Evolutions...

The seconds seem like minutes and the minutes seem like hours to Pagu as the stout Rageborn paladin stands guard outside the secret passage leading to the Derro lair... Ulgar returns with one of the Ironspur Stone Guard and a company of dwarves... They take up guarding the Clan hold as we show the officer the majority of incriminating evidence and give statements... Our mission for the day finished we return to the Hammerfall Clanhold for rest and healing...
 
At the Clanhold I experience my first authentic dwarven salt bath as I remove the gore and ichor caked on from battle with the Dourstone... The salts, pumice, and oils are a novel change from the traditional hot bath...
 
The next day we are summoned to the great Hall of our hosts the Hammerfall... In attendance is an envoy of the Iron Lord Dovak and several of the Thanes from the ruling Concil... Edicts are made, the Dourstone holdings are divided amongst the clans, and plans are made going forward... I notice the dwarven nobility seem to view the Magnificent as assets of Clan Hammerfall and not independent agents... This does raise my ire slightly but I held myself back from demanding independent glory and rewards for ourselves, figuring that at least it seems Ulfgar's clans prospects has increased from this situation... And we did raid Dourstone's treasure vault, so that's good enough...
 
I did try to press the Dovak representative for Intel on the Blackfyre Adepts but in typical dwarven myopia the couldn't care less about evils outside their granite fortress... As if the evil of the Abyss won't send it's influence into the sunless tunnels under the Mountain... But at least Clan Chief Hammerfall said he would keep his eyes and ears open for any information on them for us...
 
The Dovak envoy did command Ulgar (and by extension us) to travel to the Dourstone mines in Virdin to root out the last of this evil... After a quick day of tending to our arms, armour, and provisions we set off... Ulgar leads us west via dwarven under trails to emerge in my homeland of Vassa... We emerge east of the tradeway from Palischuck and my heart yearns to head north to see the home I left last year but our mission calls us south to Darmshall to meet our contract... The days roll on and as we head south...
 
Being known there, we prepare to give the Vassan Gates a wide birth when we are suprised by Magnus Tai... He informs us he will be leaving our company and heading back to the Mage's Guild in Heliogabalus... I am sad to see the elven Bladesinger leave, I greatly admired his skills at arms, his keen intellect, and dry wit... They will be sorely missed... We press on to Darmshall... Along the way we start discussing our company being called the Magnificent Seven since we are down to four... I still like the Seven as it was an integral part of my omens but the rest of my companions are eager for a new name...
 
Reaching Darmshall we head to the only tavern in town to wait for our contact... During our dinner we settle on Iluminus as the new name of our band... The envoy from Orithor Hall meets us and we plan our trip ahead... We will be her email and she will use her position of privilege to gain us entry without search or inquiry...
 
We head back to the Vassan gate... Quickly realizing how much the nickname "the innkeeper" was appropriate for Tai as we no longer have the advantage of his magical dome to protect us as we sleep in the wild... At the Gate we escort the Orithor envoy in... A young guard gives her some guff but a senior Captain quickly acknowledges the dwarven privilege and ushers us through the Gates... Past the Gates where the road splits to Virdin and Orithor our envoy bids us goodbye and good fortune... But her companion, this Paladin of the Triad named Nicholas Carpenter, has agreed to join us in the fight the evils within the Dourstone mines here...
 
As we crest the hill to look upon Virdin I chuckle to myself and wonder what the omens will lead me too next...