Regrouping in Kelethin

The party returns to Kelethin to report their findings and reconsider their participation.

September 8th

The party makes their way back to Kelethin to report their finds, but the return is much quieter and less enthusiastic than their initial journey. They decide to tell Ellie what happened at the ruins now that she has had time to decompress. She takes out her notes as usually and attempts to write down every detail about the Vampires to compare with her own notes from her studies. She is just as eager as she is afraid to encounter these Vampires as she reveals to the party that her father was killed by a Vampire some time ago, and that is what sparked her interest in the continent.  

September 9th

After another full day of travel, the party arrives back in Kelethin late in the evening. Given the urgency of their findings, they decide to seek out Maesyn in the ranger guild hall and tell him of their encounter. Maesyn is somewhat skeptical, but after Carlos mentions that he recognized the Vampire lord as Mayong Mistmoore, he becomes noticeably concerned. He is confused as to what could be important enough to bring someone as powerful as Mayong out of his castle and why it would be at the Emerald Outpost. Maesyn explains to the party that the last anyone saw of Mayong, he was assaulting the plane of a demigod several decades ago, so whatever brought him out of his castle to the outpost is deeply troubling. He leads the party to the druid guild hall to see Kelolan immediately.   Kelolan greets Maesyn and the party with worry already on his face. He says that after their initial reports of Orcs, he sent many druids out into the Greater Faydark to commune with the forest. They reported several worrying discoveries:

• Many trees are getting sick and even dying while the soil grows unseasonably cold in the normally humid environment.
• More docile natural fauna like deer, elk, wolves, etc., are becoming more timid and hiding while reports of the various monstrosities in the forest grow by the day. The giant spiders of Spiderweb in particular are becoming a large problem in that region.
• More and more fae are creeping out of the Lesser Faydark, and the faerie queen, Esmerae, has expressed the discontent of her and her subjects.
• The Kelethin rangers and scouts report more signs of Orc forces moving throughout the forest. Felwithe and Kelethin have doubled the strength of their patrols.

After sharing their knowledge, Maesyn and Kelolan thank the party for all they have done and say that Kelethin owes them a great debt, but he will not ask them to participate any further should they not want to. Mayong Mistmoore is a threat far greater than all the elves could muster to defeat, and Maesyn shares that he believes Mayong could destroy Kelethin at any time should he will it. Maesyn says he will need several days to contact and confer with the Elf king, Tearis Thex, in Felwithe after which he will send for them to gauge their interest in further assistance.   Carlos is noticeably worried at the thought of engaging in actions against Mayong; his family has a history with the Vampires and he is well aware of their capabilities. Arya, on the other hand, has grown quite fond of their companions and does not wish to abandon them so easily. They agree to participate for a while longer unless signs of grave and imminent danger arise. Ellie shares Carlos's fear, but it is outweighed by her endless curiosity and the vampiric connection to her father's death. Roswyn's desire to do good and Yarver's desire to help the Elves keeps them both interested in assisting Kelethin.  

September 10th

The party has a relaxing morning in Kelethin; Ellie strolls around and eats fresh elven bread, Yarver confers with Belgo who fills him in on some legends of Mayong, and Arya and Carlos reconsider their participation after seeing Mayong, but ultimately decide to aid their friends. The party then visits Ueaas to collect their reward for the orc belts and crests they took. He tells them the Linadian Mistwood, Myrisa's sister, is quite the leatherworker and magically gifted. She can possibly turn the materials into something much more useful. When the party visits her, she says that if they can quality orcish leather, a binding agent like spider silk, and a magically imbued reagent, like pixie dust, she can make them a magical item.   The party decides that, with time to kill, they can embark on this quest and head out into the Greater Faydark once more to track orcs, spiders, and fae.