With a good night's sleep and finally, a spark of courage giving flight to the blanket of dread over her heart, Elena rises early the next morning to set off on her journey, taking the wineskin and locket, her gifts from Grandmother, among her things to meet her father outside of the stables in the pre-dawn light. Her father holds the reins of her dark brown mare, Cassa, already saddled and packed. A hard look still glints in his eye, as if he's ready for her to protest her assignment again.
But she only looks him in the eye once, both her sorrow and her determination evident. For Federico, who should have gone in her stead. She takes the reins, swinging herself up into the saddle. Is he going to say anything? She feels like she waits minutes, hours, before she slowly squeezes the horse's flanks and begins to ride away.
"Elena," he finally says, as she rides away. "I'll see you again."
She doesn't look back, tears burning at her eyes. What makes him so confident? Doesn't he know how much danger he is sending her into?
The streets of Liberio are still quiet, only the bakers already at work, their stone ovens fired up. A few merchants are rowing in on the canals in for the early morning market, their boats loaded with wares, as Elena clops past them on Cassa in the opposite direction, guiding the horse up and down narrow bridges over the canals, scouting her way towards the ferry docks of Golden Bay Harbor. Large ferries with great sails and flattened loading docks at each end, built to hold beasts and wagons moor at the wide docks there, alongside smaller passenger boats for foot traffic. All of these have one destination---the great Crossroads outside the walls on the western bank of the Glitterwash tributary. One road leads east to Caspia, one west to Elyria, and one north to Westemar.
As the sun crests over the horizon, a ray of light flashes off of the enormous, hovering obelisk that covers the sky over the port. In no shape found in nature, the rainbow-hued structure glitters and flashes as the morning light dances across its tetrahedral surface. A formidable stronghold of the Amethyst Academy, tauntingly out of reach, as are the purple-robed mages that Elena can just barely make out, sitting on magic carpets or who knows what, floating there high in the sky above the colony of seagulls and scavenger birds that flock around the port.
Her turn in the ferry line comes, and as the helmsman calls out to load, Elena dismounts and hands a silver piece for passage to the fare taker. Every horse in Liberio is used to being in crowded in on boats, and Cassa doesn't even flinch as her master leads her up onto the ferry and backs her up into a small space between two wagons.
By the time the sun is all the way over the horizon, they've unloaded at the Crossroads, and Elena, with one last look back at the lively and elegant town in the bay that has sheltered her for all her life, turns away and trots north on the road to Westemar.
The journey to Leuchten from Liberio will take about two weeks. There are travellers, caravans, and merchants travelling along the same route as you, some moving faster, some slower. You have plenty of rations, and sufficient gold from House Giorgione to easily pay for all your travel expenses, lodging, food, horseshoes, and the like. You've got that bag buried deep in one of your saddlebags, and you're intentionally dressed in nondescript traveling clothes, although, if you should need it, you carry a letter on your person, signed by Jacobo and stamped with House Giorgione's seal.
What would Elena like to do on this leg of the journey? Would she like to find a caravan to join? Befriend a fellow traveler? Keep to herself? Many of the homesteads, farms, and logging camps along the way will host travelers in barns for a bit of coin, since this is a major trade route. And there are larger settlement clusters along the whole way within about a day's ride of one another that have at least a stable and a hostel or a chapel of the Sacred Flame where travelers can stay. Would she like to prevail on homesteaders for lodging? Stick to the chapels in more populated areas if she can? Or hide and camp out in the woods?
The road runs through wooded hills as the elevation increases on the path through the mountains. The mountain pass itself is the foothills between two ranges, the Drakeclaw Mountains to the west and the Glimmer Mountains to the east, so it's not treacherous, or even snowy at this time of year.
(OOC: Roll three skill checks of your choice, based on what you think would help with Elena's journey and what choices she makes along the way. Then describe what she is doing and why or for what activities you chose those particular checks!)
This is not Elena’s first time into Westemär. A few years ago, she joined a small delegation of classmates on a trip to Altbruke to debate systems of governance (she cannot say her team performed particularly well but that was all washed away by a few nights of revelry). The difference between then and now is then she travelled with a group of her classmates in a coach with a host of armed guards supplied by the students’ families. Now she is traveling with only Cassa as familiar company. Deciding that traveling in a company is for the best, she looks for anyone traveling towards Leuchten and hopes that she is able to find a hostel at night to stay. She is not yet ready to give up her familiar comforts.
Insight: 15 (rolled in game log) History: 6 (rolled in game log) Persuasion: 6 (rolled in game log)
While much of the scenery looks familiar to Elena, and the waypoints along the route always seem to come just when she and Cassa are aching to be done with the day's travel, there's something different about traveling to Westemar now. It takes her a few days to put her finger on what it is, as she hails the various travelers and caravans headed north. But nearly everyone is far more standoffish and leery than she remembers people to be on such a well-used route. The demographic of the travelers is much more diverse than she remembers, too. Before, mostly merchants made the journey. There are families of pilgrims on foot with almost nothing. There are rough-looking individuals carrying all their own supplies for a months-long journey on only a riding horse and pack mule. Parties of sell-swords accompany many of the trade caravans as guards, but give the distinct air that this isn't their usual job. And, except for merchant wagons returning laden with Westemar goods, there are quite a lot less of the other sorts of travelers headed in the opposite direction.
She's able to eke out a few friendly conversations, but her offers to join a traveling company are met with a cold and awkward rebuttal. Perhaps she doesn't look like she'd be much use in a fight. What has happened to Westemar?
