Rel secretly wants to visit the gnomes first of course.

Because of Roywyn.  Maybe she is there?

But part of her is afraid to go.  To find out her friend is dead.  So she nods quietly to the plan of going to warn the dwarves.  She briefly ducks into the Lionshield Coster and buys a quarterstaff, feeling a bit surreal as she pays 2 silver pieces for it.  She looks at the shields and armor, having a brief premonition that she will need those as well, despite being a sorcerer.  For now.  And she doesn't have enough yet anyway for the shields or armor.  But she does pay for the quarterstaff.  Her dull black earrings seem to drink the light from the sunset.

My own money... she muses.

She thinks about everything that has happened during the day.  So much and yet no fighting.  She thinks about Khessa Cabbagefield's negotiation and hopes for the manticore.  About Jasper Mooncrest and Falver Wildheart's resourcefulness.  About Echo Thornhill's daring climb.  Tentatively, she asks Falver Wildheart (since she assumes he knows) how much a room at the Stonehill Inn costs for a night.

To Echo:   
“Thank you Echo. I hope they have what we need.”

To everyone:   
“Thank you for the meal. But I will be off to the Shrine for the night. I will meet up with you all here in the morning. Good evening.”

Jasper stands up and as he walks out of the inn, he sets three silver pieces on the bar. He walks across the town square to the Shrine and proceeds to do his nightly ritual of prayer and meditation. Within the first few minutes of prayer Jasper suddenly feels a calming light surrounding him. He opens his eyes and the area around him is dimly illuminated. And just as sudden as it appears, it fades away. He senses a voice saying, There is sanctuary in the twilight…

Jasper finds a spot to lay down and meditate. 

During a moment in the night, those who sleep lightly hear a great rush of air.  The slow sweep of vast, shadowy wings shaking the stones of Phandalin with subsonic force.  The guttural quork of an unearthly Raven, larger than a dragon in flight.  Dead black like Rel Serafin's earrings, still on her ears as she lies in her bed at the Stonehill Inn.  The darkness seeming, for an instant, to drink the light from the moon and stars before it is gone once more and the stillness of the mountains returns.

Rel shifts in her sleep, unaccustomed sheets entangled and restraining her body.  Her nightmare is over.  And just beginning.

Jasper is startled out of his meditation by the sudden winds gusting through Phandalin. Opening his eyes to the sky to see an unnatural darkness fill the night as a shadow streaks overhead. Jasper holds his amulet and keeps a watchful eye in the night. Two hours before sunrise he feels at ease during the approaching twilight and resumes his rest and meditation. 

Khessa, as usual, fell asleep with the shutters of the windows ajar, as she is afraid of complete darkness. Her (already not so low) self-confidence was greatly enhanced by the recent success, so she fell asleep peacefully and fell into a deep sleep and, for once, no nightmares of drow, kidnappings and merciless deaths. As a result, she does not notice the unearthly Raven 'visit'.

In the morning, she gets up early and leaves the inn for her physical exercise routines. For these she does not wait for Echo, because she is probably less fit and would not be able to endure an excessively intense workout. With her, a tailor-made training begins as soon as she arrives.

Once the physical exercises are complete, the blonde warrior loosens her muscles by trying the twelve basic attacks with the greatsword. For Echo she has prepared a rudimentary wooden Greatsword, similar in shape to a real one; the weight will be a little different, but at least the pupil will not risk getting hurt in case of wrong movements. Khessa shows Echo her twelve attacking poses and moves, along with the corresponding blocks, performing them with her, in front of her, so that she can see her well. She repeats them for a long time, at first slowly, to let her assimilate the movement, then, when the movement is correct, more quickly. Finally, Khessa fetches a wooden greatsword for herself also and tries a fake fight with Echo, to assess what has been effectively learned... and what will need to be refreshed in the next days.

After that, the tall fighter tries once again to make sense of the magic notes she stole from the drow wizard before her escape... In this, she hopes that Echo can make the difference from previous (unsuccessful) attempts, so she asks her: "Well, now if you are tired a little, rest a moment... but after that I would really like to study how you can cast spells... take a good look at the gestures you make, what is the exact pronunciation of the syllables of the magic formulas you use... Would you show me? You don't have to actually cast the spell, really use magical energy... or whatever you use. I just need to look at the process. I hope, comparing what you actually do with the notes I have here, I'll finally be able to make sense of them".

