Mired Intentions

Military action

Upon returning to Dawnbringer Command, the Iron Wolves experience one bad revelation after another.  The Iron Wolves accept a Black Ops mission to extract an asset from under the Bunolsid's eyes to aid in the destruction of the syndicate.

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After returning from the Glistenknell Atoll, our heroes learned startling news after startling news. In their debrief with Vice Admiral Dellore, he informed the party that after Admiral Hall's experiences in Phaloxil and the closing of Ira Doga's court hearings, she had submitted a leave of absences as she figure out what she wanted out of her career. The party outwardly assumed politics but this news continued to feel unwell with her signing them on and then receiving jobs from everyone but her. The Iron Wolves, wanting to aid Phaloxil's cause, the people subjected under the will of the Bunolsid, and to stay in the Vice Admiral's good graces, decided it would be best to transition their work into a new direction. They agreed to a series of Black Ops missions working to root out the Bunolsid as publically independent agents without the support of the Phaloxil military.

 The Iron Wolves are afforded a small break between missions but this break is immediately made stressful be recieving a package in the post.  Within the package was a letter in fine, flowing script that read:
“Greetings and Salutations, Iron Wolves.
I hope this letter finds you well. It was sad news that I found out that you had actually left. Never the less, know that where ever your journeys may take you, the marks you leave behind last. The relationships you build will stretch into the future.
Should I have need of your services in Xhalvaxho, I hope simple correspondence will be enough to convince you that additional missions in your downtime will be worth your while. It is not often that I have good-hearted adventurers placed in exotic locals. It certainly will save much time and effort on my end. That said, if no amount of bartering will acquire your time & capabilities, I will have to take it upon myself more personally cross the Aber.
I look forward to when you do return to Phaloxil. There is much you left behind and much more left to do. For now, please take this as a parting gift. Consider it a reminder of new connections and possible futures.”
Unsigned, what the letter referenced as a gift was appalling.  The weight of the small box came form a piece of scupture with.  A stone hand, medium in size, was the only thing in the box.  The hand was exquisitely crafted with soft veins and wrinkles contrasting cracks and callouses.  The party determined it to be based on a elder female human with a life of rough work, a sailor's hand.  Admiral Hall's hand petrified and sawn off cleanly at the wrist.  A lead lined lock boax would be purchased for the safekeeping of the letter and hand in their room.
  During the Iron Wolves downtime in Dawnbringer Command waiting for their next mission, Daniel crossed paths with a unfortunately familiar face: Captain Marzas Pogenath. While this seemed like the worst transition possible, it continued to get worse. Daniel picked up a package addressed to the Iron Wolves. The letter was unsigned but spoke of established relationships in Phaloxil and a future of work together. Within the package was a perfectly scupted stone hand. Human sized, small, wrinkled with callous marks of a long time sailor. You determined it to be that of Ava Hall. Even crossing an ocean, the angered shadow organization of the port city still prodded out.
  Everyone took their own times for relaxation and improvement before meeting with Dellore once again. The mission available was of extraction. They had an agent serving in the Bunolsid under deep cover. If now was the time to strike out, they would need this agent's full knowledge. The individual was a grung toxicologist name c'Nehn. He was currently operating from a small marsh island called Mirelet within a lizardfolk community that favored the Bunolsid over colonial presence. You would have to find and extract the grung without drawing attention or giving the Bunolsid any knowledge that the grung had been taken by antagonistic forces. To help ensure that this could not be traced back to Phaloxil, your ride into the area would be under the authority of a naval captain that would favor the mission over the Iron Wolves. In stepped Marzas Pogenath.
  The party's Plan was to be dropped off at the nearby larger island of Yarguel that actively traded their foods with Dawnbringer Command. From their they would find private travel to the island. Upon the island, the Iron wolves experienced their first encounter with terrestrial natives of Xhalvaxho. In this case, it was the pecary-like Tayasu and the Muskrat-like Zibeth.
  The travel to Yarguel lasted from the 22nd to the 27th of Radiance
 