Finally, about four days into her travel, she finds a caravan that welcomes her to ride with them. An Elyrian merchant family and their workers are heading a multi-wagon shipment of expensive cotton and silk, and invite her to stay with them as an extra pair of eyes. The father of the family, a greying but still strong Elyrian named Hormis Chapman with a persuasive manner and a winning smile, asks a lot of questions about Elena's family and the noble house she works for, but isn't forthcoming with much information. A few days later she cautiously broaches the topic of her observations, and he does say that things have greatly changed in Westemar. His family has been shipping goods to Westemar for over thirty years, and in the last five or six years, stranger and stranger things have been happening. Of course it was difficult during the civil war---he boasts that his family fed the citizens of Westemar during that time, but it's worse now. "We used to send shipments to Todesfeld to the barges on the Drann River. The Drann would take Elyrian goods west to Drannsmund and north to Altbruke. But it's become too dangerous. Oh, there's nutcases who still ship on that river, but you hear the worst stories. You won't see Elyrian cloth out there anymore. No one needs it that bad. We travel to Geldstadt now, and our goods go upriver all the way to Lake Dray and Kesselhome. Sometimes there's even a merchant who will take them on the forest road to Altbruke, but that can be dangerous too, though not like the Drann. No, Drakkenheim and everything downriver of it is contaminated. Can you imagine, an enormous river like the Drann? The whole thing, poisoned. It's unfortunate. You know, Westemar was always too friendly with those mages, with that Academy. I wouldn't doubt it if something got out of control, if some magic didn't have a hand in this. I don't know what will become of Westemar. You'd do best to get your business finished and go back home."
Elena is able to easily find lodgings and stabling alongside the Chapman caravan, and the days over the mountain pass follow pleasantly. Soon enough, the town of Leuchten appears, a great wall and fortress gate spanning the whole valley on the north side of the mountain pass as travelers descend. Round towers sit at various vantage points along the stone wall, every free space in the battlements filled with cannons and catapults and--as Elena gets closer--she can see guards with crossbows and longbows.
The flow of traffic, though minimal, seems to be easily passing through the imposing fortress across its black moat and wide drawbridge. Hormis and his caravan present their documents and clatter through, and, coming behind them, Elena shows her letter from Jacobo.
"I, Jacobo Giorgione, scion of House Giorgione of Liberio, present my retainer, Elena Firavanti, to the esteemed nation of Westemar. I need not remind you of the eloquent and prosperous history of relations between our sovereign nations, and humbly I beg that the most essential business of my retainer not be impeded in any way. An urgent summons of House Engelhart has reached the ever earnest and altruistic ears of my dear mother, and we seek to arrange a mutually profitable and supportive relationship to aid the citizens of the River province with much needed succor..." And the letter drones on. And on.
The porter at the drawbridge looks at it, slips on a pair of spectacles, squints, but clearly doesn't make it through more than a couple of paragraphs before he hands it back to Elena and waves her through.
After a night spend lodging in one of the many fine inns that line the streets of Leuchten, the Chapman caravan bids Elena farewell as they take the road that bends east alongside the Glimmer mountains, headed for Geldstadt. Elena knows best the route to Altbruke that skirts around the heart of the Achtungwald, following the Drann River, and she knows that route is safest, with good accommodations for travelers. The road to Geldstadt is another possible way to get to Drakkenheim, and while the way is fine up to Geldstadt itself, the road further of that town through the forest to Drakkenheim and then Lake Dray to the east is not well-maintained or accommodated anymore.
Will she head north on the main road that will circle west around the forest? Or take the lesser traveled way through Gedstaldt? And there's no way, of course, that she will shortcut by the forest road through the depths of the Achtungwald. There seem about an equal number of travelers headed out on both the north and east roads, and many coming into Leuchten from both directions, as well.
(OOC: Roll three more skills checks of your choice, describing as before, the route she takes and what she is doing along the way!)
To Elena’s dismay, the travel to Altburke proves to be more different than she thought from her previous travels. Fortunately, traveling with the Chapmans gave Elena some downtime that she used to thumb through her legal textbook even though she was unlikely to finish her studies and obtain her certification. As some of the children asked her questions first about the book and then what exactly an “avocado” did, Elena found herself briefly flummoxed on how to explain the intricacies of civil trial work and settled with comparing it to a duel. This led to her demonstrating for the children, first as presenting both sides and then facing them, who had definitely taken a few liberties with the law. It was nevertheless a pleasant experience and Elena found even her rudimentary explanation gave her a better understanding of her erstwhile career.
In the inn at Leuchten, as Elena slowly enjoys a glass of wine after her dinner (sadly the inn is utterly unfamiliar with digestivi), she wonders what her next path is. The Chapmans were headed to Geldstat which offered a path to Altbruke, just through Achtungwald on a poorly maintained road. The path she had taken before seems still viable even if the Drann River is now befouled. As she ponders, she spots a viol resting behind the bar. She makes her inquiries with the bartender and then asks if she could play it. It was an instrument that she had been trained in her childhood but dropped but now she felt the stirring for some artistry in her. Having been left behind by some company or another recently, the instrument only requires a few minor adjustments to tune and the familiarity returns to her.
Ultimately this is where she will bid her farewells to the Chapmans and determine if she can find someone to accompany around the forest.
The barkeep is happy to let Elena play the viol... and she makes a rousing performance, the Chapman children laughing and clapping their hands before their parents shuffle them off to bed. Some of the older lads working in the caravan stay up much later to listen, making requests, singing along in rowdy voices. Elena gets to bed a bit later than she had hoped, but not before Hormis says a word to the barkeep, who later tells Elena she can keep the viol.
