Assault on the Chronomancer's Stronghold

4 Flirel
After setting Jim to work on the cleanup, Faolan and I talk with Hesior. I make note of the lack of fear in our assailants, and that they fought to the last, which leads me to infer that there's some strong enchantment over their minds, perhaps some sort of monthslong conditioning. Hesior warns us not to us the swords, and upon examination I can tell the swords are magically enchanted to only attune to something the dragonborn that attacked us have.
 
We spend the rest of the day picking up the battle and talking about the multitude of political literature I've requested from enlightened societies in Aeilla and Felora. Hesior makes sure Jim gathers the swords to keep in the new fortress. I inform the crew of our galley to prepare for departure the following morning. I pack 50 platinum for the journey.
 
5-8 Flirel
We sail up the coast to the island of Poryphoros. Though Faolan is uneasy the entire time, due to our two-fold run-ins with krakens, and vigilantly guards the port side facing the open ocean. Pointing out that krakens don't usually come into waters this shallow near the coast did little to assuage him, but in the end I guess it doesn't hurt to remain vigilant.
 
9 Flirel
We arrive in Adressa, the largest port on Poryphoros. Not flying any flag, we are regarded as any other independent merchant. Keeping a low profile, we make our way to the Angry Octopus, an inn with cuisine favored by the locals (the Salty Kraken, the popular tourist Inn, had a name that made Faolan uncomfortable). If the air in this establishment was any thicker, we'd be drinking water, and the pungeant seafood smell assaults our nostrils.
 
After ordering beer and the calamari special, the innkeep directs my attention to one of the regulars, a suspicious looking chimera (they appear as our respective races to each of us). Not a personable fellow, they rebuff me as I'm unprepared to discuss business so suddenly and publically. After eating, Faolan then goes to discuss gaining information from this mysterious figure, only for him to dissappear. Concerningly, Faolan reports that time stopped, and when he brought up the chronomancer during the time stoppage, the individual dissappeared after remarking that it was interesting and telling Faolan to forget that they ever talked.
 
Not wanting our crew in danger, we tell the ship to return in 4 days, with further orders to return to Mysteria with or without us. Hesior brings us to the stronghold where he escaped from, as it's likely the chronomancer returned here. We arrive a few hours before midnight, and strangely find farmers working outside of what appears to be a farmhouse (it all appears to be nothing more than a farmstead with a backyard by the coast) – Hesior assures us that these are in fact guards and that this is all in fact a ruse.
 
With Bea following from a distance, Hesior takes Gash as a prisoner. Hoping to get inside, we make Gash look like he's been beaten in battle through Bea's minor illusions. One knocks (three short, three long, three short) with their scythe and the door opens. Once they're inside, Bea dimension doors back out to me and Faolan, but encounters a weird barrier and knows she can't return. Switching to plan b which was totally already made before hand, I lure the guards away from their post and capture them with hold person, Faolan & I subdue the two of them, and with the knocking pattern, the door opens and we see Gash and Hesior about 20ft inside.
 
Inside, the passage of time feels...off. I can tell that the barracks are made to pass faster, while time in the training ground was made to pass slower. Hesior leads us to processing, and a human and goliath greet us, addressing Hesior as subject 0. Unfortunately, they aren't buying the story of us all as prisoners, and on Faolan's suggestion, I cast hold person on the two of them, subduing the human but not the goliath – who promptly lays into me. We are able to subdue the two completely, and we begin to plan our next moves as we work further into the stronghold. We are found out promptly, but we are able to get some hits in before the Chronomancer and Subject No. 1 leave the auxilaries to fight us.