Oloven is quieter than he's been so far this trip, and with Nikita on his horse he's no longer able to take point. But he remains vigilant all the same, without his running commentary of rare bird sightings. 

9

(Woof. But my passive is 16 so hopefully that makes up for that garbage roll to a certain extent. Or maybe it's in character.) 

As Ace tears away into the trees, Tor starts. "What in the..." He pulls his horse around to follow, but the half elf had put in his spurs and was very shortly so far gone that it was pointless to follow. "Blast. If he doesn't turn up to Leilon safely the council will have my head."

Still, there was nothing to be done about it now, and there were others to safeguard.

"What in the Hells was that about?" 

As the journey continues Tor will keep his eyes on the road and his ears listening for the return of Ace.

Perception: 8

As the cart ambles along the road, Siegfried explores conversation with Tyrel and Oloven.  "What is it that has drawn the two of you to start over again in Leilon?"

Perception for the road:  18

Oloven's attention is pulled back to the present by Siegfried's question. He realizes with some embarrassment he had been absolutely tuned out for the last several minutes, completely abdicating his duties as a watchman. He rubs at his temple and says in the soft tone of someone whose mind had just been very far away

"Well... Brother Sigi, uh. I never really WAS drawn to Leilon myself. It was my sister, Dylan. she's the new school teacher up that way. Her and her kids had been living in Neverwinter these past five years since her husband passed and they had to sell the family farm to cover his debts. Money was tight for 'em, as you can imagine. Dylan paid the bills tutorin' noble children in readin' and writin' but with rent bein' what it is in the city, they never had much to spare at the end of the month. Of course, I liked it cuz they were close by to my monastery and I could visit just about whenever I wanted. But with the older ones gettin' of an age where Dylan needed to be thinkin' about their future, she needed a better way to afford things like apprenticeships and higher education and the like. So, when Lord Neverember started offerin' folk incentives to move to Leilon, she jumped. 

But with Leilon having the unsavory reputation it has as a border town on the High Road, I just didn't feel right lettin' em go all on their own, so I offered my well... Laiciziation to the order. And... I suppose I'd miss 'em too much if they were miles and miles away, no denyin' that. And maybe I was ready for a change too after more'n twenty years in service to Helm the Watcher...

The considerations that went into my joinin' of the Brotherhood of the Vigilant as a young man were as much economic as they were clerical, ya see. At the time, it was my family's only real way of makin' sure I'd be provided for as I grew up. Dylan and I are the youngest of seven so there wasn't a lot to spare by the time it was my turn. I wanted to join the navy, actually! But my daddy said I'd end up dead of featherlung or scurvy or a harpoon through the gut in a year and he was probably right. So, it was the monastery for me. 

The other Skabor siblings ain't around anymore. They're all either livin' far, far away or enjoyin' their eternal reward. Dylan and I are all we got. And the kids, of course... So. I go where they go. Simple as that." 

Siegrief nods along as Oloven tells his story.  "Yes... family.  Chauntea would be pleased with your motivations.  The farms that cover this land... the vineyards, the mills, the dairies... family is the backbone.  Whether it is the mother who teachers her daughters to tend to livestock, or the sibling who teaches their younger brothers and sisters to break the ground and plant the seed, none of what civilization has accomplished would be possible without the timeless bond of strong families."  He smiles as he steers Barley down the road.  "Your dedication to them is a credit to you."

Even though Ace is not there, I will still roll perception: 9

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. The rain eventually clears up, though the air remains cool. 

The next waypoint used to be a building of some sort. Now only short walls, less than two feet tall still stand. The rest having been taken by locals for building material for their houses.

One corner is full of ash and burn marks from where travelers would often burn a fire. At present it is empty.

Siegfried, Tor, and Oloven notice:

"Thank ya, Brother Sigi, I appreciate your kind words," Oloven says, smiling with a sad look in his eyes. "Ya know, it's funny. The Abbott at Helm's Hold said more or less the same thing when I resigned, but I'm pretty sure he was bein' facetious. It sounds a lot more genuine comin' from you." 

Oloven would be happy to engage Sigi and Tyrel in quiet, polite conversation the rest of the way to the waypoint, listening to their own stories of what put them on the road to Leilon. 

