Siobhan offers her good-byes to Sevembra. Now that the road and a mission beckons, she is itching to start her journey again. “Thank you for all you have done. It is good to know that even if I cannot reach my people, there are like-minded folk who can be part of a greater circle.” Siobhan shoulders her pack so the weight is better distributed and looks to her new companions. “To Waterdeep, you say? Then let us begin.”
Sevembra answers Arisa and says, enthusiastically, "You don't need to buy any seeds from me, I'll give you plenty for the road! It's the least I can do!"
She rummages through her different seed sacks, and then gives you each a nice, hefty size bag that contains about 2-3 lbs of sunflower, pumpkin & squash, flax and sesame seeds, as well as some mixed nuts. She then bids you farewell as you leave.
You pass through through the front gates and you find yourselves on the outside of the massive 60-foot high wall. Looking back, you can definitely see areas where it needs repair. As you make your way forwards through the battlefield from yesterday, you can see the heads of all of four giants and the six ogres that are impaled on spears and stuck in the ground a few hundred feet away from the walls, no doubt a warning to other potential invaders. Off to the side, you can see the smoldering remains of where the monster bodies were burned.
You quickly put some distance between you and the Goldenfields, passing through the apple orchards and farms that lie on the outside of the town. Being a nice, sunny day, it seems like a good day for travel on the Northfurrow Trail. After awhile, you come across the large, heavily weathered stone that's sitting along the north side of a particularly large oak tree. Siobhan is seeing this for the first time, and she notices that the stone is covered in a heavy blanket of moss, and appears to have been a statue once upon a time. However, any discernible details that might reveal who or what it was, or for what reason it was placed here are lost.
In a couple more hours, you pass through some grasslands and see the remains of ashes where you fought the orcs and burned their bodies a few days ago. Traffic is light on the trail today, and you pass just a couple of merchant carts that are traveling to Goldenfields, to pick up foodstuffs, you guess.
In the late afternoon, you pass the small stand of cottonwood trees where you had your encounter with Felgolos the dragon. (Feel free to describe any of these events to Siobhan.) Eventually, the sun begin to dip towards the edge of the sky, a sign that you know means it's time to start look for a place to camp for the night. The terrain here is a mix of rolling grasslands and small, loose stands of sparse cottonwoods.
As they travel, Belkas tells Siobhan about their adventures, how they met in Waterdeep and traveled to Nightstone to solve the town's goblin problems. They discovered that giants had attacked from a floating castle, destroyed much of the town, and stolen their large obelisk. The party cleaned out the goblins and then kept out a group of Zentarium and an attacking band of orcs. They tracked down the townspeople, held captive in a goblin lair, and negotiated their return. Traveling to Goldenfields, they met up with a dragon who mentioned unrest among the giants. Then they defeated orc slavers, freed the captured halflings, and the rest she already knows.
As he tells the stories, he includes strange and funny things that happened, like when Vernon tried to tame a Warg in the middle of a battle by sliding under it and tickling its belly; Osmord's pickled toe snacks; Zyllith making spider noises that terrified goblins in a windmill; and Arisa's impressive, but unsuccessful attempts to build a water bridge to cross the moat.
Looking around at the others, he asks, "What are your favorite memories of our short but eventful time together?"
"T'would be definitely meetin' Felgolos 'ere." Zyllith reminisced, "Ye'd think he be a mighty dragon, all grace an' skill an' tha' like. But tha' bloke completely faceplanted before us when he landed right 'bout over yonder. Completely arse over tea-kettle rioght before us."
"My favorite memory would be returning the symbol of Mielikki that we found." Vernon becomes more serious. "I feared it would cut me off from her presence, given that I first learned magic with it, but no such calamity has happened, showing that it was the right thing to do." Vernon cheers up again.
As you continue to relay stores about your former Tortle companion and of the recent days, you mange to find a suitable spot to camp a short distance away from the main path, in a small flat area that's surrounded by cottonwood trees. The sun goes down just as you are laying out your bedrolls and beginning to prepare for you evening meal.