27th of Radiance

On Yarguel, the party purchased local supplies of Cuva-shoots and Ayo fruit to convey back to Ladore Aldarina when given the opportunity. Traveling on foot to the opposite side of Yarguel, you located a zibeth sailor named Tabool whose job it was to take fruits and vegetables over to Mirelet as tribute. If they didn't, the carnivorous lizardfolk would raid the island for food instead of hunting the waters. For trade of a crowbar and a hand axe, He would sail halfway out to Mirelet. This would cut the 10 mile journey down to just five, allowing Lyle to call in a pod of dolphins to subtly get the Ironwolves to the low, marshy island without being seen.
  Once on the island and rested, the plan was to send Lyle into the village in wildshaped form to locate c'Nehn, speak with him, and usher him out. Unfortunately, the plan did not go to action. No sooner did Lyle see the red grung move from one wicker building to another than he made his move iun the middle of the village. As the muskrat formed Lyle attempted to dash across the open land, one of the many eyes of lizardfolk saw him and launched a spear at what was supposed to be a quick meal. A Lucky blow and low constitutioned form let the spear tear lyle back to his ordinary form. In the center of the village immediately exposed, Lyle followed his gut. Enlarge his form, he bellowed out about being a Harbinger of the god. The Tongues incantation Daniel had placed on him translated this for everyone. The lizard folk called out to their shaman, claiming that this land was theirs. Lyle needed out and he was taking the grung with him. He bellowed out that he was of the extraction team and blasted into the hut the grung had entered. Terrified, the toxicologist avoided lyles lungs and tackles, retreating further into the village as Lyle was driven out, mixing into a swarm of conjured rats to make his escape.
  By the time Lyle had made his way back to the shore to report in, the Iron Wolves could see colored smoke lifting from the village. Whatever Lyle had done had started something. Accepting that stealth was out, the party went full force in with some tricks yet to play but expectations of needing to eradicated the village to make the mission happen.
  On approaching the village, Daniel took the lead, turning into a miniature, two legged version of a marid like they had seen at glisten knell. The bulk of the lizardfolk were gathered with the shaman at the villages center, colored smoke rising as the continued their ritual in response to Lyle's appearance and claims. But as Daniel approached, the back hut, the one Lyle had seen the grung initial come out of, began to show flames all throughout. A tortle in corsair's attire stepped out of the burning building and arround to the disguised Lyle. Daniel demanded the traitorous grung be handed over. Fate was not on the Iron Wolves side as the tortle said that he had already handled the execution and questioned why he hadn't been informed of Daniel coming in to take over as he held up a Sending Stone. With that, a snap of Daniel's fingers, and a lurch forward of the turtle, chaos spewed for.
  Iron Wolves Charged forward, Lizardfolk swarmed in, rats were conjured, the shaman grew spikes around the false marid entity. Daniel dropped time and again as their companions summons strength back into them. Kain and Zeran took on hordes lizards. The automaton managed to stun their large bruiser but everyone that dropped got replaced. The tortle weilded a serrated cutlass and pulled out multispiked throwing daggers that he enchanted to explode into cones of shrapnel hitting Wolf and Lizard alike. Gregor moved from physical offense to psychic as he realized for however many they killed, there would be no violent ending where most of the Iron Wolves walked away let alone all of them.
As Gregor shouted and growled with the shaman that was cooking him inside his armor, Lyle sent his second swarm of rats to try to save the grung in the burning house. The few that got through pulled a charred body from the wreckage. As lizards fell and Gregor played aggressively into the shaman's claim of this land, the tortle corsair didn't gamble with the loyalty of the lizardfolk. While aligned with the Bunolsid, they were not card carrying members. Incanting out, the Torlte created a thinly wedged cone into the ground and shrunk down into it magically, spiralling down as he disappeared into the remaining divet. With final reptilian threats and a final pulse of the heated armor, the companions gathered and retreated with the grung corpse back to the shoreline, desperately needing a plan into their future.
  After the kerfuffle in the lizardfolk village on Mirelet, the Iron Wolves charged back the shore, the body of c'Nehn in tow. Splashing out into the waves, Lyle conjured a singular dolphin while also wildshaping himself. Lyle aided Daniel's 5 miles swim back to the waiting boat while the beast aided Zeran. Kain and Gregor began their swim on their own, crossing as much water as they could until Lyle could return to aid them. Kain found a piece of driftwood suitable for bodyboarding to aid the journey while Gregor utilized pure athleticism. In time, the party gather back on Tanool's fishing boat before making it back to Yarguel. The companions camped just outside Tanool's village that evening, discussing what to do on the morrow. Their play would be to find a shaman capable of speaking with the dead. They managed to learn of a witch doctor that lived on Yarguel's isthmus just a few miles away.
 

