Session Twenty Four: Eggonomics
General Summary
Good that we didn’t drown them As they listen more closely, Vence and Nesza realise that what they are hearing isn’t Elven but Khorovari. And they distinctly hear men, women and a even child chatting in a relaxed manner. As Nesza scouts ahead, Vence tries to listen to what is being said. As Khorovari is a combination of elven and common, he’s able to make out some of the conversation. But he’s too far, and they are talking a bit too fast, for him to catch everything. Nesza, with Myri on his shoulder, move a little closer (though still on deck). He identifies the group as about six half elves. They don’t seem to have weapons or armour on them. And, being a little closer and also speaking both elven and common, he catches more of the conversation but not all. Nesza returns to Vence. And, between the two of them, they determine that this is a group that travelled from Thaliost towards a town called Danthaven. They seem to be Thranian. Nesza then hears Malak’s voice as he sends a message from behind the waterfall. Being Khorovar, he is able to understand the full conversation through Myri’s ears. He tells Nesza that these are a group of pilgrims of the Silver Flame who are merely resting for the evening. They are going home after a trip to Thaliost. He says that they are harmless and that he and the rest will be going towards the group. A Grand Entrance Nesza heads into the cabin to light a lantern, in order to distract the group on the beach as the others leave the waterfall. In the meantime, Malak and April swim down to Griffy Shark and hold on to his fins while Mia dives down with Silmer and holds onto his shoulder. Silmer and Mia swim towards the back of the ship to be completely out of site when they emerge. When they get out of the water, Silmer dons his hat of disguise to change back into his half elf form. Griffy Shark makes haste and changes into Griff as he pops out of the water to slide onto the beach as Griff (with Malak and April in tow) right in front of the little boy who saw the shark initially. At the same time, the lantern on the ship is lit. The little boy screams and the rest of the group scatter. Malak tries to calm the group down. He explains that the party is on governmental business. The little boy hides behind a heavy-set half elf lady with two long braids and a massive backpack. As she is obviously trying to reach for something in her backpack, she yells in reply (in a strong Thranian accent) that working for the government UNDERWATER makes NO SENSE. After some colourful language from the lady, Malak then explains that they were ship wrecked, gesturing to the ship, and were trying to figure out how to get back to Thaliost. The lady calms down and sheepishly says that they thought the ship was abandoned. They had taken some planks from the side of the ship to use as firewood and took the stew that was in the galley. The little boy still looks terrified. So Griff decides to shift into the cutest dog that he could come up with and playfully barks at the little boy. This helps the little boy relax a little more and, with the blessing of the lady, he goes to play with the dog. At this point Mia, Silmer, Vence and Nesza join the group. As tensions go down somewhat, an elderly half elf speaks to the group and explains that they are the Breen family. They were travelling to Thaliost as a last pilgrimage for his dying wife. Malak looks around and inquires the whereabouts of the man’s wife. He explains that she died while in Thaliost. He has her ashes with him. He introduces himself as Dogan, the fiesty lady is his daughter Winnoa and the little boy is Sylnys. He also introduces the rest of the group and invites the party to join his family for dinner (…. that Silmer made…). They also offer to assist in fixing the ship. Four more individuals also emerge from the forest. Three are half elves belonging to the Breens and one is the Guide, a person donning a bulky brown cloak, large leather gloves and their face obscured by a hood. Winnoa explains that she think the Guide’s name is Lumay but they don’t speak much. Meanwhile Griff is playing with Sylnys. He talks to Sylnys but, of course, Sylnys can’t speak dog. However, Griff notices that Lumay seems to look straight at him whenever he says something. He barks “I see that you’re one of us” and Lumay quietly nods. What the Cluck One of the younger men give Winnoa a bespekkled egg and she looks delighted. Griff then picks up on the conversation regarding the egg and shifts back into his human form. He