Your feet are tired after a full day of walking, but of course, that minor discomfort is nothing compared to the pains and exertions you had felt after the huge battle. It was only yesterday, but even now as you sit under the stars a full day's walk away from Goldenfields, it seems like it was much longer ago when you fought so bravely through the night and into the next morning to help repel the murderous monster invasion.
Soon, the dim light of dusk shifts to the blackness of night and you begin to see the twinkling lights of fireflies in the air around you and hear the occasional, but thankfully very distant sounds of coyotes that travel faintly through the night air to your ears.
Before everyone goes to sleep and when the shepherd goes off to gather firewood, Belkas says, "There is another member of our team you should meet. He stays invisible most of the time because he can make people uncomfortable, but he has been invaluable for saving the people of Nightstone and Goldenfields, not to mention ourselves. He also helps keep watch. Crowley, can you show yourself?"
A raven appears, circling above the campsite, and then lands on Belkas' shoulder.
"Would you change into your talking form, please?"
The raven transforms into a cat-sized winged devil with a scorpion tail and a warm smile. The imp bows low and says, "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Crowley, corruptor of souls, destroyer of worlds, goblin slayer, giant fighter, and humbly at your service. Should you desire access to extraordinary powers to defend the forests and woodland beasties, I have connections downstairs who would be more than happy to give you all you desire for a trifling price. Just look at Belkas here." Crowley stops and looks thoughtfully at the warlock. "No, actually, forget that. He's not a good example at all. Anyhow, just let me know, and I'll arrange it all."
---
(Belkas offers to take third watch, and assuming Crowley doesn't sleep, he can watch from the trees helping out whoever is on watch at the time.)
On being introduced to the imp, Siobhan is visibly uncomfortable. A ripple of fur appears and disappears in an instant as she controls her instinct to wild shape for the attack. "The power of nature is extraordinary enough," Siobhan responds to Crowley. "I have seen abominations and want no part. I hope it speaks to Belkas' character that you think he is a bad example."
She remains alert when she prepares to rest and her night is restless.
---
(If a fourth watch is needed, Siobhan will take it and frequently send suspicious looks at the trees.)
After dinner, during which Elion recites a poem that he wrote about the endless conflict between the proverbial personifications of day and night, you each take your watch. During the night, you continue to hear the yips of coyotes off in the distance, as well as a few wolf howls, and you see the occasional shadows of bats that flutter overhead, but thankfully, nothing more than fireflies and small nocturnal mice enter your campsite.
At one point, during Siobhan's watch, she watches an owl dive silently into the brush not twenty feet away from you and snag a small rodent. As it flies away with the prey in its talons, the owl looks briefly into the druid's eyes, meeting gaze with gaze for a just brief moment, before disappearing once more into the darkness.
Her shift ends when the light of the dawn begins to creep into the sky, and in a short while, you all awake, feeling rested and recovered and ready for your second day of travel towards Waterdeep.
Along with the others, Belkas finishes breakfast, packs up, and starts the long hike back to Waterdeep. He talks to the shepherd about his life, and as the day progresses and the sun gets hotter, he softly chants an old childhood rhyme to himself,
"We are walking, walking, walking, and it's sweet in this heat.
To the rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, of the beat of our feet.
And I wonder what they wonder, and I wonder what they know.
And I wonder what they'll wonder when we go, when we go.
And I wonder what they'll wonder when we go."
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he says, "And I wonder if we could afford horses if we're going to be traveling long distances often."
Shalvus engages with Belkas in conversation as they walk. Elion, who has clearly become close with the shepherd, follows alongside.
"Not much to tell, I hail from a small Turmish village on the south side of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Son of a shepherd, so at least it means I can always find work," he chuckles.
"When I became a young man, I grew bored with village life, so I bid my ma and pa farewell and made my way across the Dragon coast, working a few flocks over a seasons, until I made it to the coast. Ended up in Daggerford, where I still got friends. Heard that there was always work for shepherds up in Goldenfields, so this year I made my way up there to check it out. Them monsters got me rattled, though. Life was good in that big farm town, but I don't want any more trouble like that. Hill giants and ogres and them big goblins... that's more than I bargained for, so I'm heading back to Daggerford. I'll be able to find work there, and hopefully it'll be safer there."