Asking around the next morning as she saddles and packs Cassa up for the next leg of her journey, she gets an offer to ride along with a pair of travelers. Two men, Jarlen and Ben, who look a bit rough, tell her that they're traveling to visit relatives in Drannsmund who have fallen on some hard times and need help in their fields for the coming summer. Though Elena inquires if the contamination of the Drann river has anything to do with their kinsmen's trouble, the men only shrug. Elena suspects that the story may be closer to them having falling on hard times themselves.
It's about a week's travel or a little more to Schaffburg, and then two weeks to Todesfeld from there. Todesfeld, Elena knows, is where the streams flowing west from the wetlands join the Drann River. Up until Todesfeld, the water should be safe.
The journey goes well for the first couple of days, but the men, down on their luck, and possibly running low on funds, begin to resist staying at the usual stables and hostels and the occasional chapel at the waypoints. They start wanting to stop and stay in abandoned barns along the way, either long before or long after the evening's waypoint is reached. Elena goes along with them a couple of times, but her discomfort substantially increases, especially when the farmstead isn't abandoned, and it becomes a matter of either sneaking into the barn with their horses, or asking the tenant for permission. Elena always asks, and usually gives the owner of the premises a similar fee to what she would leave at a hostel or a chapel, while the men pay nothing.
Finally, at one waypoint stop, when they want to keep going, she decides to break company with them. It's only one more day's ride to Schaffburg, and hopefully, she can find some better traveling companions there, although she is feeling a little desperate. The passing traffic headed west has been scarce. She stables her horse and takes a cot in the apse of the Sacred Flame chapel by the side of the road, the acolyte there bringing her an extra wool blanket as the spring chill can still be intense at night.
The next morning, Elena gets out the viol she was gifted to play a few hymns to accompany the acolyte's sunrise service; though not the oblations that a Flamekeeper would perform, the antiphonal reciting of verses and hymns is similar. Elena is the only congregant. The acolyte gives her a good hot breakfast, and Elena is soon off again, by herself this time, on the road west.
The Elvenmire wetlands stretch out to the south, the peaks of the Drakeclaw Mountains visible in the far distance, clouded over as if they actually sit in another realm. To the north, the forbidding pines tower over the road. Alone, Elena watches the forest and the swamp nervously, relieved at every sign of civilization that she sees---logging tracks, a drained area of the mire in which a farmstead sits, even if abandoned---and hopes that by tonight, she'll be safe in Schaffburg.
Maintaining a steady pace towards the town that he is sure isn't far, Moksad walks quietly along the side of the packed road, confident that his questions will be answered. He sees lamps beginning to be lit in the windows of small, far-off dwellings on the drained patches of swamp or the cleared patches of forest that line the road now. The sun is sinking low, but he figures he'll have enough light to make it to the town. What he'll do once he gets there, of course, is yet another great mystery, for a druid of the forest, unused to the ways of civilization.
.... and Elena
Then he hears the clop of hoofbeats behind him on the packed dirt. He turns to see in the distance a lone rider, on a dark brown horse, pelting quickly along the road, as if they too hope to make it to the town before nightfall. As the rider catches up to him, he sees that it is a young woman.
Elena would see a young man who thinks he's more disheveled than he is dressed in firm, but fine animal hide and a green cloak over it. Simple tunic underneath with similar trousers, and sandaled shoes. A bit of dirt and drift from camping in nature, but little different from average. (RE: earlier survival check.)
Dread drips into Elena’s heart as she watches the man approach her. Dishevelled and dressed in simple wear. While she is taking this path alone, there were still other people on the road. Not as much as she would like but enough to feel certain an ambush is not awaiting her. She has half a mind to ignore the man when he mentions Drakkenheim. She brings her horse to a halt and says, “What do you know about Drakkenheim?”
"Not a lot, really, I am a simple man looking to find accompaniment and additional guidance on the way to the source of recent troubles among the local nature. We have had a number of our local citizens go missing. some animals infected with a blight brought by a strange greenish crystal lodged inside them that sprouted tendrils and these strange reports of hideous dog face creatures that have caused trouble in surrounding villages. I am also on an additional journey to recover Druidic commentary on the world beyond the Gods as my village understands them. I am looking to see if we can pool resources and I can be of use in other contexts. "
Casts Magic Stone: on a small stone piece next to him and throws it at the nearest empty glass bottle.
AC and distance needed. I rolled a 17+5=22 to hit the bottle for 4 hp.
" in regards to the terms of my accompaniment I seek no warmth as I have a betrothed at home and I also have no need of food or clothing as I have my own. I am willing to share my food and my awakened abilities with you too (spends a wild shape to summon a wild companion/find familiar like an owl that materializes perched on my shoulder) and use it to scout for knowledge and resources, or further defend us should we find ourselves in danger. I have also been given the knowledge to make food and potions that can heal the sick and injured; that I have seen save lives. I have no money nor do I regularly use it and I would be happy to have the assistance of someone who does. I am also looking for versions of tools and materials I have used in the past to help make healing potions and other helpful chemicals or assist with offering my skills as a stone cutter. I know the ways of the forest and can offer assistance with handling the dangers one may find there and in return I would be deeply grateful for any assistance you may offer me."
"If you reject my temporary offer of partnership, I worry desperately for my village and my own safety, and I find myself concerned for your possible trials as well."
Elena frowns contemplatively at the man. In fairness, she doesn’t really have much of a plan to get to Drakkenheim. She thought she would go to Altbruke to seek answers there on how best to proceed to Drakkenheim. From there, she would happily admit she is drawing a blank. She knows she is going to need help, but the allowance provided by House Giorgione is insufficient to allow her to hire anyone to assist her in this errand. Perhaps this mage, likely a druid given his attire and the nature of his magic, would be able to help her. After all, his purpose in Drakkenheim doesn’t sound like it would interfere with hers and she is going to need all the help she could get. She wonders if Fidelitas has any insight it could give but the rapier remains still in its scabbard. “Very well,” she says finally. “I see no reason why we cannot share the road.”