asks Winnoa what type of egg it is and what it is for. When looking at it, he and Nesza determine that it might be that of a large bird. Winnoa doesn’t see why this is any of their business until Griff asks if the creatures are known to come after whomever took their eggs. He says that, as a dog, he was able to smell the egg from a distance, meaning it might have a scent that is being followed. Winnoa asks her brothers if they had gotten rid of the creatures and everyone blanches. It is established that this is a Cockatrice egg and that they might be heading this way. April, Silmer and Vence immediately head in the direction where the group came from to set up an alarm. But as April starts casting, two cockatrice emerge from the bushes, VERY angry. Silmer was able to make quick work of the one, his final blow piercing the cockatrice with his spear, while the other runs away. He proudly holds the spear up to show the rest of the group back at camp. Griff is horrified. He asks Silmer if he had tried to reason with the creature or tried to calm it down. All it was doing was trying to save its egg. And displaying a felled foe so disrespectfully could trigger bad omens from the Devourer. Nesza nods in agreement. Silmer doesn’t see the issue. He did this to protect April. He’s not going to wait for it to attack them before reacting. And besides, it’s a chicken. What’s the big deal? Nesza says that he felt the same in WIndshire when the group killed the dogs, before it was made clear that they weren’t actual dogs. Lumay then walks towards the three and gestures to Silmer that they want to remove the Cockatrice from the spear. Silmer lowers the spear without argument. Lumay then turns and walks into the woods. Silmer, Griff and Nesza follow. They head to a small clearing where Lumay takes a dagger from out of their boots and cuts off a wing from the cockatrice. They then dig a small hole in the ground and bury the wing. They draw a circle around the closed hole and then they put a hand on the mound. As they do this, Griff and Nesza can see a generic wooden mask covering his face under the hood. There is a pregnant pause before Lumay gets up again and hands the cockatrice back to Silmer. Silmer thanks them and he, Nesza and Lumay go back to the camp. Griff stays behind for a moment and puts his hand on the mound too. On the way back to the camp, he notices that the boot prints that Lumay left are very deep. Indicating that he is much heavier than he seems. A Matter of Identity Back at camp, Dogan explains to Nesza and Griff that their mindsets are noble. But they shouldn’t be so hard on Silmer. Usually learning to respect one’s foe is something that you learn through suffering very specific consequences. He shows his Soldier’s Mark and explains that war has taught him a lot about that. Both Nesza and Griff show him their marks and they agree with him. Griff states that he definitely could have handled that better but during the war he had train soldiers on these hard truths. Nesza then tries another tactic and explains to Silmer that, to the cockatrice, it would be the same to them as if someone had stolen Silmer’s egg. Winnoa gets confused by that statement because Silmer is obviously a half elf (still has the hat on). Griff and Nesza mention that he is a Tortle. Winnoa laughs and explains that he can’t possibly be a turtle because he doesn’t look like one. Besides, he’d then have the same rights as the chicken. Silmer gets up and takes the cockatrice to the ship’s galley to pluck and prepare it for dinner. The conversation on race triggers Dogan to address Malak and Nesza for their shiny exteriors. Malak is obviously “one of them” but the shiny hair doesn’t make sense to him. Malak explains that he is Khorovar but the other half is part celestial. Dogan then nods, saying that Malak is truly “Of the Flame” then. He questions whether Nesza is too. There is hesitation. Malak is unsure but Nesza might have roots in the Flame. Nesza, feeling uncomfortable with this conversation, decides to follow Silmer instead. The group continue talking about Nesza’s possible link to Hawk, much to the chagrin of Vence (who feels that the group are ignoring the fact that Nesza doesn’t want them to talk about it). Back at the Nereid, Nesza apologises to Silmer on how he handled the cockatrice situation. Silmer explains that he does not enjoy killing anything but he will if it’s to protect his friends. Another thing that Silmer did not appreciate was being outed as a Tortle. Nesza agrees that it should not have happened. But both agree