each of them in their own way.

Rameldin asked Yesnarel for a dance, but he was not very willing to stay with her and refused her offer, much to the confusion of some people present in the room. However Captain Farsig still had some time available and was happy to dance with her. Draug took the opportunity to flirt with the attendees and Mulchanor enjoyed the food and beer of the buffet. Then suddenly a man walked up towards Yesnarel and Erleothir and talked softly, making sure nobody else could hear it. “Good evening Prince Yesnarel. I know you’re not here only to enjoy the party” and he added a much-saying glance to him. “My name is Counselor Sitrik. I see you have been admiring the prototype of the ship at the buffet. As you know, this ship is a threat to our cause. Long have we managed to delay its accomplishment, but now they have found the last piece of the puzzle. We may not allow this ship to sail out tomorrow. You MUST make sure the prototype of the ship fails and secure the plans of the ship to the Crystal Star Guild of Toran.” Before anyone could answer, the Counselor already walked away. Yesnarel and Erleothir looked at each other with a questioning face. Rameldin, who saw this happening walked towards the two with Captain Farsig at her side. “Ah, I see you have met one of the Summerlund Ambassadors. You must excuse him, he is rather ... peculiar.” He continued: “Anyway, where is the rest of your group? I think it is time I introduce you to the Commanders and Magistrate.” Mulchanor was quickly found at the buffet, having another beer and enjoying some meat. To find Draug was more difficult, until Erleothir heard a familiar sound. SLAP, another female hand made contact with Draug’s face in a rather unfortunate way for the knight. Erleothir guided Draug to the rest of the group and with Captain Farsig they went towards the table with the officials on the west side of the room.

The first Commander sitting at the left side of the table was Commander Shanxi, the person for whom this whole event has been organized. He was sitting in front of a yellow flag with a book symbol. He looked very old and counted even more years, he appeared rather senile and some mucus dropped out of his mouth. When he was introduced to the group, Erleothir sensed there was something odd about him, but he could not tell what it was. The second Commander was Qwidas, sitting in front of a green flag with dunes and camels. He was in his 50s, had a darker skin than the rest and looked very jovial. His face was round and he was in a very good mood, especially when he saw Rameldin. The third person on the table was introduced as Commander Sintar, sitting in front of a blue flag with a ship. Draug immediately recognized the flag, as he bought a handkerchief with the same motive while he was on the market before. Sintar was in his 40s, clean shaved, perfectly dressed and acting very straight-forward. The last person on the table was magistrate Barif of Kitaezi. He looked totally transparent, a face you would easily forget and absolutely no charisma. A painful silence fell during his introduction.

After the Commanders were introduced, Rameldin took Erleothir by her side. “We must talk with them separately and see what information about the ship we can get from each other.” Erleothir nodded: “They will surely not talk as long as they are together.” After some discussion, they decided that Draug and Yesnarel would talk with Sintar. Since Draug picked a handkerchief with the same symbol as the flag of Sintar, he would maybe find a way to ease him up a bit. Rameldin would use her female talents and dance with Qwidas, hoping to get more info. And since Erleothir sensed that something’s peculiar about Shanxi, he and Mulchanor would have a chat with him. However before they had the chance return to the table, Barif stood up and asked for everybody’s attention.

“Dear ..euh… inhabitants of our .. quite nice empire of … Shadaki!” he started. It was immediately clear that he was not a great speaker. “I have some things, euh, presents I would like to show you, because today, Friday, is a special day. It’s the 13^th, hehe, let’s hope nothing bad happens, knock on wood everybody, haha.” A long silence was heard and in the background was somebody coughing. “Euhh…to continue, ahum, on the drinks-table is a statue of ice-cream, no, just ice, hehe….anyway, it represents a new prototype of an even newer ship. This is so aerodynamic and sleek as a katana. You might say, if this katana was our ship, it would be….. ah euh…a very good katana.” Commander Shanxi started talking: “Thank you for your kind words”. While he slowly stood up, the attendees were visibly glad that the Magistrate was interrupted. “Today is indeed a special day. My work has finally come to finish. This ship will represent the power and strength of Shadaki. Long did it take to accomplish my plans, but thanks to Commander Qwidas, who found the last missing piece of the puzzle and thanks to Commander Sintar overseeing the construction of the Prototype in the Shipyard. I also want to congratulate Captain Farsig, as he is chosen to steer this new prototype tomorrow. Now we will very soon be able to ….”

While Shanxi was talking, Yesnarel and Draug felt quite odd and uncomfortable, but also captivated by the words of the Commander. Erleothir suddenly sensed what he suspected earlier at the introduction of Shanxi. This Commander is not senile, he is far from it. As a matter of fact, even though his speech was of questionable ethical and political content, he seemed to be using some kind of spell to keep his audience captivated by his speech. Erleothir whispered to Yesnarel to make him aware of this, but he was too much under his spell and did not have ears for Erleothir’s words. Erleothir could not convince him, but luckily for the knight, there was no need to do that. The Commanders Qwidas and Sintar saw what was happening and interrupted Shanxi. “Thank you for your kind words, Commander Shanxi. We could not have managed without you. Please take your seat and enjoy the rest of the party”.

After the speech of Shanxi, the other two Commanders walked up front of the table and faced Shanxi. Their gestures were wild. Clearly they were not too happy with all the information that the old man provided. During this talk, Captain Farsig came back to the adventurers. “Oh Captain Farsig” Rameldin started, “I think congratulations are appropriate on your position to steer the prototype.” “Well, thank you Miss Rameldin” he answered. She then continued: “Can you show us the new ship you will be piloting? I’m eager to see the magnificent craftsmanship of Shadaki since I was a little girl. I’m sure a man in your position can make this possible.” “Sorry, but no can do”, denied Captain Farsig. “This is a state secret military project and nobody is allowed to see it yet. Anyway, I actually came to you because I wanted to bring one of you to the prisons and look for Alast. Wasn’t that the whole purpose of tonight?” Erleothir answered: “Indeed that was our original intention. Please allow me to go down with you.” and Captain Farsig and Erleothir went to the prisons. While Erleothir was gone with Captain Farsig, Yesnarel surprisingly asked Rameldin to dance. Mulchanor went back to the buffet and Draug was on his way mingling with the ladies in the room.

Downstairs at the prisons, Captain Farsig showed his bracelet to one of the guards, who provided him access subsequently. They spoke with the supervisor and asked about Alast. “Alast, you say? Hmm…young fellow, likes to backstab his food? Yes, I remember him. He has been brought to the shipyards.” Erleothir then asked if it is possible to see him. “I’m sorry, but nobody is allowed to go to the shipyards unless access has been granted by one of the commanders. But this might interest you; because of the festivities we have transferred all prisoners to the shipyards. But this fellow, Alast, has been transferred one day before the rest. I’m sorry, but that is all I can do for you.”