Elena nods. “We should reach Schaffburg before nightfall without any trouble. There might be an inn that will provide us with some shelter.” She elects to ignore the man’s second statement, feeling that it would be unwise to babble about the reason why she is going to Drakkenheim. She doubts this man would be working for a rival house, but she still prefers discretion. She does however say, “I’m Elena. Elena Firavanti.” After all, if they were going to be traveling together, they might as well know each other’s names.
Roman, you. 've done a most excellent job indeed, I expect nothing less from you. I believe it best to take the quickest route to the city, the falling fire waits for no man. However, you are correct in needing a steed of your own, where is the nearest stableman around? I'd like to buy you a mout for faster travel, I do think we can avoid most dangers if we are both on horseback.
(Whatever the price is, I want to persuade him to get a lower price) PER Check: 18
Going through Gelstadt and onto to Landheim, and then Drakkenheim shouldn't be too dangerous, besides the closer we get to the falling fire, the more I can feel it pull, I also wouldn't want you to get caught up in the affairs of the silver order going through the Cathedral. I'm confident I can keep those filthy bandits at bay until we reach the city. Being so close to Drakkenhiem and the falling fire, I'd let nothing stand in my way of finally seeing what they were all about.
The unlikely pair continue on towards the town, the lady of Liberio on horseback, the wild man of the woods keeping easily up on foot with a practiced endurance that, while slower than a horse at its fastest, can keep up the pace much longer. Cleared fields become pervasive, although both note in the growing darkness that, sprinkled amidst the lamps and chimney smoke of the occupied homes, some of the farmsteads are dark and even boarded up. The civil war and the problems with the shipping on the river, has taken its toll here too, though fortunately the waterways here are upstream of the Drann.
Clusters of buildings line the main road as they make it to town proper, and Elena is relieved to secure appropriate lodging at the first inn and stables by the road, a place called the Shining Shovel. Cassa is happy to receive her hard-earned supper of oats and hay, and Moksad volunteers to sleep in the stables with her and the one or two other horses while Elena seeks a room for the night in the establishment. Both sleep long and hard and are up and ready to go with the first lightening of the sky before dawn. Elena buys two loaves of bread from the baker who comes round to deliver the day's supply to the inn before sunrise while she waits for the blacksmith across the street to put new shoes on Cassa.
Elena charts their course towards Todesfeld. The journey should take about two and half weeks, maybe a bit less if the weather is good. Moksad might offer to save Elena some coin by finding safe places to sleep in the wild and supplementing their rations with his foraging skills, and although a proper hunt would take too long, he can set some snares over the night while they sleep. Elena, for her part, knows that simple lodgings will be available along the way if Moksad's selection of campsites proves to be too rustic for her. Hopefully, they'll see other travelers and maybe get some news along the way.
(OOC: Please roll three ability checks of your choice---you both can decide which character rolls each one---and describe how the use of that skill is helping you on your journey!)
History: 12 (rolled in game log), to remember which towns and villages along the way can provide shelter Performance: 14 (rolled in game log), to provide entertainment in exchange for lodgings Persuasion: 24 (rolled in game log), to obtain lodgings/supplies at a discounted price as well as glean info about what has happened
"Yes, we must not delay,"Yvara says, her arms tightly around her husband's waist behind him on the horse. "Let us find him a horse as soon as possible, my love. Your stablemaster keeps his herd along the way... but if you'd like not to upset your parents further... why, I'm sure we can find something. We've all night to ride now---let us make our vigil!"
Lando and Roman both know that the bastion of the Silver Order is in Michael's Gate, which they must pass through if they take the road out of Elyria. Any trouble for pilgrims of the Falling Fire would be most likely to happen in Elyria, not in Westemar, where the interest in the Falling Fire and the ranks of pilgrims, rumor says, have recently been swelling exponentially.
But first, they've got to make it past the Spire lands, and their guards, without being turned around. So, solemnly and prayerfully, the three march along the road as the chill of the night creeps in, but their exercise keeps them warm. It is probably near to midnight when they reach the borders of Lando's lands, a gate and two torches marking the road, a well-built fence to keep the cattle in and predators and brigands out stretching far off into the distance down towards the river. In the light of the torches, they can make out two guards posted there, and a third on horseback riding up to them, probably returning from patrol. Lando knows that while there are always guards at the gate, the patrol was a more recent addition. There's been no thievery, but for some weeks the tension between him and his parents has reached almost unbearable proportions, and his father, Lord Kenelm, has wanted extra eyes everywhere. Now they will find out---what message was sent? The message to stop Lando's progress, or the one to let him through?
As Lando rides up to the gate, Roman walking at his side, the guards hail them. Both of them bow as they recognize Lando. "My lord," one says, and his voice is full of regret, "the Lady Aurelia has sent word that you are allowed to pass... but if you go through this gate, you are disinherited, and you may not return through it, to the lands of House Spire ever again."
Perhaps this was all the boon that Jerome was able to secure from Lando's grieving mother...
"All things must be sacrificed for the Flame," Yvara whispers to Lando. "Home, family, fortune... we leave everything to follow the call." And she tightens her embrace around his waist. "Ride forth, my lord!"
Elena Firavanti
With a good night's sleep and finally, a spark of courage giving flight to the blanket of dread over her heart, Elena rises early the next morning to set off on her journey, taking the wineskin and locket, her gifts from Grandmother, among her things to meet her father outside of the stables in the pre-dawn light. Her father holds the reins of her dark brown mare, Cassa, already saddled and packed. A hard look still glints in his eye, as if he's ready for her to protest her assignment again.