-------------------------------------------------

At the way point, Oloven prepares to tell the group of his suspicions. But before he does, he wants to check on Nikita. He goes to help her dismount, offering her a hand as she steps down from the stirrups. "Told ya, Daisy's a mannerly one! Finest purchase I've ever made! Truth be told, she's one of the ONLY purchases I've ever made. How ya doin, ma'am? I know that's a bit of a loaded question at the moment, but is there anything I can do for ya? I know this is a real hard time right now and having to spend that hard time with a rough bunch'a strange men probably ain't a picnic either, so truly, anything at all I can do to make ya more comfortable, you just ask." 

(Just to back track a little cause i was asleep) 

Tyrel seating himself down from Oloven, giving him a saddened shake of the head. "If i form the connection with someone i can maintain it for up to 7 minutes and a distance of 4 miles but i am not capable yet to send messages across fast distances. it appears that is something i have yet to awaken to." He spoke in a solem tone as if such a capability would have helped him out a great deal in the past. 

20 Perception for on the road. 

Tyrel quietly listened to Oloven asking Nikita if they were alright. not wanting to put more pressure on the poor women he quickly abstained from listening and began unloading. Seeing as they had reached another waypoint it would probably be best to take a moments of rest. 

Tor scans the waypoint site, noting the empty fire pit in one corner. 

"Looks like we're the only ones here this time. That means someone other than me and Mr Skabor will have to take a watch later tonight. Any volunteers?"

"I believe we have enough people here that we could set up 4 watches of 2 hours. That should cover the rest correct?" Tyrel suggested up front. He had spend enough nights in the forge that it would not be a problem for him to stay up for longer periods of time. "I also do not mind taking a watch" 

Tor nods. "If you're up to it. I won't turn down a couple more hours of sleep."

"I'll check the perimeter if someone can get a fire going."

He heads out into the brush to walk a circle around the camp, about 50ft out. He will check for any sign of the usual dangers of travel, but will also look out for Ace, mostly to make sure that he doesn't accidentally come across him. If he spots Ace he will avoid him for now. It's the boy's decision when to rejoin them.

Perception for perimeter check: 8

Tyrel decided to take it up on himself to get a fire going, finding an area that would be sheltered from the rain. attempting to gather some brances and sticks to keep the fire going throughout the rest stop. Hoping that he can help in this way. His arcane prowess would not help him this time around. 

Survival check: 12 

While it takes some work, Tyrel is able to get a fire going in the corner where it's clear many previous fires have gone. It is out of the wind and situated in such a place where the light is mostly hidden from the road and hills.

Nikita sets up leaning against the wall near the fire with her cloak wrapped around her. She responds to Oloven, "I'll survive. You have my thanks, m'lord. You've been most kind. I appreciate the offer, but I can't think of anything I want now that you can give me."

Let me know what the rest of you are doing if anything special, and please give me a perception check for those on watch.

Perception check: 7

Quote from Wizardously >>

Let me know what the rest of you are doing if anything special, and please give me a perception check for those on watch.

For Tor it was only the perimeter check, then sitting with the others to eat some rations by the fire.

Perception for watch: 12

To Tyrel : "Good work on the fire. Impressive in this damp."

Perception: 15

Oloven smiles sadly at Nikita and replies "Alright. Well, you just let me know if anything comes to ya." 

----------

Once the fire is started, supper's cooking and everyone is sitting close by, Oloven would decide it's time to alert the group to his findings. 

"Alright, listen up y'all. I got somethin' to share. It's gonna take a bit to explain so do me a favor and save your questions 'til the end, alright?

I was waitin' to talk with everyone about this until we reached a good stopping point for the day because I didn't want to overload our guest here with too much all at once, and because the fact is there ain't really much we can do about it right at the moment anyway, unless anyone here has a way to send a message to Neverwinter immediately that ain't already been used up.

Here it is. I can't say for absolutely certain just yet, but I've got reason to suspect that today's incident was the result of a botched assassination attempt on the life of our good patron Lord Neverember.

Nikita here told me and Brother Sigi that this all started when her employer Gallina went into the wagon alone to fret over some fancy imported wine bottles from Calimshan, a land I'm sure you all know to have strong cultural ties to the genie. These bottles were meant to be a gift for Lord Neverember from a wealthy ally in Waterdeep. I went and searched the wagon for those fine bottles and came across this." 

Oloven procures the tied handkerchief containing the shards of the Calimshan bottle. He passes to Tor a shard of the bottle's neck bearing a magical symbol. The symbol is partially obscured by melted wax. Oloven also hands Tor his magnifying glass.