Erleothir was rather disappointed not to meet with Alast and not even to get more information about his whereabouts. He went heavy-headed in the palace ballroom again to meet with the rest of the group. Yesnarel just finished dancing with Rameldin and Mulchanor joined them as well, well fed and with a glass of ale in his hand. “Has anybody seen Draug?”, Captain Farsig wanted to know. Erleothir expected to hear a SLAP somewhere in the room, but to his surprise he saw Draug coming towards them with an up-pace walk. “Ah Draug, there you are again. Any luck with the ladies?” Yesnarel wanted to know. “Please, you have to help me!” Draug started rather embarrassed, “All night I was asking some women for a dance, but without much luck. Then I did find a lady and she was quite eager to join me on the dance floor. All went well and we danced the stars from heaven. Then we went to the balcony and enjoyed the view over the city. And just before we kissed, I suddenly see this huge Adam’s apple!” The rest could not help, but laughed out loud at Draug’s luck. Captain Farsig was most amused by the knight. “Is that the way of the Palmyrion?” he asked in an ironic way.

He then continued: “I’m sorry I could not be of more help to find your friend Alast. I do hope your ways will cross soon. Maybe you might have luck asking the authorisation to go to the shipyard to one of the commanders.” he nodded at the group at the other end of the room and they were still obviously having an agitated discussion. For some reason the magistrate had stood up and was joining the three commanders and it was obvious that he was as welcome as a hair on a bowl of soup. Farsig sighed at this view and turned back to the company with the look of someone who is about to ask an embarrassing and maybe not politically well-seen question. “There is one other question I would like to ask all of you. What exactly do you think of Commander……” he was suddenly interrupted by a loud GROOOWWLLLL. Everybody turned towards the entertainers section. The dancing bear broke loose and was running wildly towards the table with the officials. Yesnarel used a slow-motion spell on the bear, but it was too late. The bear was already too close to the table. Barif looked shocked, stumbled some more words: “Oh, a .. euhm … bear”. The bear jumped towards the Magistrate, grabbing his claws around him and they both fell through the window and into the 70 meter deep chasm. After that, everything went very fast. Commander Shanxi jumped up and kicked the table forward providing him with cover. Clearly he was stronger and more agile than he appeared and not at all senile as he pretended to be. Qwidas took his 2 handed axe and Sintar picked up his sword. The three commanders were standing in front of each other threatening with their weapons. At the same time, all the guards who were dressed in the colors blue, red or green in the room unsheathed their swords ready to attack.

Then, after that second of frozen terror …… Panic amongst the guests!

At the sign of the Broken Mast

Evening started in Kitaesi and the sun was not up high in the sky anymore. Still the air felt heavy and it was difficult to breath in these conditions. Sweat pearls ran on the face of the group of adventurers while they made their way through the Brackwaters, the slums of Kitaesi. Toxif, the big fat guy who introduced himself as a friend of Alast, was leading the way. While on their way, the group looked around and saw the poor conditions the inhabitants had to cope with. It looked like as if a big hurricane picked up some houses, wood from the forest, stones from masonry, and some occasional people of Magnamund to dump it all here. The inhabitants did not seem to bother much however as they made the best of it. The group saw some children playing around and felt how the eyes of the inhabitants followed them from the houses’ – or wooden constructions to be honest – windows as they went on walking through the puddles.

Rameldin wanted to make sure her skirt didn’t get dirty and lifted it up a bit. Draug, who was walking behind her, made an attempt to see what she was wearing underneath. The sight must have delighted him, as the reflection of a water puddle caused a smile on Draug’s face. Rameldin – unaware of this – saw that Toxif gestured to some of the playing children, which stopped them immediately and one of them ran off. She asked Yesnarel, who also saw this happening, if Toxif could be trusted. “Maybe they are setting up a trap for us” she said worried. “Meh, don’t worry. They are only children. He probably goes to the inn to clean up the place for us.” was Yesnarel’s answer. What he did not know yet was how right he actually was about this. The group continued walking up the hill and after they reached the highest point, they could see where they were heading.

The Broken Mast: it was clear how the inn got its name. 200 meters ahead, they saw 2 houses next to one another and, in the middle, a big ship. It looked like as if that previously mentioned hurricane brought along a ship as well and planted it here. In the middle of it was the mast going up in the air for about 4 meters, where it broke and the rest fell on the house on the left, creating a little pathway. At the entrance, a woman with beautiful black hair could be seen. The little child that ran away before could now be seen again running toward her and he whispered something in her ear, before running away again into one of the houses. The girl looked at the group and walked inside. Still far away, around 150 meters, the group heard a woman shouting and then the rumble of a fight. Erleothir looked at Draug who nodded and both nicked their head towards the inn. Without saying a word, the knights picked up the pace. Then from one of the windows, a stool was thrown out, closely followed by a man who came through the wall right next to the window. Then, from the other side of the door, another man got thrown out. Draug and Erleothir now lowered their pace again, not sure what to think of it. Through the door, they saw a third man going away from the inn involuntarily. The girl walked outside, getting rid of the dust from her dress and beckoned the group towards her. Rameldin started ahead of the group stating that she would handle this and leaving no time to her team members to react.

Now only a few meters away from the inn, the group saw a shadow rising from behind the girl. Almost not able to walk through the door, a big man – he was easily 2x2 meters – came from inside the inn. Just as Erleothir was about to warn the girl from the danger, she put her hand on his cheek as for a “thank you for the job well done”. The big guy then picked up the three men lying outside and walked away with them.

“Welcome at the Broken Mast, fair travelers, the best inn you could ever imagine……..in the Brackwaters.” The girl started. “My name is Jalfeera and I’m the 2^nd in command. My boss should be coming in a few moments.”

Rameldin answered on behalf of the adventurers:

“Thank you for your kind words and the efforts you’ve already done to welcome us. My name is Rameldin and let me introduce my fellow companions.”

“Sure”, Jalfeera continued, “but let’s go inside first. Toxif, thank you for your services. You are dismissed for today.” and she gestured the group inside.

The interior was rather small. Inside the inn were 3 tables with seats for 4 persons and a bar where another 7 could take place. In the middle, you could see the mast going up in the air for a few meters, before it went further to the first floor were the rooms probably were and at the front of the ship was the statue of a naked woman, although it was on the inside and not on the outside anymore as one would expect. One of the walls now showed a gaping hole, rest of its use as an exit just a few minutes ago. A window was broken (this also appeared a few minutes ago), but for the rest the place looked very good. It was indeed one of the best inns you could ever imagine……..in the Brackwaters. The group sat at the bar and Rameldin did the introductions.

“And who is your boss and where is he?” she finally asked.

“ALTREK!,” shouted Jalfeera, answering the group and calling her boss in the same time. “His name is Altrek Nasir, just a good friend of mine. Not my boss, boyfriend or other relation”, as Rameldin already started to ask the whole family history of them. “I’m sure you are all thirsty; let me provide you with a drink until ALTREK! come down. The first one is on the house.”

They all took a beer and, to the surprise of Erleothir, it was not only less strong than the Bor beer, but also actually refreshing and cold. While Draug unsuccessfully flirted with Jalfeera, the group suddenly heard a voice from behind.

“Finally, the adventurers Alast talked about have arrived. I’m pleased to meet you” he said while looking at all of them. “My name is Altrek Nasir and I’m ….”

He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he eyed Draug. The room suddenly turned dark. It was as if the room reflected the mood of Altrek, but when the light came back again, Erleothir saw what the real cause was: the big guy who threw the 3 men out earlier had come back and was blocking the light from the entrance.