Echo spends some time in the inn chatting with some of the townsfolk still up, recounting their encounter with the beast. But as the moon rose to its highest point, she says her 'goodnights', puts down enough coins and a bit more for everyone's rooms, those that do stay here, and headed to her room as well. Echo's sleep was usually light and she woke easily, but on this particular night, she fell into a restful deep slumber.

(ooc: quick thing DM how much are the rooms altogether?)

In the morning, it probably took some effort for Khessa to wake Echo up, but slowly, life does come back to her. During their first practice session, Khessa will notice that Echo can barely lift the greatsword off the ground long enough for a full swing but is trying very hard. Despite Echo's fit physique, she's not really built for too much heavylifting. "Oof," she places the sword against a rack and crumples unceremoniously, "and you do this every day!" She's having fun, though! She's never done this before.

On Khessa's request, Echo nods enthusiastically, "I got some stuff that I can do whenever! Watch.. this!" As she pauses, she holds out one of her hands. Shadowy matter travels from her arms, past her wrist, fades- then fuses back together more solidly on her fingertips. The energy almost seems to crackle. (She holds a shocking grasp). "This one's more for hurting things though, if you wanna know about the kind of magic Rel used, I don't think I can do it."

After the physical training, Echo tries to share with Khessa how she uses her magic but it was mostly very specific things like: "You gotta really think it- and your shadows will respond!" and "Y'know, maybe if you try standing under the shade, it'll help you concentrate-" and finally, something a little more concrete and relatable (maybe): "Oh, I got it! Do you have a favourite hat? When I have my hat with me," Echo pats her sunhat, simple straw but adorned with a bow made of fine dark blue silk ribbon, "it's a lot easier to do magic! Wizards have big hats right? Oh wait- Rel doesn't have a hat huh... let's ask her a bit later."

(A bed costs 5 sp for a night! So it would be 2 gold, 5 sp for everyone.)

Quote from Sam1am96 >>

To Echo:   
“Thank you Echo. I hope they have what we need.”

To everyone:   
“Thank you for the meal. But I will be off to the Shrine for the night. I will meet up with you all here in the morning. Good evening.”

Jasper stands up and as he walks out of the inn, he sets three silver pieces on the bar. He walks across the town square to the Shrine and proceeds to do his nightly ritual of prayer and meditation. Within the first few minutes of prayer Jasper suddenly feels a calming light surrounding him. He opens his eyes and the area around him is dimly illuminated. And just as sudden as it appears, it fades away. He senses a voice saying, There is sanctuary in the twilight…

Jasper finds a spot to lay down and meditate. 

Phandalin’s only temple is a shrine made of stones taken from the nearby ruins. It is dedicated to Tymora (goddess of luck and good fortune). At the moment, it is untended, and there aren't any other worshipers around.

In the early hours of the morning, Jasper opens his eyes to the sounds of clattering wood. He can see in the distance Khessa and Echo training with swords. He thinks back in his past of the grueling sword training all the males of his people had to endure. As much as he hated it, he would prefer a good elven scimitar over the mace and spear he took from the temple. They have served their purpose well though. After morning prayer, Jasper heads to the inn. 

"Oh, don't worry Echo!" Khessa pats her on the shoulder "It's just because I do it every day, that it comes easier to me! With practice, it will become easier for you also!"

As soon as parts are inverted and it is Echo that is teaching her, it's Khessa's turn to be out of her comfort zone. All that emphasis on shadow... On the other hand, the drow wizard came from the Underdark, a place of darkness... Maybe magic is connected with that? But the drow wizard's note placed no special emphasis on darkness. They were more centered on the concept of... weave... But that's what Khessa always failed to understand. What had a weave to do with magic? She wanted to study the art of magic, not the art of weaving!

Seeing Echo casting Shocking Grasp changes it all. That's one of the spells the drow mage also knew! Keeping studying words and gestures of her friend, Khessa finally succeeds in summoning the cracking energy! From that point on, carried away by enthusiasm, the tall adventurer tries some variations, based on other cantrips she remembers the drow mage used. With more practice and more confidence in magical gestures and proper pronunciation, she learns also to summon light (a true blessing, for those who, like her, are afraid of darkness!) and to shot fire. After that, the arcane notes begin to be more understandable. Some concepts remain mysterious, but at least Khessa is finally able to reproduce the gestures described and, with some attempts, to find the correct pronunciation of different formulas.

"Oh, thank you Echo!" she embraces her with joy "You don't know how invaluable your help has been! I managed to understand something! To understand enough to cast some spells too! Now, I only have to write this down in a form that's comprensible to me..."