But she only looks him in the eye once, both her sorrow and her determination evident. For Federico, who should have gone in her stead. She takes the reins, swinging herself up into the saddle. Is he going to say anything? She feels like she waits minutes, hours, before she slowly squeezes the horse's flanks and begins to ride away.
"Elena," he finally says, as she rides away. "I'll see you again."
She doesn't look back, tears burning at her eyes. What makes him so confident? Doesn't he know how much danger he is sending her into?
The streets of Liberio are still quiet, only the bakers already at work, their stone ovens fired up. A few merchants are rowing in on the canals in for the early morning market, their boats loaded with wares, as Elena clops past them on Cassa in the opposite direction, guiding the horse up and down narrow bridges over the canals, scouting her way towards the ferry docks of Golden Bay Harbor. Large ferries with great sails and flattened loading docks at each end, built to hold beasts and wagons moor at the wide docks there, alongside smaller passenger boats for foot traffic. All of these have one destination---the great Crossroads outside the walls on the western bank of the Glitterwash tributary. One road leads east to Caspia, one west to Elyria, and one north to Westemar.
As the sun crests over the horizon, a ray of light flashes off of the enormous, hovering obelisk that covers the sky over the port. In no shape found in nature, the rainbow-hued structure glitters and flashes as the morning light dances across its tetrahedral surface. A formidable stronghold of the Amethyst Academy, tauntingly out of reach, as are the purple-robed mages that Elena can just barely make out, sitting on magic carpets or who knows what, floating there high in the sky above the colony of seagulls and scavenger birds that flock around the port.
Her turn in the ferry line comes, and as the helmsman calls out to load, Elena dismounts and hands a silver piece for passage to the fare taker. Every horse in Liberio is used to being in crowded in on boats, and Cassa doesn't even flinch as her master leads her up onto the ferry and backs her up into a small space between two wagons.
By the time the sun is all the way over the horizon, they've unloaded at the Crossroads, and Elena, with one last look back at the lively and elegant town in the bay that has sheltered her for all her life, turns away and trots north on the road to Westemar.
Perception: 5 (rolled in game log)
Elena Firavanti
The journey to Leuchten from Liberio will take about two weeks. There are travellers, caravans, and merchants travelling along the same route as you, some moving faster, some slower. You have plenty of rations, and sufficient gold from House Giorgione to easily pay for all your travel expenses, lodging, food, horseshoes, and the like. You've got that bag buried deep in one of your saddlebags, and you're intentionally dressed in nondescript traveling clothes, although, if you should need it, you carry a letter on your person, signed by Jacobo and stamped with House Giorgione's seal.
What would Elena like to do on this leg of the journey? Would she like to find a caravan to join? Befriend a fellow traveler? Keep to herself? Many of the homesteads, farms, and logging camps along the way will host travelers in barns for a bit of coin, since this is a major trade route. And there are larger settlement clusters along the whole way within about a day's ride of one another that have at least a stable and a hostel or a chapel of the Sacred Flame where travelers can stay. Would she like to prevail on homesteaders for lodging? Stick to the chapels in more populated areas if she can? Or hide and camp out in the woods?
The road runs through wooded hills as the elevation increases on the path through the mountains. The mountain pass itself is the foothills between two ranges, the Drakeclaw Mountains to the west and the Glimmer Mountains to the east, so it's not treacherous, or even snowy at this time of year.
(OOC: Roll three skill checks of your choice, based on what you think would help with Elena's journey and what choices she makes along the way. Then describe what she is doing and why or for what activities you chose those particular checks!)
Elena Firavanti
This is not Elena’s first time into Westemär. A few years ago, she joined a small delegation of classmates on a trip to Altbruke to debate systems of governance (she cannot say her team performed particularly well but that was all washed away by a few nights of revelry). The difference between then and now is then she travelled with a group of her classmates in a coach with a host of armed guards supplied by the students’ families. Now she is traveling with only Cassa as familiar company. Deciding that traveling in a company is for the best, she looks for anyone traveling towards Leuchten and hopes that she is able to find a hostel at night to stay. She is not yet ready to give up her familiar comforts.
Insight: 15 (rolled in game log)
History: 6 (rolled in game log)
Persuasion: 6 (rolled in game log)
Elena Firavanti
While much of the scenery looks familiar to Elena, and the waypoints along the route always seem to come just when she and Cassa are aching to be done with the day's travel, there's something different about traveling to Westemar now. It takes her a few days to put her finger on what it is, as she hails the various travelers and caravans headed north. But nearly everyone is far more standoffish and leery than she remembers people to be on such a well-used route. The demographic of the travelers is much more diverse than she remembers, too. Before, mostly merchants made the journey. There are families of pilgrims on foot with almost nothing. There are rough-looking individuals carrying all their own supplies for a months-long journey on only a riding horse and pack mule. Parties of sell-swords accompany many of the trade caravans as guards, but give the distinct air that this isn't their usual job. And, except for merchant wagons returning laden with Westemar goods, there are quite a lot less of the other sorts of travelers headed in the opposite direction.
She's able to eke out a few friendly conversations, but her offers to join a traveling company are met with a cold and awkward rebuttal. Perhaps she doesn't look like she'd be much use in a fight. What has happened to Westemar?