“Dahut”, Jalfeera started “repair the window and the wall behind you and please clean up the place a bit before going to bed.”

Altrek eyes did not leave the group while this happened. “Alast said that I could expect 5 persons: 2 dwarves and 3 humans. My eyes do see 5 persons indeed, but only one dwarf and four humans.”

He stepped forward towards Draug.

Yesnarel must have known what Altrek was thinking for he simply said: “He is trustworthy”.

Draug was also very surprised to hear the name Alast and it was up to Erleothir to explain at best who they were to Altrek and Draug. Rameldin did not really help when she stated that the group killed her mother and she joined them for that reason. Erleothir had a hard time explaining it all, but he answered all questions as well as possible. After Altrek was sufficiently informed about the group, he simply said: “follow me downstairs” as he walked towards the statue. He pressed on the bellybutton (a nipple would be too easy to guess) and a very narrow stairway, hardly wide enough for a person to fit, opened up in front of them.

The group followed Altrek down in the cellar of the Broken Mast. This room was at least twice as big as the inn itself and filled with crates, weapon racks full of swords and halberds, and several racks full of armors. At the back of the room was a little river and in the middle a big cannon. Erleothir inspected the crates a little closer and saw a seal, which was very familiar to him. These were crates from Shotia, or actually, these were crates that Erleothir and Alast loaded on board of a ship in Shotia. Erleothir just realized that his job in the first week of Shotia was smuggling out weapons.

“What is going on here? Speak swiftly!” Erleothir said in a harsh tone.

Altrek started to explain: “What you see here is for the upcoming change in Kitaesi. For several months we have been gathering weaponry to help us start a revolution.”

Yesnarel knew of the history of Shadaki and he explained to the group that the people of Kitaesi had been occupied for over four generations.

“That is true” Altrek continued “but we are going to take back what is rightfully ours. Most people in the city are not fond of this idea and we must be very careful with whom we speak. They are currently in a very good position which they most likely are not willing to lose. However most of the people, especially those living in the Brackwaters, do not have any privileges. Can we count on your help?”

Erleothir said: “You say that you must be very careful with whom you speak, yet you seem to trust us easily as companions from Alast and even show us your secret lair of weapons. How would you know that we won’t turn you in to the rulers of Kitaesi? Not only is Kitaesi on the threshold of a change, so is the whole of Magnamund, for good or for worse. But if you seek our help in freeing your people from the crutches of your oppressors, I feel that we must do so. However choose your comrades most carefully”.

Altrek put a smile on his face and guided the group upstairs again. “Come, my friends, you must eat and in the meantime I’ll explain our plan.”

The group sat at the table and Altrek was happy to have an audience willing to hear him out.

“You are currently located in the Broken Mast, which is – was – the second ship of Captain Farsig. He is the one who is currently celebrated as part of the festivities of Kitaesi. I’m sure he will pay us a visit tomorrow morning as this is his second home. The big fest is of course for Commander Shanxi who celebrates his 90^th anniversary serving the army.”

Rameldin was intrigued by all this, but had a simple question, which was probably on everybody’s mind: “Where is Alast?”

Altrek provided them with a letter. It read:

Hello my friends,

If you read this, it means I have been arrested. Do you remember the Blue stone that we found in Boari? Well, I have heard of another stone that commander Qwidas found in the Sadi Desert. It is yellow and it also glows. Some of the soldiers that were part of the expedition to bring it back to Kitaesi are already dead. I could be wrong, but I think it’s a piece of our puzzle. They are all very secretive about it but I am sure it will go public on Commander Shanxi’s Anniversary Party. Maybe you will be able to find out more than I could, and that Altrek does not start his revolution too early. Let’s wish us all most of luck.

Alast

PS: If you could rescue me along the way, I’ll be very grateful. Seriously!

The news of Alast being held captive shocked the group, but Altrek suggested that he was arrested on purpose.

“Alast must not be underestimated in his actions, because he must have got a good reason for all.”

To be honest, that opinion wasn’t shared by the group as they remembered him taking a shit outside of the window of the Kilitanin house in Kalte. That and also the time when he cut a finger from one of his first kills, only to put it in his backpack where it ultimately rotted away along with most of his food. Anyway, the group found out that there was another key in the city and Alast knew about it. That was what was important. But how would they get there unnoticed?

Then Altrek continued: “We are currently 'ruled' by magistrate Barif, a good-for-nothing, incapable leader. He is the last in line of his family. When he dies, the 3 commanders of the army, Shanxi, Qwidas and Sintar, will probably do anything to take his place, each with their own personal army. They will fight each other to death, not caring about any collateral damage, causing thousands to get killed in the process and the commander, who will win, will still continue to oppress us. That’s not an option. We must wait for the festivities to end so the three commanders are gone. Then we can overthrow the magistrate and I will take over his place and control the palace, before the others have time to react. Tonight I will contact the field workers from the North and ask for their support. I suggest you take a good night’s rest and speak with Captain Farsig tomorrow. He might help you get into the palace and rescue your friend.”

Yesnarel suggested wearing the sabers he saw in the cellar. That way, they would all be able to present themselves as officials from their respective countries and convince Captain Farsig to take them inside the palace. “Aah, a splendid plan, young Yesnarel. Since I expect a fight coming up, I’ll provide you each with 2 potions of Laumpsur as you will need them. Now if you excuse me, I must attend my secret meeting with the field workers from the North. Just don't do anything stupid in the meantime.”

Rameldin was very sad that she could not go to the party, because she really wanted to go out dancing. However Erleothir offered to bring the party to her since she wouldn’t be able to go. He asked Mulchanor to sing a merry song, while he invited Rameldin for a dance. The two danced through the Broken Mast and Rameldin got caught in the blue eyes of the knight. “Trust me”, he said to her in a low comfortable voice and Rameldin knees started to shiver. The knight truly was charismatic and he managed to convey his confidence and appease her fears. After the dance, he guided the young lady to her room and came back alone. The others, especially Draug, looked at him with a questioning face.

“Back so soon?” asked Draug.

Erleothir answered in a simple tone: “I just thought it would be better for her to go to bed instead of going into the city. And I still have a girl waiting for me out there.”

They quietly finished their drinks and went to bed soon after that.

13th January 5001

Rameldin was the first to be wake up the following morning and, while the rest of the group was still sleeping, she came downstairs to the main room and there found Captain Farsig. In a bold move, she took a chair and sat right next to him, starting only then with an introduction. They chatted alone for a while and the rest of the group woke up slowly. Yesnarel was deep asleep and Mulchanor didn’t manage his efforts to wake him up. He was himself pretty tired, having not slept properly. Jalfeera’s room was right next to his and she quite obviously didn’t spend the night alone. Unfortunately for Mulchanor, the bed was placed against his. The men entered the room and saw Rameldin sitting next to a man they assumed was Captain Farsig. Rameldin waved frantically to them: “Helloooooo, over here!” she shouted although the room was completely empty. She had allready been chatting with him for at least half an hour

All sat down, their back straight, eager to impress and please Captain Farsig. In all their eagerness, they managed to bring up each and every flaw or weakness of Rameldin’s explanations. When Farsig was intently intrigued in the odd group and clearly trying to understand who they were and what their obejective was, they each in turn stuttered or brought unfinished sentences, vague justifications of their presence in Kitaesi.