Elion moves to walk alongside Siobhan. After a few minutes, he speaks.
"Yesterday you said that you can take different shapes. Can you truly change into any animal you wish, like my father told me that druids were capable of doing?"
"Not any animal," Siobhan explains. "I need to know something about the shape I am taking. Creatures native to my home forest are easiest. My favorite is that of the dire wolf for combat and a squirrel for scouting." For a moment she pauses, flushing a darker green and confesses, "I still can't do anything with wings properly. The last time I tried, all I could manage was a crow and couldn't even perch on a tree branch. I fell hard enough to revert and the were-ravens I met laughed at my clumsiness."
Shaking off that embarrassing memory, Siobhan pauses a moment and smiles before picking up her pace. "Though apparently there is one animal this pack is lacking."
One step, Two steps. On the third, the sound changes from the thump of marching feet to the clop-clop of hooves. Where once a firbolg woman walked is a sturdy draft horse with a shaggy brown coat. The horse trots on, with a bit of a prancing step to impress Elion.
Siobhan observes her companions, looking to see if any could truly use the respite of a short ride.
Elion laughs when he sees Siobhan do her prancing trot in horse form. "You talk of dangerous dire wolves and small, stealthy squirrels, and then surprise us by taking the shape of a horse! Why did you not do this yesterday afternoon, when my feet were tired after hours of plodding along the road away from Goldenfields?"
"I could surely use a rest from walking, that is, if no one else wants to ride. Surely Vernon might rejoice in the idea of being a passenger upon your back, since he takes twice as many steps to get to the same place as the rest of us!"
"At any rate, I, for one, am impressed. Flame arrows and fire balls are one thing, but being able to take the form of another creature... now that is magic indeed. If only I could tell my father of what I have seen today... that is if he were not too arrogant to grace me with a minute of his precious attention."
"That is impressive. If we could all learn to change shape, travel would be much easier, although I think I might miss the stories and songs. Go ahead Elion and rest your legs for a while, I can a walk a while longer."
Vernon watches. intrigued. "I had better walk for now. There's something about this resonating with my magical reserves, and I need a good view to better understand it." He starts clapping with about every 20th hoof clop and muttering "Cornwallin?" after each, beginning to cast Find Steed. (Going for Warhorse, Celestial type. This will take 10 minutes to cast.)
The synchronized clomping and chanting continues between Vernon and Siobhan, and then after ten minutes, a flash of light ensues in front of Vernon, and instantly a horse appears before him. With black spots on its brilliant, white coat, and a slightly smaller, but impressively agile body than most full size warhorses, this steed is recognizable to both Vernon and Arisa as one of the Dambraii, which are highly sought after horses from the nation of Dambrath in the Shining South. The most prized of all horse breeds in all of Faerûn, the Dambraii are known for their exceptional speed, reliability in combat tough disposition and ease of training.
Bred for Dambrath's cavalry, the Dambraii are widely known to those who have knowledge about warfare to keep their riders astride until death. Purebred specimens of these horses are generally only to be found within the nation's borders, and any Dambraii that were encountered outside Dambrath, while comparable with any other light warhorse, is thought not of the same quality of stock.
Of course, this magnificent steed that appears before Vernon is of Celestial origin, so it has a very faint sheen to its shining white coat, and it even has an extended pair of looped leather straps that are designed to make it easier for a smaller creature, such as a gnome, to be able to quickly and efficiently mount the horse.
Standing in front of Vernon with an proud and elegant air about him, the horse looks at Vernon, clearly awaiting his first command.
Siobhan offers her good-byes to Sevembra. Now that the road and a mission beckons, she is itching to start her journey again. “Thank you for all you have done. It is good to know that even if I cannot reach my people, there are like-minded folk who can be part of a greater circle.” Siobhan shoulders her pack so the weight is better distributed and looks to her new companions. “To Waterdeep, you say? Then let us begin.”