Finally, about four days into her travel, she finds a caravan that welcomes her to ride with them. An Elyrian merchant family and their workers are heading a multi-wagon shipment of expensive cotton and silk, and invite her to stay with them as an extra pair of eyes. The father of the family, a greying but still strong Elyrian named Hormis Chapman with a persuasive manner and a winning smile, asks a lot of questions about Elena's family and the noble house she works for, but isn't forthcoming with much information. A few days later she cautiously broaches the topic of her observations, and he does say that things have greatly changed in Westemar. His family has been shipping goods to Westemar for over thirty years, and in the last five or six years, stranger and stranger things have been happening. Of course it was difficult during the civil war---he boasts that his family fed the citizens of Westemar during that time, but it's worse now. "We used to send shipments to Todesfeld to the barges on the Drann River. The Drann would take Elyrian goods west to Drannsmund and north to Altbruke. But it's become too dangerous. Oh, there's nutcases who still ship on that river, but you hear the worst stories. You won't see Elyrian cloth out there anymore. No one needs it that bad. We travel to Geldstadt now, and our goods go upriver all the way to Lake Dray and Kesselhome. Sometimes there's even a merchant who will take them on the forest road to Altbruke, but that can be dangerous too, though not like the Drann. No, Drakkenheim and everything downriver of it is contaminated. Can you imagine, an enormous river like the Drann? The whole thing, poisoned. It's unfortunate. You know, Westemar was always too friendly with those mages, with that Academy. I wouldn't doubt it if something got out of control, if some magic didn't have a hand in this. I don't know what will become of Westemar. You'd do best to get your business finished and go back home."
Elena is able to easily find lodgings and stabling alongside the Chapman caravan, and the days over the mountain pass follow pleasantly. Soon enough, the town of Leuchten appears, a great wall and fortress gate spanning the whole valley on the north side of the mountain pass as travelers descend. Round towers sit at various vantage points along the stone wall, every free space in the battlements filled with cannons and catapults and--as Elena gets closer--she can see guards with crossbows and longbows.
The flow of traffic, though minimal, seems to be easily passing through the imposing fortress across its black moat and wide drawbridge. Hormis and his caravan present their documents and clatter through, and, coming behind them, Elena shows her letter from Jacobo.
"I, Jacobo Giorgione, scion of House Giorgione of Liberio, present my retainer, Elena Firavanti, to the esteemed nation of Westemar. I need not remind you of the eloquent and prosperous history of relations between our sovereign nations, and humbly I beg that the most essential business of my retainer not be impeded in any way. An urgent summons of House Engelhart has reached the ever earnest and altruistic ears of my dear mother, and we seek to arrange a mutually profitable and supportive relationship to aid the citizens of the River province with much needed succor..." And the letter drones on. And on.
The porter at the drawbridge looks at it, slips on a pair of spectacles, squints, but clearly doesn't make it through more than a couple of paragraphs before he hands it back to Elena and waves her through.
After a night spend lodging in one of the many fine inns that line the streets of Leuchten, the Chapman caravan bids Elena farewell as they take the road that bends east alongside the Glimmer mountains, headed for Geldstadt. Elena knows best the route to Altbruke that skirts around the heart of the Achtungwald, following the Drann River, and she knows that route is safest, with good accommodations for travelers. The road to Geldstadt is another possible way to get to Drakkenheim, and while the way is fine up to Geldstadt itself, the road further of that town through the forest to Drakkenheim and then Lake Dray to the east is not well-maintained or accommodated anymore.
Will she head north on the main road that will circle west around the forest? Or take the lesser traveled way through Gedstaldt? And there's no way, of course, that she will shortcut by the forest road through the depths of the Achtungwald. There seem about an equal number of travelers headed out on both the north and east roads, and many coming into Leuchten from both directions, as well.
(OOC: Roll three more skills checks of your choice, describing as before, the route she takes and what she is doing along the way!)
Elena Firavanti
To Elena’s dismay, the travel to Altburke proves to be more different than she thought from her previous travels. Fortunately, traveling with the Chapmans gave Elena some downtime that she used to thumb through her legal textbook even though she was unlikely to finish her studies and obtain her certification. As some of the children asked her questions first about the book and then what exactly an “avocado” did, Elena found herself briefly flummoxed on how to explain the intricacies of civil trial work and settled with comparing it to a duel. This led to her demonstrating for the children, first as presenting both sides and then facing them, who had definitely taken a few liberties with the law. It was nevertheless a pleasant experience and Elena found even her rudimentary explanation gave her a better understanding of her erstwhile career.
In the inn at Leuchten, as Elena slowly enjoys a glass of wine after her dinner (sadly the inn is utterly unfamiliar with digestivi), she wonders what her next path is. The Chapmans were headed to Geldstat which offered a path to Altbruke, just through Achtungwald on a poorly maintained road. The path she had taken before seems still viable even if the Drann River is now befouled. As she ponders, she spots a viol resting behind the bar. She makes her inquiries with the bartender and then asks if she could play it. It was an instrument that she had been trained in her childhood but dropped but now she felt the stirring for some artistry in her. Having been left behind by some company or another recently, the instrument only requires a few minor adjustments to tune and the familiarity returns to her.
Ultimately this is where she will bid her farewells to the Chapmans and determine if she can find someone to accompany around the forest.
History: 7 (rolled in game log)
Performance: 12 (rolled in game log)
Persuasion: 7 (rolled in game log)
Elena Firavanti
The barkeep is happy to let Elena play the viol... and she makes a rousing performance, the Chapman children laughing and clapping their hands before their parents shuffle them off to bed. Some of the older lads working in the caravan stay up much later to listen, making requests, singing along in rowdy voices. Elena gets to bed a bit later than she had hoped, but not before Hormis says a word to the barkeep, who later tells Elena she can keep the viol.
Asking around the next morning as she saddles and packs Cassa up for the next leg of her journey, she gets an offer to ride along with a pair of travelers. Two men, Jarlen and Ben, who look a bit rough, tell her that they're traveling to visit relatives in Drannsmund who have fallen on some hard times and need help in their fields for the coming summer. Though Elena inquires if the contamination of the Drann river has anything to do with their kinsmen's trouble, the men only shrug. Elena suspects that the story may be closer to them having falling on hard times themselves.