Rameldin smartly pointed out that Yesnarel was a prince and Draug jumped on the occasion to complete that he was his bodyguard. Never mind that Yesnarel is from from Valerion and Draug from Palmyrion. Thankfully for Erleothir, he could skip the part of Draug being a knight already when he himself was one as well. Mulchanor was a dwarf and that was enough in itself, his stature and confidence spoke for him.

In the end, Farsig could be seen smiling - or grinning - a few times and whether he just wanted to thank them for the entertaining breakfast, whether he acknowledged their worth or whether he had a calendar on his own; all what matters is that he allowed them to accompany him to the palace.

"You seem to be a bunch of entertaining fellows and I'm sure you would be a nice addition to the celebration tonight. You see, we are eager to show the world that we are far from being a bunch of uncivilized and ruthless pirates bent on.... domination of the sees. There will be plenty of officials tonight and to be honest, me bringing guests from abroad will surely interest the magistrate and the commanders. While this gives you the occasion to have a look in our Palace. I will also see what I can do to find if your friend Alast is kept there for any reason. I think this is a excellent situation were everyone can only win from each other..."

Giving them free time until noon, with the intend on meeting again at the central plaza, he stood and bid his good bye for the morning, before leaving the inn, he turned his head a little and made a sign to the barmaid, who could be seen smiling in reply.

Triumphant Arrival

After Gustavius’ departure, the group settled for 10 long days of travel. Keeping them all busy wasn’t an easy task since such professional adventurers were certainly not used to staying on the side.
Erleothir however seemed to be enjoying the time alone, the calm and security of the ship, the silence… knock, knock, knock. His meditation was softly interrupted. “Who is there?”

“It’s Rameldin, may I come in?”
Erleothir reluctantly opened the door, now really wasn’t the time to discuss and he knew how talkative Rameldin could be. Not that day though, they went for a walk on the deck and noticing his darken mood, she restrained a little and tried to get him to talk about his worries. She couldn’t get him to talk much as he insisted on waiting for a group discussion he would lead before arriving to Kitaesi. He asked her to be patient and, feeling better knowing he wasn’t upset with her, Rameldin followed his advice and went looking for another friend to talk to.
Yesnarel was a bad pick being all busy at his own project: learning from Captain Padoka. The young mage did his best to get closer to the man and learn something from his experience. The only thing he got in the end was some serious daily hang-overs. He wasn’t used to such an intense level of studying.

Far from that agitation, Mulchanor spent most of his days in the forge preparing some grenades for future battles. He was humming happy dwarves tunes as doing so, his mood greatly improved since his last talk with Jack who picked up his old gun back.

Sighing at the thought that Alast was now gone, Rameldin suddenly remembered the new addition to the group: Draugh. For sure he was bored too and would appreciate some company!

She found him in his room, recovering from a strong headache, reward of his failed attempt at keeping up with the drinking crew. He seemed rather glad to have her visit and made some room for her on his bed. Seated next to one another, Rameldin started asking her many questions about all and everything and mostly about their fellow companions. There was some tension at first in the room, nothing aggressive, more like a challenging atmosphere of seduction between the two. Despite his young years Draugh was trying his best to seem older and impress the lady, while she on the contrary was doing her best to get him to relax, at ease, to speak. She clearly won the round when she offered to massage him in order to relieve him from his persistent headache.
“But tell me, what do you think of the people we travel with?”
“I don't know, since I joined your group we tortured two guys, Yesnarel electrocuted one and the other died, Gustavius put you into prison, Erleothir screamed a lot, then there is that other dwarf who's sleeping all the time and I have no clue who's steering that ship”
The massage started innocently on the shoulders and moved slowly to his temples as the conversation went on. Both were getting to know one another but the conversation came to a halt when Draugh fell sound asleep on his bench. Rameldin looked right and left and mentally shrugged her shoulders as she made herself a place at his side for a nap.


12th January 5001
The trip was rather uneventful and all were glad to meet in the kitchen one fine day in the early afternoon. This meant only one thing: Kitaesi was very close now and Erleothir was going to talk. The speech was inspirational as well as scary for the less experienced persons of the group. There would be no way back, they were in for a fight against the Dark Lords and now all knew the war would start once all the keys and safes would be found.
As the meeting was coming to an end, they heard a commotion on the deck and all followed the crew. They were surprised by the sight. A larger mountain range with gently rising slopes was facing them and more surprisingly: Padoka woke up and decided he'll take care of the maneuvres.

The Captain emerged from his cabin, stumbling as usual. Helped by Jack, he climbed to the steering wheel and intended to drive the ship. On the deck, there were gasps and Rameldin clinged to the closest stable element she could find and that turned out to be Mulchanor’s arm. He shook his arm free, without any compassion for her fear and stepped forward, to the railing. Rameldin knelt on the ground, covering her head of her hands. Though some of her companions were mildly worried about Captain Padoka’s competence in driving before 20h, the crew seemed confident. Padoka moved some of the stones and crystals on the steering board and the ship accelerated sensibly and while he was making no attempts to lift the ship the treetops of the scarce pines on the ground were coming closer and closer. Soon enough they were flying at the same height as the trees, flocks of birds flying away to the side while angrily bleeping. the yellowish stony ground burned by the sun was uncomfortably near and the horizon had vanished. And suddenly, as the mountain summit was coming always closer and closer, the ship lifted up eversoslightly, brushing the line and crossing onto water 200 meters below them. The view was breathtaking.

They had just strifed the top of what was a gigantic cliff over the west side of the Bay of Kitaesi, and were now facing almost the entirety of the bay. To their right, towards the south the ground was getting more and more accidented and the cliffs on either side of the bay were more hanging over the water with strange formations of spikes looking like claws emerging from the ground. Behind the horizon to the south they knew the bay opened into the ocean. in front of them they could see the equally shaped cliffs forming the eastern wall of the bay in the warm afternoon sun. As they looked down upon the deep blue water they soon noticed a large warship going full sails toward the city of Kitaesi, their final destination for this journey.

Kitaesi was in the most northern part of the bay. One of the biggest city of the Shadakine Empire. Thousands of houses and buildings behind heavy fortifications, all in a Moorish style, some buildings towering a bit higher than others but never more than five floors, but the most fascinating thing in the city was a large sugar loaf on top of which a large palace of white an red stones laid. as thy looked closer at this strange mountain in the middle of the sea of buildings they noticed that it had been modified slightly to make the palace an untakable fortress. it seemed that the engineers had managed to divert th river flowing through the city to flow through the sugar loaf itself after carving a canyon on one side of that massive rock, surely a herculean work at the time. much less breathtaking was a diffuse mass of wrecks and shady buildings on the eastern side of the city, just outside the city walls. Their view continued northwards and they could see some huts and farms on the fertile ground in front of the north walls of the city and stretching into the heartland. to their surprise they also noticed a large amount of tents and camps in that same area. and far away at the northern horizon, more little sugar loafs and the beginning of some cloud draped dense sub-tropical forest. But their gaze was suddenly interrupted.