Sevembra answers Arisa and says, enthusiastically, "You don't need to buy any seeds from me, I'll give you plenty for the road! It's the least I can do!"
She rummages through her different seed sacks, and then gives you each a nice, hefty size bag that contains about 2-3 lbs of sunflower, pumpkin & squash, flax and sesame seeds, as well as some mixed nuts. She then bids you farewell as you leave.
You pass through through the front gates and you find yourselves on the outside of the massive 60-foot high wall. Looking back, you can definitely see areas where it needs repair. As you make your way forwards through the battlefield from yesterday, you can see the heads of all of four giants and the six ogres that are impaled on spears and stuck in the ground a few hundred feet away from the walls, no doubt a warning to other potential invaders. Off to the side, you can see the smoldering remains of where the monster bodies were burned.
You quickly put some distance between you and the Goldenfields, passing through the apple orchards and farms that lie on the outside of the town. Being a nice, sunny day, it seems like a good day for travel on the Northfurrow Trail. After awhile, you come across the large, heavily weathered stone that's sitting along the north side of a particularly large oak tree. Siobhan is seeing this for the first time, and she notices that the stone is covered in a heavy blanket of moss, and appears to have been a statue once upon a time. However, any discernible details that might reveal who or what it was, or for what reason it was placed here are lost.
In a couple more hours, you pass through some grasslands and see the remains of ashes where you fought the orcs and burned their bodies a few days ago. Traffic is light on the trail today, and you pass just a couple of merchant carts that are traveling to Goldenfields, to pick up foodstuffs, you guess.
In the late afternoon, you pass the small stand of cottonwood trees where you had your encounter with Felgolos the dragon. (Feel free to describe any of these events to Siobhan.) Eventually, the sun begin to dip towards the edge of the sky, a sign that you know means it's time to start look for a place to camp for the night. The terrain here is a mix of rolling grasslands and small, loose stands of sparse cottonwoods.
(Arisa thanks Sevebra for the seeds)
“here’s where we got our name of the Dragon’s Aces- where we met the mighty dragon Felgolos” Arisa breifly relays the tale as they pass the spot.
“should we shelter among the trees for the evening?” Arisa asks.
As they travel, Belkas tells Siobhan about their adventures, how they met in Waterdeep and traveled to Nightstone to solve the town's goblin problems. They discovered that giants had attacked from a floating castle, destroyed much of the town, and stolen their large obelisk. The party cleaned out the goblins and then kept out a group of Zentarium and an attacking band of orcs. They tracked down the townspeople, held captive in a goblin lair, and negotiated their return. Traveling to Goldenfields, they met up with a dragon who mentioned unrest among the giants. Then they defeated orc slavers, freed the captured halflings, and the rest she already knows.
As he tells the stories, he includes strange and funny things that happened, like when Vernon tried to tame a Warg in the middle of a battle by sliding under it and tickling its belly; Osmord's pickled toe snacks; Zyllith making spider noises that terrified goblins in a windmill; and Arisa's impressive, but unsuccessful attempts to build a water bridge to cross the moat.
Looking around at the others, he asks, "What are your favorite memories of our short but eventful time together?"
"T'would be definitely meetin' Felgolos 'ere." Zyllith reminisced, "Ye'd think he be a mighty dragon, all grace an' skill an' tha' like. But tha' bloke completely faceplanted before us when he landed right 'bout over yonder. Completely arse over tea-kettle rioght before us."
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
"My favorite memory would be returning the symbol of Mielikki that we found." Vernon becomes more serious. "I feared it would cut me off from her presence, given that I first learned magic with it, but no such calamity has happened, showing that it was the right thing to do." Vernon cheers up again.
As you continue to relay stores about your former Tortle companion and of the recent days, you mange to find a suitable spot to camp a short distance away from the main path, in a small flat area that's surrounded by cottonwood trees. The sun goes down just as you are laying out your bedrolls and beginning to prepare for you evening meal.