It's about a week's travel or a little more to Schaffburg, and then two weeks to Todesfeld from there. Todesfeld, Elena knows, is where the streams flowing west from the wetlands join the Drann River. Up until Todesfeld, the water should be safe.
The journey goes well for the first couple of days, but the men, down on their luck, and possibly running low on funds, begin to resist staying at the usual stables and hostels and the occasional chapel at the waypoints. They start wanting to stop and stay in abandoned barns along the way, either long before or long after the evening's waypoint is reached. Elena goes along with them a couple of times, but her discomfort substantially increases, especially when the farmstead isn't abandoned, and it becomes a matter of either sneaking into the barn with their horses, or asking the tenant for permission. Elena always asks, and usually gives the owner of the premises a similar fee to what she would leave at a hostel or a chapel, while the men pay nothing.
Finally, at one waypoint stop, when they want to keep going, she decides to break company with them. It's only one more day's ride to Schaffburg, and hopefully, she can find some better traveling companions there, although she is feeling a little desperate. The passing traffic headed west has been scarce. She stables her horse and takes a cot in the apse of the Sacred Flame chapel by the side of the road, the acolyte there bringing her an extra wool blanket as the spring chill can still be intense at night.
The next morning, Elena gets out the viol she was gifted to play a few hymns to accompany the acolyte's sunrise service; though not the oblations that a Flamekeeper would perform, the antiphonal reciting of verses and hymns is similar. Elena is the only congregant. The acolyte gives her a good hot breakfast, and Elena is soon off again, by herself this time, on the road west.
The Elvenmire wetlands stretch out to the south, the peaks of the Drakeclaw Mountains visible in the far distance, clouded over as if they actually sit in another realm. To the north, the forbidding pines tower over the road. Alone, Elena watches the forest and the swamp nervously, relieved at every sign of civilization that she sees---logging tracks, a drained area of the mire in which a farmstead sits, even if abandoned---and hopes that by tonight, she'll be safe in Schaffburg.
Moksad
Maintaining a steady pace towards the town that he is sure isn't far, Moksad walks quietly along the side of the packed road, confident that his questions will be answered. He sees lamps beginning to be lit in the windows of small, far-off dwellings on the drained patches of swamp or the cleared patches of forest that line the road now. The sun is sinking low, but he figures he'll have enough light to make it to the town. What he'll do once he gets there, of course, is yet another great mystery, for a druid of the forest, unused to the ways of civilization.
.... and Elena
Then he hears the clop of hoofbeats behind him on the packed dirt. He turns to see in the distance a lone rider, on a dark brown horse, pelting quickly along the road, as if they too hope to make it to the town before nightfall. As the rider catches up to him, he sees that it is a young woman.
Perception roll: 15+5 = 20
"Pray tell young lady you seem to be as heartily traveled as myself, are you heading to a place called Drakkenheim; the same as myself?"
Elena would see a young man who thinks he's more disheveled than he is dressed in firm, but fine animal hide and a green cloak over it. Simple tunic underneath with similar trousers, and sandaled shoes. A bit of dirt and drift from camping in nature, but little different from average. (RE: earlier survival check.)
Elena Firavanti
Dread drips into Elena’s heart as she watches the man approach her. Dishevelled and dressed in simple wear. While she is taking this path alone, there were still other people on the road. Not as much as she would like but enough to feel certain an ambush is not awaiting her. She has half a mind to ignore the man when he mentions Drakkenheim. She brings her horse to a halt and says, “What do you know about Drakkenheim?”
Moksad
"Not a lot, really, I am a simple man looking to find accompaniment and additional guidance on the way to the source of recent troubles among the local nature. We have had a number of our local citizens go missing. some animals infected with a blight brought by a strange greenish crystal lodged inside them that sprouted tendrils and these strange reports of hideous dog face creatures that have caused trouble in surrounding villages. I am also on an additional journey to recover Druidic commentary on the world beyond the Gods as my village understands them. I am looking to see if we can pool resources and I can be of use in other contexts. "
Casts Magic Stone: on a small stone piece next to him and throws it at the nearest empty glass bottle.
AC and distance needed. I rolled a 17+5=22 to hit the bottle for 4 hp.
" in regards to the terms of my accompaniment I seek no warmth as I have a betrothed at home and I also have no need of food or clothing as I have my own. I am willing to share my food and my awakened abilities with you too (spends a wild shape to summon a wild companion/find familiar like an owl that materializes perched on my shoulder) and use it to scout for knowledge and resources, or further defend us should we find ourselves in danger. I have also been given the knowledge to make food and potions that can heal the sick and injured; that I have seen save lives. I have no money nor do I regularly use it and I would be happy to have the assistance of someone who does. I am also looking for versions of tools and materials I have used in the past to help make healing potions and other helpful chemicals or assist with offering my skills as a stone cutter. I know the ways of the forest and can offer assistance with handling the dangers one may find there and in return I would be deeply grateful for any assistance you may offer me."
"If you reject my temporary offer of partnership, I worry desperately for my village and my own safety, and I find myself concerned for your possible trials as well."
Persuasion check:16 on the die
Elena Firavanti
Elena frowns contemplatively at the man. In fairness, she doesn’t really have much of a plan to get to Drakkenheim. She thought she would go to Altbruke to seek answers there on how best to proceed to Drakkenheim. From there, she would happily admit she is drawing a blank. She knows she is going to need help, but the allowance provided by House Giorgione is insufficient to allow her to hire anyone to assist her in this errand. Perhaps this mage, likely a druid given his attire and the nature of his magic, would be able to help her. After all, his purpose in Drakkenheim doesn’t sound like it would interfere with hers and she is going to need all the help she could get. She wonders if Fidelitas has any insight it could give but the rapier remains still in its scabbard. “Very well,” she says finally. “I see no reason why we cannot share the road.”