A canon shot could be heard from the battleship: was it going to attack the city? Another canon shot, this time coming from the harbor was heard in the distance. Yesnarel smiled softly and shared his knowledge with the group.
“This, my friends, is a greeting. The city welcomes the mariners back home and from what we can hear, they are going to be some celebration for them too. They certainly have won a nice battle or have been away for a while”.

The “Repulse” docked a few minutes before the "Dragonfly" and Mulchanor played the game of the hero, saluting the crowds and cheering back at them. Then, as Yesnarel has correctly guessed, the whole city was in a tumult of a giant festivity. flags were hanging from the windows, ropes were tied above the streets between the canyons of the building to which lambions and more decorations hung. the strets were full of people dressed in colourfull clothes enjoying a good time, eating and buying little things at market stalls everywhere. At every corner musicians and show people, dancing, and juggling. In the meantime, excited at the idea of partying and socializing, Rameldin ran down to her room to get ready.

So, the "Repulse" would be the boat of a national hero, Captain Farsig. He probably would know many thing and many important people. He might be able to help in their search for Karnelian. Who knew?

Once ready she came back on the deck to find the crew overly happy, the Captain had decided to give them shore vacation so that they would enjoy the festivities too. The "Dragonfly" still couldn’t be left alone and so a few unlucky ones would stay onboard to keep an eye on the ship and everyone’s belonging. The group happily touched ground and started toward the city. A few meters away, they were stopped by shadaki guards:
“No weapons are allowed in the city walls for the time of the festivities. Please make sure you do not carry any or you will be prosecuted.” The scimitars at their belt were rather convincing but the company still tried to negotiate their way in. Mulchanor insisted, evoking the gun as the extension of a dwarf hand, to no avail. The guards didn’t bulge. Yesnarel and Erleothir walked back to the ship to drop their stuff while Mulchanor kept arguing. The alternative would be to put all weapons in a trunk that would be locked and stored in the town’s castle. As the discussion went on, Rameldin turned discreetly to the mage “I have a few things hidden in my dress, do you think they will control?” Yesnarel looked at her with surprise “it’s not worth the risk Rameldin” and he more or less dragged her back to the ship. When all thought Mulchanor and the guards had reached an agreement, he put an end to the negotiation on the reason that he wouldn’t be to accompany his gun. It was then his turn to go back to the ship to drop his rifle, he paid two of the guards to stay and keep an eye on his beloved gun and the "Dragonfly".

Before finally leaving the landing area Erleothir asked one last question to the guards: “Do you know an inn where they serve good Vasagonian beer?”
The guards shrugged and advised him to follow the crowd toward the central plaza but that finding a place to stay would be difficult with the unusual amount of visitors.
“Ok, then, shall we?” Rameldin was eager to enter the crowd and reach the heart of the party. She wanted to meet Captain Farsig, she was dressed to catch his attention, she was determined to mingle with the rich and powerful.

The group was advancing relatively fast in the crowd - almost like beeing pushed forward - and they failed to hear someone running after them, calling Erleothir’s name. Mulchanor was wondering aloud how a single man could earn such a big party. Draugh was walking proudly in his armour, catching woman eyes and suddenly catching the eye of a short, fat and sweaty man. It was enough to startle him and that’s all what the man needed to finally catch up with them.
“Good evening to you dear Sirs and Mademoiselle” he bowed a little “My name is Toxif and I come to you sent by a common friend, Alast. He has arranged for you to stay in an inn on the eastern side of the city, in the … slums. It’s the Broken Mast Inn”
“So, the place is a dump..." commented Mulchanor.
“No we prefer to call it "easily accessible for adventurers on a low low budget.". In fact, it is the best inn you could hope for ... in the "Brackwaters" that is."

Rameldin pouted “But I want to meet Captain Farsig ! I want to dance and I don’t want to ruin my dress in the dirt”.

Erleothir ignored her and asked about Alast “how is he doing? Is he waiting for us there?”

Toxif elusively answered “He’s… in a safe place. The boss at the Broken Mast Inn will be able to tell you more”.

After exchanging another glance, they decided to follow him and off they went, crossing the streets toward the East gate, leaving the celebration behind them and facing the slums.

Many departures

Finally sitting down Rameldin was still talking when Gustavius ordered some food and beer. Another blue triangle had been found and, this time, this small victory wasn't achieved in blood. Soon the conversation turned to be a discussion as Gustavius escalated his terms and sarcasms toward a young insolent Rameldin. Diplomacy is not a dwarf art, neither comprehension. Soon Erleothir was trying to diffuse the situation under the amused look of Draugohtar and Yesnarel.
Rameldin high voice turned to catch the attention of the surrounding dwaves while she talked out loud about those "blue triangle" turing Gustavius face even redder than usual and more annoyed than it is his habit. Her loud intervention was actually a blessing as she grabbed both triangle right under Gustavius beard and played with them. Amazingly the triangles glowed and were now one. Gustavius took it again under the amazed look of all when the discussion went higher than expected.
Strong word too harsh to describe here were thrown from both side, quoting either the ineptitude to help from one or the mule character of the other. Eleothir tried to calm both and stood as the new found leader he is. He decided for the greater good to bring her in her room till she could calm down. When he returned he was for sure not in her grace any more. Sometimes being a leader is making the wrong deeds for the greater good. Gustavius felt now at ease to impress and teach the hazardous company about the true meaning of all of this scavenger hunt.
Seven keys exist and each can open a safe. So far they opened two and found two triangle. Which now, due to Rameldin, are only a square. Powerful enemies are looking for the remaining triangle, five still seems to be unaccounted for and the Hazardous allies are away or dead. Gustavius tried to explain the urgency and utmost secrecy of the situation, which Rameldin didn't seem to care about. The newcomers in the company listened carefully and despite the gravity of the situation they were ready to go with the flow, even if a sudden painful death was to be expected at the hands of one of the many invisible enemies. Once all were set Gustavius was sent to Rameldin's room to solve their little differences before departing for Kitaesi, as Erleothir had been informed to go by some mysterious way.