that mistakes were made on both sides. As Silmer finishes off, Nesza goes to check what damage has been done to the ship by the Breens. He notes a small hole but there doesn’t seem to be more damage done. 100 GP Back at camp, everyone else is sitting by the fire. Winnoa plonks down between Vence and April, conspiratorially telling them that she has a magical sack. For 100 GP she will pull an item out at random. It could be worth exactly 100GP, it could be considerably less or considerably more. She doesn’t know what will be pulled out until she puts her hand in. And there are NO refunds. She opens the sack, showing them that it is a regular-looking empty sack. April proudly shows Winnoa her Bag of Holding. Winnoa seems to think it’s “cute”. As Vence and April confer (considering to split the cost 50/50), Griff joins them and immediately hands Winnoa 100 GP. He gets a Potion of fire breath. When he gives her another 100 GP, he gets a roll of Pride Silk. April and Vence agree on the 50/50 split (Vence will spot her seeing as Silmer has her gold and he’s back in the ship’s galley). Winnoa hands them a small sack filled with Dust of Disappearance. Malak asks Winnoa if she’s ever pulled out medicinal items. She confirms and he decides that perhaps the sack might contain a possible cure for the Sickness. Winnoa pulls out an Abacus… Mia quips in amusement: Guess there’s no accounting for taste. All to Athandra After everyone has eaten their stew and cockatrice cutlets, April, Nesza and a few half elves (including Winnoa) head to the ship to fix the hole. Although Nesza is not skilled in carpentry he casts Light as he knows that April cannot see in the dark and ensures she is able to work. Back at camp, Vence is looking at the code that he and Mia found back in the cave. Mia sits nearby but is not as interested in cracking the second part of the code. Malak looks with Vence and they both agree that it’s probably some sort of shifting code. He takes his abacus out to count back as they decode together. Griff, who was only really half listening to what they are doing, hears them repeatedly adding numbers. He asks why they aren’t trying subtracting instead. The two realise that he might have a point. They both look at the first word, which is six letters and were trying to coming up with what word it could be in order to decode further. Griff, offhandedly suggests that this might be a letter from higher up so the first word could be “Orders”. …. it was…. After some counting and deciphering, the two figure the message out to read: “Orders from Sickle and General Len. All to Athandra” Vence displays the message in the air using minor illusion. Dogan mentions that Athandra was where he served. Malak realises that his mother did too, but she never shared information with him about the war. Griff recalls that Athandra is where a lot of fighting between Aundair and Thrane took place. Many people lost their lives there. He mentions that it was also where they attempted use chemical warfare… but didn’t work. This information triggers Malak. He thinks back and realises that Athandra was listed as one of the locations where the Sporing didn’t work. He momentarily forgets that Corvus isn’t there and out loud says “Corvus, it’s one of those cities that the doctor told us about”. Upon realising what he said, he is sad and a bit bitter towards Vence again. After fixing the ship, April and Nesza go back to camp. Nesza decides to sit with Lumay. Nesza makes some conversation, appreciating how Lumay understands nature. He then asks Lumay whether they could expect dangers in the wilderness. There is a pause then, in a breathy, tinny voice, Lumay tells Nesza that no harm will come to them in the water. With the knowledge that he already has and the sheer size of Lumay, Nesza concludes that Lumay might be a Warfoged. He gives Lumay a knowing look and asks them where they are from. Lumay says that they don’t know. Back to Thaliost Griff and Mia use Control Water together to move the Nereid off of the rocks. The group decide to head to Thaliost, seeing as it is only four hours sailing away. As they set out, Nesza explains that Lumay was probably a Warforged. Griff says that it makes sense. Lumay’s prints made him seem much heavier than he looks. And his size matches what Griff had seen in the war. Everyone is a little disappointed that they had not known this about Lumay. But when Nesza mentions that he told Lumay that he’ll keep this secret, Vence gets annoyed seeing that Nesza told the group immediately. Nesza explains that he trusts the