Azimuth 2 - Session 19 - The Roadside Cairn
General Summary
Northern Orcish Plains
Ilmendwyth's Message
Ilmendwyth noted the blinking Sending Stone in his possession. He stepped away from the caravan as they started to pack up camp, while he noted the flying eagle above them head away towards the southwest. He answered the Sending Stone, receiving a coded message:"Feather-on-the-Wind, no birds at my feeder, but that falcon’s flown away. Keep a birds-eye. Birdsong says raised feathers around dove events. They want their missing egg."Ilmendwyth replied back and rejoined the caravan.
The Day’s Travel
Early in the travel, Romsca approached Captain Ruslan and asked if they could march at a faster pace today. Romsca said it would be better to make up the time they had spent in Porgorag, and Ruslan agreed. He called out to the group and they set out. While walking, Mortimr continued reading through The Cycle of Ages, searching for information on the Eight-Pronged Residuum Ring. Though he found nothing about the item, he read references to something called the "footprint of the divine". Mortimr felt the ring was either too new or too unknown to learn about without more detailed or specific research. While walking, Ruslan made idle conversation with Ilmendwyth. He asked if it was difficult for the elf to be so far from Haradren Gaer Arnad, and Ilmendwyth replied it was. Ruslan asked if that was why he had stepped away earlier, and Ilmendwyth said the stone was just a trinket to remind him of home. Ilmendwyth asked if Ruslan planned to return home after the caravan, and he said yes, but would take his time doing so. Ruslan asked the same of Ilmendwyth, and the elf said it would depend on what other work was to be done afterwards. As the caravan broke for camp in the evening, more of the other guards began to hunt the wild boar of the plains. Arwin had a debt to pay after the previous night's game and hunted as well, though it took him some time to do so. He offered the boar to Mardun, Malagat, and Dodim, then took the first of the evening watches with Ilmendwyth.Evening Watches
Arwin asked Ilmendwyth about his impressive bowman skills and Ilmendwyth returned the compliment. They agreed it was taking time to adjust to Tarteria. Arwin asked about the training he was given as part of the Sacred Guardians and his long life of training. They had similar thoughts on shooting becoming second nature and instinct. Ilmendwyth said the ability to read the wind was the mark of a good archer. Awkwardly, Arwin said he would be ready to listen to any teaching Ilmendwyth might be willing to provide. A human woman from the caravan guards came over and motioned towards the grasses away from camp. Emerging from the grass was the same maned wolf from the prior night. It seemed to be following the caravan as they hunted more boar. She scared it away, saying, "They say that Gaia can see through the eyes of every bird and beast in Azimuth, but sometimes I just wanna shoot them so they go away, you know?" Romulus cast Darkvision on himself and spent his watch Wild Shaped as a wolf. His enhanced senses picked up the strong sent of boar and smoke from the caravan cutting through the smell of the wild grasses, but found nothing else nearby. Gertrude, Romsca, and Mortimr took the final watch. During their conversations, Romsca gifted Mortimr a platinum ring with the design of his magic engraved on it. Gertrude was tired and sore from the travel, but still upbeat. She kept an eye on Romsca, who was still feeling the effects of her talks with Arwin. She asked if Romsca was excited to be in a new city. Romsca said no, and she didn’t like crowds. Romsca said, "I shouldn’t get promoted for this, because I shouldn’t even still be at the guild. I have other things I have to do." Gertrude tried to encourage her.Caravan Conflict
The morning of 7 Adroth brought a chilly drizzle that Romulus foresaw would last all day. Ruslan asked Romsca if she still wanted to go at a faster pace, and she said no and shared concerns about the state of the road in the rain. Arwin made the call to keep the wagons of the caravan farther apart for safety. Romsca came to question him as to why. She said she was making the effort to be the leader he encouraged her to be, and Arwin taunted her questions and did not explain his reasoning. When she pressed further and the argument grew, Demitri interrupted to distract Arwin and give Romsca the chance to leave.An Old Battlefield
Near the end of the day’s travel, the group came to a stone cairn along the road on the edge of a field of stunted grass, dark mud, and barren earth. Ruslan called for camp, and Ilmendwyth recommended that the guards avoid wandering to hunt. Romulus and Demitri helped make campfires in the rain using magic, and Romulus cast a Goodberry spell to give the guards some food in addition to the rations. As camp was made, some of the group chose to investigate the nearby field. Romulus identified the area as an old battlefield of the Tarterian War. It was likely that after the Battle of the Northern Orcish Plains, a large segment of orcish troops retreating back to Keeleon Castle were caught by demon pursuers here and slaughtered. At some point during Keeleon’s recovery, a cairn was set here in honorarium at the site. Romulus spent time investigating the field, saying, “I find that part of curing some of the corruption is finding out what happened and when. So you can settle spirits and torch out the bad.” He unearthed some relics from the battle, including a broken piece of armor bearing a brass sigil of Keelon and a chipped steel charm of a shield symbol of Barduumus. Using his magic to excavate further, he found an enchanted Orb of Direction as well. Ilmendwyth kept watch while Romulus dug. As the minotaur’s lantern light moved around, he thought he saw a shape in the grasses, but nothing was there when he looked again. Meanwhile, Gertrude wanted to ease some of the unease she felt here. She investigated the cairn and found faded symbols of Nerull on some of the tumbled rocks. She made a prayer to Chedae for the fallen. As she did, she thought she heard a sound like the shearing of metal. When she asked Chaka, he said he hadn’t heard anything, and suggested returning to the camp. Meanwhile, at the camp, Romsca spent time checking in with the other guards. One had caught a cold in the rain, and she cast a curative magic. The female guard thanked Romsca and said the place was giving her the creeps, and she shivered in the rain.Mortimr’s Abilities