28th of Radiance

The next morning, the companions made their way north east to find the small shack and garden of of the tayasu Acor. The Iron Wolves had been informed that Acor's spiritual services must be bartered for. When the squat, grey haired tayasu made himself known, the bartering began. Notably, all of the conversations were held in the sylvan tongue. The greater trade the party had to give was a blessing upon his gardem, Lyle spending a day convincing all nearby animals to fertilize the grounds without eating the products. Despite this, a joked about secondary ingredient was also accepted: as much mayonnaise as Acor had bowls to fill. With the trade complete, Acor accepted the body of c'Nehn into his home and began his ritual. In this case, rather than enchanting the body to share it's secrets, Acor ate upon c'Nehn's thigh (slathered with mayonnaise) and channeled the spirit through himself. This knowledge upset Kain who just last night had been told not to eat the body.
  When asked: “What did you have to report?”, the spirit responded that, “The cure for the tainted blood has progressed but is not ready yet”. Following their planned questions, the Iron Wolves continued with, “What are the latest Bunolsid plans?” but unfortunately c'Nehn did not know since he had been kept in isolation working on this supposedly top secret problem. Veering from their planned questions, the Iron Wolves started Following the new clues. “What is the tainted blood?” was met with the fact that c'Nehn would get samples of blood mixed with a rusty metal and he was asked to find a way to purify it from an organism. Getting excited to get to the core of the syndicate problem, they followed up with “Where is your research?”. In a down turn from their progress, c'Nehn had watched his lab burn as he died in the hut back on Mirelet. With hints at a greater thread but only a single question left, the Iron Wolves needed a direction if they did not want to return to Dawnbringer Command with their mission failed. A location, any location. When asked “Where is the closest location of Bunolsid?”, the only response the spirit knew of was related to his work. He was getting metal samples from the Cosyen Debris.
  Questions asked, they had nothing more from the body. With the possibility of further questions being needed in the future, the party agreed to let Acor keep the body for them ease though there was more than suspicion that the tayasu would continue to sample the grung. The party waited out their day as Lyle did his garden blessings and camped upon Yarguel for a second night.
   

1st of First Harvest

  In the morning, the Iron Wolves returned to the trade port with Daniel having signaled Captain Pogenath through they skywriting. Pogenath was sharp, silent, and gruff until the ship was a half hour out of port. Only once they were clear of the island did he begin the interrogation.
  Pogenath questioned about the multicolored smoke pouring from Mirelet two days ago, about the absence of the contact to be extricated, and the party's delay. Gregor lied, danced away from some topics and bulldozed forward with others. Pogenath was anger and suspected much as the two egos clashed heavily upon the ship. Gregor claimed to no fault, presented a destination, and demanded haste to the next destination as time was extremely valuable. Pogenath denied the reality that the contact was exposed just before the extraction team arrived, spat in the face of haste further north being for the good of the cause when the party had spent a full day and two nights extra than was needed, and was a wall to the fact that the adventurers had left the body behind rather than bringing it back with them. The stalemate of egos ended with a breaking of the impasse.
  Pogenath would take the party to the next lead, but not before returning to the island. Two of his men would fetch the body and be on the next military trade vessel between Yarguel and Dawnbringer Command. Their actions on this voyage would be reviewed and weighed before they returned. To facilitate the soldiers in accessing the body, a letter in sylvan was written out and a bucket would be filled with mayonnaise in payment and undeniably identification of cause.