Your feet are tired after a full day of walking, but of course, that minor discomfort is nothing compared to the pains and exertions you had felt after the huge battle. It was only yesterday, but even now as you sit under the stars a full day's walk away from Goldenfields, it seems like it was much longer ago when you fought so bravely through the night and into the next morning to help repel the murderous monster invasion.
Soon, the dim light of dusk shifts to the blackness of night and you begin to see the twinkling lights of fireflies in the air around you and hear the occasional, but thankfully very distant sounds of coyotes that travel faintly through the night air to your ears.
Arisa takes the first watch, listening to the soothing sounds of the evening while silently contemplating their travels so far.
Zyllith offers to take the second watch, and quickly decides to fall asleep early for it.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Before everyone goes to sleep and when the shepherd goes off to gather firewood, Belkas says, "There is another member of our team you should meet. He stays invisible most of the time because he can make people uncomfortable, but he has been invaluable for saving the people of Nightstone and Goldenfields, not to mention ourselves. He also helps keep watch. Crowley, can you show yourself?"
A raven appears, circling above the campsite, and then lands on Belkas' shoulder.
"Would you change into your talking form, please?"
The raven transforms into a cat-sized winged devil with a scorpion tail and a warm smile. The imp bows low and says, "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Crowley, corruptor of souls, destroyer of worlds, goblin slayer, giant fighter, and humbly at your service. Should you desire access to extraordinary powers to defend the forests and woodland beasties, I have connections downstairs who would be more than happy to give you all you desire for a trifling price. Just look at Belkas here." Crowley stops and looks thoughtfully at the warlock. "No, actually, forget that. He's not a good example at all. Anyhow, just let me know, and I'll arrange it all."
---
(Belkas offers to take third watch, and assuming Crowley doesn't sleep, he can watch from the trees helping out whoever is on watch at the time.)
On being introduced to the imp, Siobhan is visibly uncomfortable. A ripple of fur appears and disappears in an instant as she controls her instinct to wild shape for the attack. "The power of nature is extraordinary enough," Siobhan responds to Crowley. "I have seen abominations and want no part. I hope it speaks to Belkas' character that you think he is a bad example."
She remains alert when she prepares to rest and her night is restless.
---
(If a fourth watch is needed, Siobhan will take it and frequently send suspicious looks at the trees.)
After dinner, during which Elion recites a poem that he wrote about the endless conflict between the proverbial personifications of day and night, you each take your watch. During the night, you continue to hear the yips of coyotes off in the distance, as well as a few wolf howls, and you see the occasional shadows of bats that flutter overhead, but thankfully, nothing more than fireflies and small nocturnal mice enter your campsite.
At one point, during Siobhan's watch, she watches an owl dive silently into the brush not twenty feet away from you and snag a small rodent. As it flies away with the prey in its talons, the owl looks briefly into the druid's eyes, meeting gaze with gaze for a just brief moment, before disappearing once more into the darkness.
Her shift ends when the light of the dawn begins to creep into the sky, and in a short while, you all awake, feeling rested and recovered and ready for your second day of travel towards Waterdeep.
Along with the others, Belkas finishes breakfast, packs up, and starts the long hike back to Waterdeep. He talks to the shepherd about his life, and as the day progresses and the sun gets hotter, he softly chants an old childhood rhyme to himself,
"We are walking, walking, walking, and it's sweet in this heat.
To the rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, of the beat of our feet.
And I wonder what they wonder, and I wonder what they know.
And I wonder what they'll wonder when we go, when we go.
And I wonder what they'll wonder when we go."
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he says, "And I wonder if we could afford horses if we're going to be traveling long distances often."
Shalvus engages with Belkas in conversation as they walk. Elion, who has clearly become close with the shepherd, follows alongside.
"Not much to tell, I hail from a small Turmish village on the south side of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Son of a shepherd, so at least it means I can always find work," he chuckles.