"Then let us please make haste to the nearest place offering a drink, a bite and sleep and be on our way on the morrow"
"Take time to get to know one another as this venture may take a while."
Elena Firavanti
Elena nods. “We should reach Schaffburg before nightfall without any trouble. There might be an inn that will provide us with some shelter.” She elects to ignore the man’s second statement, feeling that it would be unwise to babble about the reason why she is going to Drakkenheim. She doubts this man would be working for a rival house, but she still prefers discretion. She does however say, “I’m Elena. Elena Firavanti.” After all, if they were going to be traveling together, they might as well know each other’s names.
Roman, you. 've done a most excellent job indeed, I expect nothing less from you. I believe it best to take the quickest route to the city, the falling fire waits for no man. However, you are correct in needing a steed of your own, where is the nearest stableman around? I'd like to buy you a mout for faster travel, I do think we can avoid most dangers if we are both on horseback.
(Whatever the price is, I want to persuade him to get a lower price) PER Check: 18
Going through Gelstadt and onto to Landheim, and then Drakkenheim shouldn't be too dangerous, besides the closer we get to the falling fire, the more I can feel it pull, I also wouldn't want you to get caught up in the affairs of the silver order going through the Cathedral. I'm confident I can keep those filthy bandits at bay until we reach the city. Being so close to Drakkenhiem and the falling fire, I'd let nothing stand in my way of finally seeing what they were all about.
" Mine is Moksad."
"A pleasure to meet you, I look forward surviving thanks to you!"
Elena and Moksad
The unlikely pair continue on towards the town, the lady of Liberio on horseback, the wild man of the woods keeping easily up on foot with a practiced endurance that, while slower than a horse at its fastest, can keep up the pace much longer. Cleared fields become pervasive, although both note in the growing darkness that, sprinkled amidst the lamps and chimney smoke of the occupied homes, some of the farmsteads are dark and even boarded up. The civil war and the problems with the shipping on the river, has taken its toll here too, though fortunately the waterways here are upstream of the Drann.
Clusters of buildings line the main road as they make it to town proper, and Elena is relieved to secure appropriate lodging at the first inn and stables by the road, a place called the Shining Shovel. Cassa is happy to receive her hard-earned supper of oats and hay, and Moksad volunteers to sleep in the stables with her and the one or two other horses while Elena seeks a room for the night in the establishment. Both sleep long and hard and are up and ready to go with the first lightening of the sky before dawn. Elena buys two loaves of bread from the baker who comes round to deliver the day's supply to the inn before sunrise while she waits for the blacksmith across the street to put new shoes on Cassa.
Elena charts their course towards Todesfeld. The journey should take about two and half weeks, maybe a bit less if the weather is good. Moksad might offer to save Elena some coin by finding safe places to sleep in the wild and supplementing their rations with his foraging skills, and although a proper hunt would take too long, he can set some snares over the night while they sleep. Elena, for her part, knows that simple lodgings will be available along the way if Moksad's selection of campsites proves to be too rustic for her. Hopefully, they'll see other travelers and maybe get some news along the way.
(OOC: Please roll three ability checks of your choice---you both can decide which character rolls each one---and describe how the use of that skill is helping you on your journey!)
History: 12 (rolled in game log), to remember which towns and villages along the way can provide shelter
Performance: 14 (rolled in game log), to provide entertainment in exchange for lodgings
Persuasion: 24 (rolled in game log), to obtain lodgings/supplies at a discounted price as well as glean info about what has happened
Lando and Roman
"Yes, we must not delay," Yvara says, her arms tightly around her husband's waist behind him on the horse. "Let us find him a horse as soon as possible, my love. Your stablemaster keeps his herd along the way... but if you'd like not to upset your parents further... why, I'm sure we can find something. We've all night to ride now---let us make our vigil!"
Lando and Roman both know that the bastion of the Silver Order is in Michael's Gate, which they must pass through if they take the road out of Elyria. Any trouble for pilgrims of the Falling Fire would be most likely to happen in Elyria, not in Westemar, where the interest in the Falling Fire and the ranks of pilgrims, rumor says, have recently been swelling exponentially.
But first, they've got to make it past the Spire lands, and their guards, without being turned around. So, solemnly and prayerfully, the three march along the road as the chill of the night creeps in, but their exercise keeps them warm. It is probably near to midnight when they reach the borders of Lando's lands, a gate and two torches marking the road, a well-built fence to keep the cattle in and predators and brigands out stretching far off into the distance down towards the river. In the light of the torches, they can make out two guards posted there, and a third on horseback riding up to them, probably returning from patrol. Lando knows that while there are always guards at the gate, the patrol was a more recent addition. There's been no thievery, but for some weeks the tension between him and his parents has reached almost unbearable proportions, and his father, Lord Kenelm, has wanted extra eyes everywhere. Now they will find out---what message was sent? The message to stop Lando's progress, or the one to let him through?
As Lando rides up to the gate, Roman walking at his side, the guards hail them. Both of them bow as they recognize Lando. "My lord," one says, and his voice is full of regret, "the Lady Aurelia has sent word that you are allowed to pass... but if you go through this gate, you are disinherited, and you may not return through it, to the lands of House Spire ever again."
Perhaps this was all the boon that Jerome was able to secure from Lando's grieving mother...
"All things must be sacrificed for the Flame," Yvara whispers to Lando. "Home, family, fortune... we leave everything to follow the call." And she tightens her embrace around his waist. "Ride forth, my lord!"