group to keep this secret. The trip back to goes without incident. Strangely so. Whenever they reach an area where the water should be flowing more choppy or dangerously, it stills as they pass through. As such, they arrive in Thaliost in record time. Vence casts Sending to Cissa, telling her of the cracked code and what it said. Mia mores the ship in the Marina instead of outside where they were given the Nereid before. Malak considers going to the church but realises that it’s pretty late so it would be closed. The group therefore all head to the Deciding Arrow Inn. I Love Thrane Arriving at the Inn, Nesza and Griff notice that the exterior is a lot cleaner than before. Griff comments on it and Vence suggests that Cissa probably cleaned the place up. From within, they can hear Cissa singing. When they enter, Griff asks Vence if he can play like THAT. Vence says “sometimes”. Griff goes starry eyed. Malak goes to the bar to arrange sleeping arrangements in order to go straight to bed. But everyone joins him at the bar for various reasons. And Cissa finishes her song, joining the group with many hugs. When it is mentioned that they have what they are looking for, Cissa suggests the group join her at Celine’s home (a small cottage attached to the outside of the inn) to discuss more privately. So everyone heads up the stairs on the outside of the inn up to Celine’s home. In the small living room, the party finds that Cissa had drawn out a teleportation circle (same as the one she was given by the group to investigate) on the floorboards. She explains that, if a basic location for the teleportation is known, it’s easier to pin point where it goes. And, after doing an arcana check, she can confirm that it goes to Athandra. Cissa then asks Malak to give her the crystal so that she can head to Fairhaven in the morning. Malak is hesitant. He explains that, in the cave, they encountered another Silver Flame (Cissa looks very surprised). Griff mentions that a voice spoke to them in their heads. Cissa asks what voice. Malak, again, hesitates for a moment and then says “Tira”. Very surprised, Cissa asks what was said and Malak explains that she said that the crystal can only be used once and then needs to be returned to the Keeper. Cissa immediately replies that, indeed, the crystal then MUST be returned to Jaela. And it makes finding Jenny all the more important. She’ll ensure that the crystal will be in her sight at all times and she will ensure that it will be returned to Flamekeep. And, as this now has turned into a mission for what the feathers stand for, she’ll take Mia with her to ensure that two sets of eyes are on the crystal at all times. Vence asks Cissa why she considers this a mission for the “feathers”. Cissa explains that it’s one of the missions she had mentioned to him before. He tells her that “this is something different” but Cissa replies that “it’s one in the same”. Malak seems unconvinced by Cissa’s words and asks her how he would know that she would keep her word. This is not some sort of “Duchess” business. It’s about the Silver Flame. This gets Cissa worked up and her accent switches to a fluent Thranian one. She tells Malak “how DARE you”. She tells him that she has been in Thrane for almost a century longer than him. She’s may actually be MORE Thranian than him. She tells him how she has fought for Thrane. How she has served more than 50 Keepers. That Jaela is a friend of hers. She LOVES Thrane. And, with regards to the Duchess, just because she does not belong to his religion, doesn’t mean she hasn’t SEEN what is in the Flame. She believes fully that Tira speaks to the Keepers. But also has seen what Tira is protecting the world from. She lost her love to it. He sacrificed his life for it. So if Tira says to take the crystal back to the Keeper, this is not a matter about Birds. It’s about protecting the world. Malak is unimpressed with Cissa’s words. But he does give her the crystal and bids everyone good night. Griff follows him. They head to Celine at the bar and Malak sorts out sleeping arrangements for everyone, pre-paying in full for the group. The group get a room with six bunks to themselves. Malak goes to the room and straight to bed. Griff checks with Celine about his own sleeping arrangements. Scries and Meditations Meanwhile, Cissa asks April and Silmer for some details about the demon that she needs to keep in mind. Silmer explains that Jenny’s binding ritual was always quick so hopefully there will not be any real danger. The group suggest that Cissa scry on Valarie again in