New Ones

So there we were:

Bee lost to the avalanche

Tired, a spying saboteur shapeshifter

Regis & Monty grinning darkly in their black robes

And several new characters, all githzerai: two twin girls, a man, another middle-aged male man, and yet another older male still
(all later to to be revealed as Krellin:)

Reminder: the Krellin (in-world githzerai, look more yuan-ti/snake-like) are the ones attacking Serea (where we fled originally). They are also considered a divine-blooded race.
 
Tired of the Long Road, calling himself "Brynn", offhandedly mentioned our trek through the mountains was a three-month endeavor. The oldest one spoke up in response, explaining "once more" that they still want the princess. Now, with Tired/Brynn "reunited", they want the eye.
 
Bee had it, and she is now buried under all that rubble.
 
Sarcastically, the elder one retorted: "Well, now we cannot avoid the ritual." More murmuring from their group followed, centered around "now we need the princess more than ever". Jarek seethed. They described our group as "outsiders".
 
Sera, in doubt, clambered back down to the rubble below, to the top of the cavern -- and began digging.
 
Then, at Milo's poking, more information: "You would not understand this. Your entire goal to save her life, to save the world, may be our goal. But now that we do not have the Eye, we must forfeit her life for this ritual. You cannot, then, be willing to help us."
 
There was a halfhearted snipe from the group -- "do you know of another Eye?"
Milo remembered some note we had found in the Calmlands, and a vague mention of an "eye"-something in Baelzebog. He spoke this out loud, and Jarek seethed even moreso than before. This enthused one of the men, who reached out a hand to offer a handshake.
 
There was a standoff, between Milo and Sera and Tiberius and Jarek. Silence covered the landscape.
 

Clock's a'ticking

A loud stomping clattered between the rocks, breaking the stillness. All turned to spot a figure effortlessly striding between boulders and loping towards the group. And a wonderful drawl reached out across the expanse:
 
"Now, why's it y'all up on this here peak?"
 
Metal and wooden parts covered this rounded, brightmetal construct -- piloted by a humanoid creature within. The pilot (?) called out to us: "I'm here for one thing and one thing only. Some compass thingy. I'm gonna head out then."
 
Milo turned back to the black-robed group, explaining somewhat that we were outmatched, outnumbered, and unsure. The eldest man responded: this was more of an understanding, and we would trade information with them. The newcomer pilot reminded us all that she didn't have a lot of time.
 
It was she -- later introduced as Petunia Calhoun -- who disarmed us all with her demeanor. "Now, I don't want to keep pressing the issue here, but I am on a tight schedule. So let's just agree to share information and move this show along, y'hear?"
 

Oathsword

 
Kieran (the speaker for the black-robed group) stepped forward, arm still outstretched. He slit his hand with a dagger -- for which Jarek immediately recognized the rite of a blood (magic) contract. Milo steeped forward, speaking the oath as instructed:
 
"I wish that you harm not the princess as we pursue this path, seeking the Eye and seeking the Heart; and I wish you share relevant information with us, as it appears and as it is needed."
 
"Done," and the two shook. A red line stitched across each hand of Kieran and Milo -- the oath was bound. The black-robed party gathered around their eldest member, and were gone in a flash. From Petunia: "Now that's the kind of speed I admire."
Petunia, the Highly-Attuned Fighting Machine.
 
"So, y'all have heard about the goblin wars at the city of Belfor and the dwarves? Then you know why I'm here." Milo asked. "What do I look like, a princess in her tower?"
 

Back to the Bog

So we turned around, headed back towards Baelzebog. It wasn't until a few minutes into the walk that we realized Tired/Brynn was with us (much to Jarek's frustration). Sera offered, then, that Tired must return to his wolf form (and be equally frustrated).
 
Sera and Petunia hunted, as the rest made camp.
 

That night, we told stories once more -- partly to introduce ourselves.
 
Tiberius was silent tonight, as current events weighed heavily upon him.
 
Sera, a tale of combat: she described a tournament of single combatant duels she signed up for while at the monastery. One fight, with a lizardfolk, shattered part of her knee -- and for the first time, she felt no emotion, no thrill of the hunt. Fighting people does not give her pleasure, in a way.
 
Petunia, a tale of loss: in her younger years, she went to work on her powersuit to realize a boot+greave was missing. She managed to track down the thief -- her little brother Matthias.
 
Milo, a story of loss: as a shepard, he lost one of the lambs in his family's flock one day... only to discover that a streetrat (boy) had caught the baby sheep and roasted it for a night's dinner. Angry and furious, he chased the boy shouting and screaming -- only to lose him in the town streets. It only dawned on Milo later that the boy acted out of desperation and starvation. "I lost my lamb, but he lost his freedom."
 
Jarek, a story of gain: he spoke not of his gain but of Bee's, when she underwent one of the first rites to be inducted into the ward of Baba Yaga. A solar eclipse, a rite in the middle of the woods; it was the first time he felt pride for his sister, and saw her truly happy.