When everything seemed to be finally leading him to a deserved rest, Erleothir was surprised to hear once again the strident Rameldin's voice claiming she was innocent and won't leave the Inn. All our heroes came out at the same moment, finding Rameldin escorted by guards and Gustavius talking to them.
-Why are you taking her, shouted Erleothir.
- She is not welcomed here in Bor as per Master Gustavius informed us
- What is on your mind Gustavius? Didn't I ask you to settle your differences previously???
- Erleothir, I cannot trust a female that doesn't share a bunk during a night. If we are a company and she behaves like this here can you imagine how she is going to be as soon as we encounter real problems?
- I am not a female, I have a name!
- Silence! Come with us to the guarrison!
When Rameldin was too much of an annoyance for all, Draugohtar slapped her not once but twice till she calmed down. Enough to be dragged to the prison. Meanwhile Erleothir and Gustavius discussed on how to take her out of prison and the dwarf decided, in a rare moment of kindness, to go and fetch her. A weird story about sharing the bed and the female appellation made another crisis between those two, but this time Erleothir will teach them how to behave or, at least, he though so. Once at the prison they learned that she will need to leave Bor as she turned to be persona non grata in the Kingdom. She will be on shackles till she board the Dragonfly. Gustavius tried to take her on his shoulder till then but she refused.
- Well, as you can see Erleothir she thinks of herself again prefering to delay us in our quest instead of making our life mo...
- Enough of this you too! Rameldin, we need to leave, please do accept to be carried away and we'll leave Boradon to Kitaesi, I will explain everything later.
- I don't like him, he doesn't respect me, he is not...
- STOP IT FOR ISHIR SAKE!
I do not like what you did to me too Erleothir, said Rameldin but carry me, at least you are not like the dwa...
Why do I joined this company again, silently though Erleothir while taking her over his shoulders. Quickly boarding and saying goodbye to Boradon, Mulchanor had been informed previously and was already sleeping, completely unaware of the new turns and company members from the last days. After a couple of days in the air, toward Kitaesi another skyship boarded them for their surprise but only Gustavius recognized the vessel.
- It can't be! Tolbiac? What is he doing here?
A brief encounter with this adventurer dressed in a leather armour was enough for Gustavius to abandon his friends, providing Erleothir with the blue square informing them of the necessity of his leave for the greater good. There was something more important than the crucial quest they were just in.
- So all that we talked yesterday was for nothing? Say Erleothir?
- I'm glad he leaves, I don't like him! Smiled Rameldin.
Mulchanor and Yesnarel were not there to see him leaving and Draugohtar nodded to him respectfully as Gustavius left, he too, knew the meaning of duty.

Gus gone, Erleothir was now the only one from the original team. Lightning and Griselda dead, Mulchanor, Yesnarel and Draugohtar were new found additions to the team. Kitaesi was now a vast openness of opportunities with no clues of were to go.

Whispering secrets

29th December 5000

The morning started early for the group. Yesnarel got up first and went looking for his friends, hoping to have company for breakfast. Walking past Rameldin's door, he merely shrugged, letting her locked inside, he was in no hurry to see her. So, he woke the knight up instead and seeing that Erleothir was already getting ready, he invited himself in his room, to discuss some issues in private. The moment didn't last long however, a knock at the door interrupted them. It was Draug, their new acquaintance. He was oblivious to the silence his presence created and started talking, asking about the rest of the group. The two friends quickly realized this could be put to their advantage : he could be sent to "free" Rameldin and explain the night before.

What the men didn't know, was that Rameldin hadn't been waiting for them to get up. She had heard Yesnarel when he knocked on her door previously and had unceremoniously asked him to leave her alone. After that, she quickly got dressed and walked to the door, planning on opening it discreetly to sneak out. She was surprised to find the door locked. Looking around, she quickly found the key at her feet and resumed her exit, this time clearly upset at her fellow companions. Not bothering to check on them, she went downstairs and sat at an empty table, facing the stairs to be sure not to miss them. At that point, it was reasonable to doubt of their willingness to keep her in the group.

The knocks on her door were left unanswered and Draug quickly got back to the guys who were surprised to find the young woman already seated and widely waving to them: correction, to Erleothir. Yesnarel only got a dark glare that mysteriously and quickly soften until Rameldin was almost purring. Her interest however was all over the new comer, that young knight, in full armour showing a great load of confidence. She pressed him with questions, disgusted if not jealous, Erleothir left them and walked to the buffet, followed by Yesnarel. When they came back, Rameldin naturally help herself with their food and went on talking and talking.

Gustavius, finally arriving to the inn after trying his best to clean his place and make an inventory of missing items. Upon seeing the scene, he couldn't help but smile, and share the pain of the two older. He joined the group and ordered some beer which Erleothir promptly refused. Now wasn't the time to play anymore, they had a little expedition to prepare.

Rameldin, who wasn't aware of their new business, immediately found a dozen questions to ask the dwarf, while on their way to the administrative quarter. She managed to be so annoying that Erleothir, following his instinct of sacrifice ( or call it sense of duty ), offered to take her for a walk in the shopping area. Gustavius wasn't really keen on splitting the group but the girl was insisting and, after making sure the two would stay in the shopping area so that a courier could find them if needed, the group left them turn toward the stores.

It was easy and quick for Gustavius to find the proper office where to request access to the old mine. Finding a map proved to be a little more difficult; they were sent to another office in order to talk to an old sage who used to play in the now abandoned area when he was a child. The whole group was surprised by his age and his long white beard. Hadn't he been so short, he could have been really impressive. They exchanged a few words and gathered precious information about the mine and its design, and the potential foes that could be found. They almost got in troubles when, bidding their farewell, Rameldin added a "Grand-Pa". She didn't mean to disrespect him, it was more a way for her to express the feeling of confidence and wisdom he conveyed. Rameldin still had to learn a lot about dwarves and their lifestyle.

The group didn't waste any more time and started in direction of the old mine. At the entrance they were given as many torches as they wanted, being a girl, Rameldin could only carry two and gave the rest to the guys. After another little discussion between the members : how long would the exploration last ? In which order should they walk ? Is the mine really safe ? What are they looking for exactly ? Did they all need to go ?
More sighs and finally they were in, Draugh broke an old wooden fence that was blocking their path and they crossed in a cloud of spiderwebs.

The passage was surprisingly high and of decent width, they could at least walk at ease. However, walking at ease and progressing are clearly two different things for the company. At the first crossroad, about two minutes away from the entrance, the conversation started again : the path was opening on the right, should they go together and check this unmarked track or should they stick to the main road as described on the map ? But if they were looking for something, shouldn't they explore what is not written ? Since the rest had been explored already ....
The conversation was animated but in the end useless. They all followed the unmarked track which lead them to a dead end. Coming back on the main road, they also reached a dead end. Gustavius' face showed his puzzlement.

" there must be something we missed ... a door, a path ... " he mumbled holding his torch along the wall checking the wall for imperfections or a hint of some sort. The other imitated him, Draugh was pounding on the stone, testing their echo, Rameldin was caressing the stone, feeling for a niche, Yesnarel was sensing whatever he could find, oh, a soft wind coming from the right ! All their efforts combined and it's the newcomer who opened a secret door. All turned to the new entrance, Draugh was obviously pretty proud of his discovery. But of course, before they set foot on the new path, they had to discuss a little bit more. This time the concern was about getting lost, they wanted to make sure they would find their way back since the map was now rendered useless.
Rameldin had an idea but not many people ready to listen her out. Erleothir came to her rescue.

" you have tissue we could use to mark our way ?"

Rameldin produced a long piece of cloth, uncut and started cutting ribbons with the help of the knight. The idea was to tie those ribbons to the wall asperities so as to remember where they came from. However, they realized that the mine was a one way road anyway and that the tissue carefully selected in Shotia in hope to make a nice dress had been cut for nothing. They all engaged in the entrance and set to explore the lower levels.

They arrived in a circular room which had three rooms on the side, each room holding an anvil and a hammer. No exit. It looked like they would have to solve a little puzzle to move further. That one was easy : nodding in understanding, Gustavius, Erleothir and the yound Draugh Othar each entered a chamber. On the count of three given by Yesnarel, they hit the anvil and following a loud “clang” the walls started to tremble, Rameldin came closer to Yesnarel and they retreated in the entrance door. The floor disappeared gradually and they could now see stairs of stone, leading to some underground level. Once all movement was finished, they made their way down. Rather confident.