order to see if she’s still doing ok and see if there is anything of interest she sees in the surroundings hinting at a location (hopefully Athandra). Vence gives her Lucy and April her mother’s goggles. As she scries, Vence shifts into Emir and sits across from her. Cissa does not notice this as her eyes are closed. And when Emir hears Griff coming up the stairs, he shifts into Vence again, without Cissa realising that he was there to begin with. Cissa confirms that Valarie and (who she assumes to be) Jenny are a bit underfed and filthy but seemingly unharmed. But she cannot determine anything new from the location. Once done, Cissa returns the goggles and tries to hand Lucy back to Vence. But Vence asks her to hold on to the viol one more time and hands her the note with the code on it. He suggests trying to scry on the person who wrote the message. This unfortunately does not work. Cissa then hands both back to Vence. Griff asks Cissa where she’s been staying and she confirms that Celine has given her the small guest room in her home. Griff explains that he just wants to give her a heads up that he will be staying over as well and he… won’t be holding back. Cissa grins and says “neither will I”, making Griff blush profusely. The group, except Griff, are then escorted back to the inn where Cissa asks Celine something before ushering the group to their room. She tells them that Malak has already paid. She bids the group good night and good bye as she and Mia will be gone in the morning. A few moments later, Vence leaves as well. The group settle in for the night. Nesza meditates for a moment but, from the fatigue could only muster up seeing a flame with no voices. He does see that this flame is identical to the one in the cave. The Promise Griff waits for Cissa to return and, upon arrival, is about to ask her something, when Vence walks through the door. Griff decides to confront Vence and Cissa about the fact that he picked up on Vence hiding things from him. For some reason, Malak seems to distrust him. Griff figured this had something to do with Corvus and goes on to explain his previous confusions. And also how it was clarified that Almentash was perhaps the Traveler. But Griff does see that Vence seems like a man who has the best intentions at heart. Griff explains that, if they are going to be working together, Vence really needs to trust him. Cissa tells Griff that the there are some misunderstandings with regards to Corvus. Conclusions were drawn by the group that are not completely founded. He had contacted her earlier in the day to clarify something to her that was not mentioned previously. With regards to trust, she trusts Griff as he blindly helped a group of strangers, promising her that he’d watch over them. But it’s not up to her what Vence decides. Vence takes a moment to consider and then explains to Griff that he has secrets that could cost him his life if revealed. He has trouble trusting as people have consistently betrayed him when he did. But he realises that he should trust Griff and asks Griff to promise to keep his secret. Griff promises and they shake on it. And Vence shifts into Emir as they shake. Once let go, Emir smiles warmly at Cissa and gives her a kiss. And the dots connect for Griff. Emir introduces himself and Griff asks why “Disguise Self” is such an issue. Emir explains that he’s actually a changeling, and shifts into a few other forms to demonstrate. Griff nods in realisation. He explains that he actually gets why his identity is such an issue. Griff has seen what happened to changelings during the war. He mentions that he had concluded that Cissa and “Vence” were a couple because they had each other’s scent on them when he met the group as a dog. Cissa and Emir are slightly grossed out by that information. Griff then asks Cissa if she wanted to see his secret. Cissa, who already knew that he was a Sky King, excitedly asks if she is going to see his griffon. So Griff releases Godrick into the tiny living room, causing some minor damage. Cissa is delighted and gives the griffon a hug. Griff explains to Godrick that Emir is actually Vence and that he has trusted them with an important secret about him being a changeling. Godrick licks Emir. Emir tries to hide his disgust, explaining that they are not usually very good with animals. Griff tosses Godrick a fish and then sends him back to his amulet. Cissa then bids Griff good night. Emir holds back a moment and pours himself and Griff some whiskey. After the drink, Emir follows Cissa upstairs while Griff waits for Celine.