"When I became a young man, I grew bored with village life, so I bid my ma and pa farewell and made my way across the Dragon coast, working a few flocks over a seasons, until I made it to the coast. Ended up in Daggerford, where I still got friends. Heard that there was always work for shepherds up in Goldenfields, so this year I made my way up there to check it out. Them monsters got me rattled, though. Life was good in that big farm town, but I don't want any more trouble like that. Hill giants and ogres and them big goblins... that's more than I bargained for, so I'm heading back to Daggerford. I'll be able to find work there, and hopefully it'll be safer there."
Elion moves to walk alongside Siobhan. After a few minutes, he speaks.
"Yesterday you said that you can take different shapes. Can you truly change into any animal you wish, like my father told me that druids were capable of doing?"
"Not any animal," Siobhan explains. "I need to know something about the shape I am taking. Creatures native to my home forest are easiest. My favorite is that of the dire wolf for combat and a squirrel for scouting." For a moment she pauses, flushing a darker green and confesses, "I still can't do anything with wings properly. The last time I tried, all I could manage was a crow and couldn't even perch on a tree branch. I fell hard enough to revert and the were-ravens I met laughed at my clumsiness."
Shaking off that embarrassing memory, Siobhan pauses a moment and smiles before picking up her pace. "Though apparently there is one animal this pack is lacking."
One step, Two steps. On the third, the sound changes from the thump of marching feet to the clop-clop of hooves. Where once a firbolg woman walked is a sturdy draft horse with a shaggy brown coat. The horse trots on, with a bit of a prancing step to impress Elion.
Siobhan observes her companions, looking to see if any could truly use the respite of a short ride.
Elion laughs when he sees Siobhan do her prancing trot in horse form. "You talk of dangerous dire wolves and small, stealthy squirrels, and then surprise us by taking the shape of a horse! Why did you not do this yesterday afternoon, when my feet were tired after hours of plodding along the road away from Goldenfields?"
"I could surely use a rest from walking, that is, if no one else wants to ride. Surely Vernon might rejoice in the idea of being a passenger upon your back, since he takes twice as many steps to get to the same place as the rest of us!"
"At any rate, I, for one, am impressed. Flame arrows and fire balls are one thing, but being able to take the form of another creature... now that is magic indeed. If only I could tell my father of what I have seen today... that is if he were not too arrogant to grace me with a minute of his precious attention."
"That is impressive. If we could all learn to change shape, travel would be much easier, although I think I might miss the stories and songs. Go ahead Elion and rest your legs for a while, I can a walk a while longer."
Vernon watches. intrigued. "I had better walk for now. There's something about this resonating with my magical reserves, and I need a good view to better understand it." He starts clapping with about every 20th hoof clop and muttering "Cornwallin?" after each, beginning to cast Find Steed. (Going for Warhorse, Celestial type. This will take 10 minutes to cast.)
Once Siobhan realizes what Vernon is doing, she takes care to keep with the beat and stomps just a little harder on the 20 count.
The synchronized clomping and chanting continues between Vernon and Siobhan, and then after ten minutes, a flash of light ensues in front of Vernon, and instantly a horse appears before him. With black spots on its brilliant, white coat, and a slightly smaller, but impressively agile body than most full size warhorses, this steed is recognizable to both Vernon and Arisa as one of the Dambraii, which are highly sought after horses from the nation of Dambrath in the Shining South. The most prized of all horse breeds in all of Faerûn, the Dambraii are known for their exceptional speed, reliability in combat tough disposition and ease of training.
Bred for Dambrath's cavalry, the Dambraii are widely known to those who have knowledge about warfare to keep their riders astride until death. Purebred specimens of these horses are generally only to be found within the nation's borders, and any Dambraii that were encountered outside Dambrath, while comparable with any other light warhorse, is thought not of the same quality of stock.
Of course, this magnificent steed that appears before Vernon is of Celestial origin, so it has a very faint sheen to its shining white coat, and it even has an extended pair of looped leather straps that are designed to make it easier for a smaller creature, such as a gnome, to be able to quickly and efficiently mount the horse.
Standing in front of Vernon with an proud and elegant air about him, the horse looks at Vernon, clearly awaiting his first command.