In the second level, a second quiz awaited them. Erleothir was amazingly fast at resolving it…only to find another puzzle. That one was about triangles and more triangles… in the end, Gustavius managed to satisfy whoever placed the puzzles there and the room configuration changed again. Another circle appeared and a ladder on its side was leading the way always a little deeper in the mine. How would they come out?

In that level, on a sort of altar were several statues and some raw material. The adventurers were not used to so much thinking, and, let’s face it, not all of them had the patience required in those situations. In the small room, chaos started, all were thinking aloud, none were afraid to touch the items, experimenting several solutions. It’s Yesnarel and Erleothir who finally solved the riddle. Rameldin had long give up and all noticed that she was the kind of person to get bored pretty quickly.

Now that the final test had been passed with success, the room morphed for a last time: the ground opened and on a half height pillar sat a blue triangle. All reacted to the view, Draugh and Rameldin might have been the most curious: they had never seen such a thing before.
Fearless, as usual, the company didn’t waste time deciding what to do, of course they would collect the item and climb back up, mission completed. They should have learned by now that things rarely were that easy. So, when Leo grabbed the triangle from its resting place, problem started. Namely, the ceiling started to fall down on them. Seeing the speed at which it was falling they had little time to think: Erleothir could only take one other person under his shield, Yesnarel wasn’t sure his magic could built a shield strong and big enough for the rest of them. What should they do then? When panic was about to win them over, luck (or was it destiny?) took the form of a little block on the wall and saved them. The ceiling stopped for a few extra seconds, just long enough for them to jump under cover of the previous platform. Once the ceiling was completely down and turned into a floor, they walked out of their cover and Gustavius reversed the mechanism of the ancient trap, thus transporting the complete company on the highest floor again like on a lift platform and back to fresh air, exhausted.

On their way back to the city the youngest were excited by the discovery, Gustavius, showing little emotions was at best satisfied. The knight looked worried and the mage impatient to study the artifact for the moment in possession of the dwarf.

They pushed the door of the inn open, now was time to rest.

Of knights, robbers and pain

28th December 5000

When he looked towards his shop, Gustavius did not linger long and immediately ran into his shop, quickly followed by the rest of the company. From the strict and straight-forward lines and corners, which one would normally find in dwarven architecture was nothing to be recognized. The shop was simply a mess of relics upon relics, covered with trinkets, broken statues and an occasional mechanic device that could now be found everywhere on the floor. Gustavius ran to the back of his shop where the rest of the company could not see him anymore, but soon they would know exactly where he was. “NOOOOOO, NOT MY …..”, he said before he suddenly stopped as if he realized that he was not the only person in the shop. Yesnarel offered his help, but Gustavius just grumbled and mumbled something about “thieving bandit” and what would happen if he got his hands on him.

In the meantime, Erleothir and Rameldin were looking around the place to see if there was something interesting. Rameldin stumbled on some relics and tried to hold her balance by grabbing a table cloak which was not intended to hold the weight of even a young light girl. She fell on the floor and was now covered with the table cloak and everything that was on that table. Erleothir just looked outside the window and it was clear that something on the street caught his attention. “I will go outside towards that inn on the other side.”, he said and Rameldin mumbled from underneath the blanket that she would join him. Erleothir sighed, but he helped her up and accepted to join him.

Outside the shop, the two were greeted by a dwarf who walked steadily towards them. “Greetings, you must be the friends of Gustavius Anvilsong. My name is Valberin, an old friend of Gustavius and his friends are my friends.”. Before Erleothir or Rameldin could say anything, the dwarf took their arms and pulled them back into the shop again. “Come with me, my friends, because I have information for Gustavius of which I’m sure you will all be very interested.”.
Back inside, Valberin told the group that he has waited for them to arrive and that he knows where the robbers currently. “Well, don’t just shimmy around there and tell me what you know”, said Gustavius. “The bandits, who did this to your place, have been arrested and are now held being captive in the prison of the garnison.”. “Aha! So there were more than just 1 robber, I understand.”. Valberin continued: “The garnison has been waiting for you to arrive, because they were sure that you would be interested in why they came into their shop. As per Dwarven law, you will have the right to interrogate them.”.

Gustavius was pleased to hear that the robbers were caught, but he was also sure that he needed to get back to strength after this long journey, not to forget the shock to find his house burgled. He decided to go for a meal first in the inn on the other side of the street. While passing the street, Erleothir made a good look to the sign outside of the tavern. Even though he is not skilled in the dwarven language and its runes, he was still pleased to recognize 2 rifles crossing each other, fired shortly before as smoke was still coming out of it.

Inside they sat down and Gustavius showed himself a worthy host by ordering drinks and food for everybody. Even though Rameldin has worked in a tavern and one would expect that she is used to some alcohol, the strong Bor beer made her feel light-headed and she moved closer towards the knight. “Oh, master knight, you look so strong in your armour. Do you think you also have what it takes to make a young girl happy?”. Erleothir quickly grabbed his drink and did not feel well about this. Not sure what to do, he gulped down his glass, which was not such a good idea as his head was going woozy and it decided to drop down on the table. Yesnarel, who has seen this all happening, laughed loudly and Rameldin, who was rather disappointed by the knight’s endurance, started to draw her attention to the mage. However after another sip of her beer, Rameldin was not able to react to anything anymore and was now lying with her head on the table as well, right next to Erleothir. Gustavius and Yesnarel finished their dinner, making sure not to spill anything on the 2 and after a well-deserved supper, they brought Rameldin to her room and locked the door just to make sure she would not start to seduce a dwarf from the inn. Gustavius asked for the “foreigner-special” and sipped something in Erleothir’s mouth. Directly after that, Erleothir sprung awake, shaked his head, looked around and let out a gigantic burp so loud the tables in the room shivered. “HUZZAHH”, the crowd of dwarves cheered and they raised their ale in the air.

“Feeling better again?”, Gustavius asked Erleothir and helped him up his feet. “We must go to the prison now and see why these bandits came into my house.”. After a short walk towards the legislative area, they arrived at the prison of the Garnison of Boradon. They were greeted by Kilring, the boss of the Garnison and he announced that he has heard of Gustavius’ return and expected his arrival at the prison. He also informed them there is another person of the “big folks” who has been asking to visit the prisoners. The group was quite astonished to hear that they were not the only people interested to see them and followed Kilring inside.

“I demand to see the prisoners”, they heard a man’s voice from afar. With swift steps, the group went towards the shouts and there they saw a tall man, wearing fully armour and he was also not to stingy about weapons either. “Who are you?”, asked Gustavius. The stranger answered: “My country has ordered me to investigate the robbery on the shop of one Gustavius Anvilsong. I demand to see the prisoners in order to get more information out of them. Ah, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ohtar, Draug Ohtar, I’m a knight of the republic of Palmyrion”. Erleothir was astonished to find another knight in these areas, and one from Palmyrion even. Palmyrion is much like Sommerlund. It is a defiant nation with the strength to resist the dangers of the Darklands and the will to fight for what is right in the world. Self-sufficient and powerful, Palmyrion is a model nation and an inspiration to its neighbours. “Well, it happens to be that I am one Gustavius Anvilsong”, Gus answered back. “If you are willing to help us with your investigation, I can allow you towards the prisoners, as per dwarven law.”.