Mortimr asked Demtiri to step aside to talk. Mortimr said he did a good job earlier regarding Romsca and Arwin. Demitri was frustrated that Arwin wasn’t taking his advice, or that his feelings were just that strong. Mortimr brought up his powers, saying he really didn’t know where they came from. He mentioned there was something “not right” about it, and he didn’t want to disappoint the expectations of his late brother. He asked Demitri to kill him if things got out of hand. Demitri said he wasn’t sure if he could, depending on what happened in the moment with Mortimr’s abilities. Demitri asked where these powers came from. Mortimr remembered going into the Kievs Morounin Archive searching for a way to get revenge for his brother. He found an old elven-looking tome covered in dust and cobwebs in a rare books section. He went for it, and the next he knew he awoke in the alley the next morning. While talking, Demitri noticed a spiderweb heavy with rain among the grasses nearby. No spider was present, but Demitri thought it to be ominous. He remembered his own experiences in the Santeem Morounin Archive and tried to think of any entities he could relate to Mortimr and his abilities, specifically related to the Feywild, but came up with nothing definitive. Mortimr said there was a presence along with his abilities that felt soothing or comforting. He felt it was sending him towards things he wouldn’t normally do. Demitri asked if it was bargaining or demanding in nature, but Mortimr said it was coercive and somewhat addictive. Demitri said, “It sounds suspicious. Sketchy. But, right now there’s no clear and present danger. I will say, whatever what you do with your life is what you will, but do not put the rest of us in danger.” Mortimr replied, saying, “If it seems like I’m a danger to the group, don’t try to save me. Just end it.” Demitri said he would do what he could if the need arose.Overnight Watches
As the caravan prepared for the night, Romulus cast Augury to see if he could help the damage done to the nature in this place. With the omens before him, he chose to build a ceremonial campfire and start to bless the nature of the field with a Plant Growth ritual. It would take all night to do, but he felt it important to try to cleanse the corruption and enrich the land. Romsca was drawn to the cairn. It uneased her and she resonated with some of the history it represented. A scar on the land, an echo of war, that had not been healed, yet had begun to fade with time. Romsca turned away and took the first of the evening’s watches alongside Arwin. Romsca approached and offered Arwin a platinum ring with the design of a bow and arrow with an emerald flake arrowhead. She said it was in return for the platinum he had given earlier. Arwin said, “Don’t take this the wrong way. It’s not that I don’t like you. Whatever it is you want to give me, I don’t deserve it.” Romsca explained her use of the term “pack” and that it was fluid and changed as her life did. This place made her uncomfortable, and she didn't want to be angry with each other for the rest of the journey. Arwin said, “I want to trust you, Romsca. I do. But it’s… I’m not angry with you, I’m angry with myself. I am stuck in what seems an impossible place to be. Knowing one thing all my life, but trying to achieve something different.” Romsca related to him, saying, “It’s not like I spent the last five years not hearing people celebrate the death of my people twice a year. Why would I want to learn that? It’s frightening, when I don’t have anybody to be with to make me feel safe. I don’t want to learn that hatred.” They discussed how past wars could affect so far in the future, and how 350 years was different for humans and for gnolls. Romsca said she didn’t know what to do being stuck in the middle of that racial animosity. Arwin didn’t either, but said, “You want to be the change you want to see in the world […] but it is hard and it is difficult, but you press on otherwise.” Arwin said he was not a good example of that view, though, and he reached to accept Romsca’s gift. As he did, the firelight of Romulus’s fire reflected in the eyes of the maned wolf that had been following the caravan. He saw it sneak into the camp, and he quickly drew his bow and fired, killing it. Romsca turned to see what it was, startled. After a moment, she gave Arwin the ring. He thanked her, and said he wouldn’t wear it until he had earned her trust. She then went to go check on Leena. She was kneeling in the grass, looking at a spiderweb. When Romsca approached, Leena reached forward and scattered it. Romsca said Morounin teaches to create, not destroy. In reply, Leena said her favorite part of coloring was starting a new, blank page.
Report Date
29 Nov 2023
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
6 Adroth 5A 352 to 7 Adroth 5A 352