"Go on, pass that around so everyone can see, but be careful, these shards are fragile. This vintage was very, VERY old. Note that symbol there, etched into the INSIDE of the bottleneck. It appears that the symbol was damaged by wax melting into the neck of the bottle, you see. But it doesn't seem that wax was melted when the genie attacked. The melting is too precise for that. That wax was melted before. Now, the study of arcane runes ain't my specialty. Perhaps one of you gentlemen would know more than I about what exactly it says. But I suspect it was that rune that was the lock keeping the efreeti we met today inside that bottle."

"Assuming that to be the case, then why that sealing wax was meltin' inside the wagon becomes the next question. Now this is just conjecture, but I know that there is an old trick'a vintners involving the melting of sealing wax with precision instruments so as to siphon off the wine into a second bottle, doublin' your profits. Type'a tricky business a vintner might wish to do in secrecy and solitude while her employees are off eatin' lunch under the trees. If that were the business she was gettin' up to in the wagon today, then it is her duplicitous actions that saved Neverember from a gruesome death, and unfortunately doomed herself and her employees to the same." 

Oloven turns to Nikita and says "Ma'am, forgive me for questioning the honor of your late employer, but it is the best explanation I can find for the evidence at hand." 

"So, to review. A caravan of vintners stops for lunch on the road to Neverwinter from Waterdeep, carrying an expensive gift of Calimshani wine from a wealthy ally of Lord Neverember. Gallina, leader of this band, goes into the wagon alone to 'check' on the gift. The wax sealing this bottle of Calimshani wine is melted, running down the inside of the bottleneck and damaging a rune covertly etched into the inner wall of the bottle. Moments later, an efreeti, a creature rather uncommon to this area of the world, but known to frequent Calimshan, appears, laying waste to the caravan.

Imagine the damage that same efreeti would have done were that bottle to have been unstopped in the palace of Lord Neverember, where it was intended. Not a very subtle poison, but effective. Now, I will concede that it's possible this 'ally' of Lord Neverember simply wasn't aware of what this bottle contained. Perhaps the vendor that they received it from didn't tell them, or maybe the vendor didn't know either. Maybe this bottle's been changin' hands for centuries with none aware of the havoc its opening would wreak. But to that I say this. Just about every street magician summonin' up puppet shows for pennies can cast a spell to detect magic. Hell, if I hand any one'a you this wand I'm carryin' you could do it yourself, even if you ain't got a lick'a magic in your blood. It's one of the first spells anyone who studies magic learns. How likely do you really think it is that this bottle has spent centuries containin' such a powerful, ancient evil inside it and ain't nobody noticed?

So, assuming all my suppositions are correct, the question then becomes, who would want to kill Lord Neverember in such a spectacular fashion? Well... That is hard to say. I checked the wagon for the logbook tellin' who it was who sent this fine gift, but unfortunately it was destroyed in the fire. But Nikita here remembers four names especially who had recently patronized Gallina. A Lord Bartemeus, a Lady Durham, a Lord Tellnin, and a member of the Cassalanter family. I'm rememberin' that right, ain't I Ma'am? I don’t know nothin’ about those folk. But Neverember certainly will, and he’ll be able to look out for the next time they offer him a 'gift.'

Oloven turns to address Nikita especially. He tells her "That's why I recommended you not travel home to Waterdeep, Ma'am. As the sole survivor of this incident, you become a loose end. Right now, Neverember's attempted assassin still thinks his wine shipment is on its way to Neverwinter, but once he hears it didn't make it, he'll want to cover his tracks. If he thinks there were no survivors, then he likely won't suspect he's in any danger. But if he knew you were still around to tell the tale... Well. It's best you stay in Phandalin for a while. And it may be best too that you don't use your own name while you're there.

Of course, none of this is our responsibility to solve. We can still head to Leilon, go about our business. But Lord Neverember needs to know, as soon as possible, ALL that happened here today, so it should be our responsibility to figure out the fastest way to tell 'im. Tor, it's a shame ya didn't wait a few minutes before sendin' that bird along, but it can't be helped. When we get to the next town, we'll send a courier and that'll be fast enough.

So. That's the gist of it. Anybody got questions?" 

Nikita pulls her cloak closer about her. "I suppose all that seems reasonable. I don't know enough about the plots and plans of the high and mighty to know what's likely. But, why would anyone care about me? I'm just another nameless entrant to Waterdeep?"