Draug was willing to join the group and they continued towards the prison cells. They were welcomed by a dwarf with a big smile and red clothes. It appeared to them that he chose to wear red colors, because one would not be able to see blood stains on them. They entered the prison cell and immediately they saw a person hanging on the wall. His hands were above his head, manacled on a chain which was pinned in the wall and his feet a bit up in the air. He was blindfolded, so he could not see his own looks, but he must have felt his enormous amount of bruises and cuts, as it was clear that the dwarf was not so keen on robbers in his jurisdiction. In the middle of the room was a table covered in blood or rust (it was not so clear to tell anymore) and on this table was instruments that were made for 1 purpose only: to make people talk. “The other robber is on the other side of this room.”, and he showed them the way to the passage leading to the other room. “Have fun, my lads.”, he grinned.

Draug immediately stepped towards the robber and punched him in the stomach: “What were you doing in that shop?”, he shouted. Erleothir asked him to stop punching him as this is not the way a knight finds out the truth. “Truth?”, said Draug, “I’m here to seek answers and to commit justice.”. Gustavius answered: “Well, no answers are given when they’re dead, so take it easy on them…….at first”. The robber then started talking: “If you want answers, I’m not the one who will give them to you. Yes, I’ve robbed your store for good money. Do you want to know why? Well, guess what, you will never find out from me…..”. Draug quickly took the blindfold and gagged the robber with it. Erleothir stood at the back and asked what he was doing. “Ah, haven’t you learned anything in Sommerlund about questioning a prisoner? I’m gagging him, so he can’t bite his tongue and commit suicide. We’re not getting answers from him yet, but I’m not willing that he departs from us so soon.”. He then took his knife and cut the pinky finger of the robber, quickly following by heating up the wound, so it did not bleed anymore. The robber shouted in pain, but also made a noise as if he was laughing behind his gag. Erleothir was visibly shocked, but also astonished by the ways of the Palmyrion knight. “Let’s go to the other robber”, Draug continued; “maybe he is more willing to talk or he can be easier convinced.” and the group went towards the other room

All in all, it looked the same, another prisoner hanging on the wall in the air and a table with instruments just in front of him. However the expression of this robber was different. He looked…..scared, not knowing what would happen to him. Draug and Gus did not lose much time and started the same strategy on this fellow. “Please”, the robber said, “please don’t hurt me. I did not want to rob your store, but I had to. I was in need of money. That’s all I can say”. Gustavius said: “You better start talking, because if your friend next-door is more willing to speak, there is no use for us to you anymore.”. To make sure that the robber understood what Gustavius was talking about, he also cut the finger of this robber and put a hot iron on its stomp end. The robber screamed in pain and underneath the blindfold, a tear strokes his cheek.

The group went back to the first robber again. It was now clear that he was the leader of the two and hopefully he could provide them with more information. Even if he did hear the screams of his fellow robber, he showed no notice that he was concerned about what was going to happen. Before Draug or Gustavius could take over, Yesnarel did a step forward and said: “Let me have a go, I may have a way to make him talk” and while he said those words, his hand went to the crotch of the robber. Even in his wildest imaginations, the robber would not think of what was coming next. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck out of the hand of Yesnarel. When the rest of the group saw this, they automatically put their hands on their own crotches as if they felt the pain as well. The eyes of the robbers opened so wildly that the rest feared his eyeballs would fall out. After a few seconds, which seemed like minutes, the room was filled with the smell of burnt flesh. “Now ask your questions.”, Yesnarel said in a rather common voice and he ungagged the robber. The robber just provided the group with an – almost toothless – smile and then suddenly started choking. Before anybody could react, the robber found a way to bite his tongue and died a rather painful death. “Well, I guess we won’t get answers from him anymore,”, Draug replied, “so let’s pay another visit to the other fellow. Oh right, and Yesnarel: nice way to provide justice.”.

When the group entered the other room again, the other robber looked even more feared than before. He must have seen the enormous light flash that could be seen in all the prison cells. The screaming of his former colleague was still loud enough for the other prisoners to know what was going on, even though he was gagged. “So,”, Gustavius continued, “are you now more willing to talk?”. “Please don’t hurt me, I’ve told you all that I know!”, he cried. Draug simply said: “Well, that’s not enough for us at the moment.” and with a knife he cut another finger of him. “Ok, ok. I can’t tell you who ordered us to rob the store, but I can tell you where you will find the device that you are currently looking for. You will find your key in the undergrounds.”. SNAP, another finger flew in the air, followed by a loud scream. Draug replied: “Why don’t you want to say who you are working for? And can your description be even more vague?!? What do you mean with the undergrounds? Speak swiftly.”. The robber continued: “Please don’t hurt me, I’ve told you all I know. I could not see his face, nor did I hear a name. And I’ve only heard of the other two talking about the undergrounds and that the key is there. We only robbed your store, because we heard that you had a map of the place. Please, it’s all I know, I swear!”

Erleothir, who was still standing near the door when he saw all this happen, looked rather disturbed by this sight, but also intrigued by the ways of the Palmyrion knight. Then all of a sudden, Draug turned around to Erleothir: “Well master Knight”, he said, “I think we have heard all the information we will ever receive out of him.” He looked at Erleothir with a little smile: “Why don’t you finish him off?”. Erleothir was baffled: “What?!? Do you want ME to kill him?”. “But of course not. I only want you to speak justice of him”, was the answer he received.
Erleothir took out his dagger, which was covered with a polished red ruby and walked towards the robber. He held the dagger on his throat and closed his eyes shortly. Then all of a sudden, he took away the knife and said to Draug: “I cannot kill a man who is already dead. After all it is clear that he was not the brain behind his mission, but a poor old sod who knew the wrong people.”

The 3 adventurers had found more than they imagined, but less than they had wished for. They were not too happy with the amount of information they received from the robbers, but on the other hand, they found a fellow companion. Draug followed the group outside and he was soon invited to join them towards the inn. “Let’s see how Rameldin is doing, and let’s not forget that we still have to pick up Mulchanor if we are about to go in the undergrounds.”, said Yesnarel.
Now it was Draug’s turn to be intrigued: “Rameldin, you say? Who is she? And who is this Mulchanor fellow? And what is with the keys that the robber was talking about?”. Gustavius simply replied: “All in good times. It’s been a long day. Let’s first have a drink first and we’ll discuss the more important things later.”

The group entered the “smoking rifles” inn and Gustavius ordered Bor beer again for the group. Erleothir quickly interrupted and said that he would like to try a nice glass of Vassagonian Beer. The waitress looked at the knight with an understanding smile and soon after, everybody had their drinks in front of them. Erleothir slipped something in his pocket, but the rest did not notice, for the music was loud and the atmosphere was merry. The group held their glasses in the air and Gustavius proposed a toast. “To Draug Ohtar, knight of the Republic of Palmyrion, a man who knows how to make people talk”. “Hear hear”, he replied. “To many new introductions.”. They all drank their Bor beer (except Erleothir who had a Vassagonian one) and only seconds later, a loud bump was heard. On the table they saw Erleothir’s head with closed eyes and a merry smile on his face.