...But, as the blonde warrior-mage tries to buy a grimoire, a proper spellbook, she discovers why so many wizards are obsessed with the sizing of gold and power: such a book would cost a lot! Not less than her armor! She can not possibly afford that, at least for now.

'Oh, well,' she thinks to herself 'that darn drow wizard had lost his spellbook and was counting on his notes to study his spells. A temporary measure, for sure. But a measure that, temporarily, I also could try. Especially if I have no other option...'

So, she uses common ink and common parchment, that she already had (also buying some more parchment in case of future needs), and improvises her first grimoire... 

'I guess any true wizard would be ashamed of a spellbook like this...' thinks Khessa, once she's finished 'But I'm not a true wizard after all. I am a folk-hero-wizard. So, it should be right I have a folk-spellbook for now!'

With that, she is finally ready for the challenges ahead! She awaits for all her companions to come out of the inn as well and gather for the next mission.

Jasper approaches Khessa and Echo. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

Quote from Sam1am96 >>

Jasper approaches Khessa and Echo. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

"Yes Jasper!" smiles brightly a very good-mooded Khessa "Plus, thanks to Echo here, I had a wonderful start of day! Now I show you! What's your favorite color?"

Jasper smiles as he lifts up his shied showing the pale blue crescent symbol on it. Strange to think. He can’t remember the last time he smiled. 

As Khessa cast her first spell, Echo claps her shoulders enthusiastically, practically jumping, and says: "That's it! Looks a little different but definitely the same type of thing!"

As Jasper approaches, Echo waves a little and chirps: "G'morning! Khessa's been learning magic!" She does a little jazz hand to present the new Khessa! Who probably still looks the same. And she pokes her head over the blonde woman's shoulders to see what she's showing Jasper.

Khessa notices that Jasper really has a nice smile! Curious; she can’t remember the last time he smiled. Especially when Echo was around! Thank goodness the elf abandoned his initial distrust...

The tall warrior-mage reaches for something with her hand under her chainmail; she extracts the moonstone that Jasper had given her the day before.
Holding it in her hand, she utters a short formula... and her gem begins to glow with a pale blue light, the same color as the crescent symbol on the cleric's shield!

"Do you see?!" is so excited the blonde adventurer "It's as Echo just told you: I can finally do magic! Even in case of battle, of course, you know? I've got finally some decent ranged attack capabilities!" and promptly she casts anotehr spell, outstretching her hand high towards the sky and releasing a mote of fire, as if it was part of a fireworks show "Still plenty to learn, that's for sure," she admits "but... well, at least, from now on, I should have more ways than before of making myself useful!"

To Khessa:   
“That is quite amazing!” Jasper exclaimed. “It could take years to learn how to do that. You must have fey in your blood. Maybe distant ancestor?”

To Echo:   
“How did you do with your training?

To both:   
“Did you both see the sky last night? Strange thing happened. A shadow seemed to take the night and sweep across the sky.”

Quote from Sam1am96 >>

To Khessa:   
“That is quite amazing!” Jasper exclaimed. “It could take years to learn how to do that. You must have fey in your blood. Maybe distant ancestor?”...

 

"You are very kind, Jasper" Khessa comes nearer, still smiling, while her bright blue eyes seem to be examining the elf with interest, as if seeing him for the first time... or perhaps with new eyes. "I do not know of fey ancestors... but my family farmed cabbages for generations and was very good at that! I have no idea if some unknown fey ancestor might be to thank for this! But what I know for sure is that my mother, Eshta Finegarten, was quite smart, really quick at learning new things. Maybe I have inherited this trait from her. I have an anecdote about what I inherited..." the arcane warrior gets lost for a few moments in her own memories "...I'll tell you, one day, if you like. But, back to the present and to my quick learning, the most important thing is" she nods to Echo "I had the right trainer! You know, I had already tried long and hard alone, before, but always failed. Getting to study Echo while she was doing the things properly has been the decisive advantage".

Quote from Sam1am96 >>

 

...To both:   
“Did you both see the sky last night? Strange thing happened. A shadow seemed to take the night and sweep across the sky.”

"A... shadow, you say?" looks puzzled Khessa "I did not see anything... You know, I was so exicted for all that we had just been able to accomplish, that I slept really well. I woke up early in the morning, but not during the night. I hope" she begins to worry a bit "this is not yet another threat... Neither Phandalin nor us need it at the moment".

To Khessa:   
“It was very quick and unnerving. But nothing more for most of the night before I went to rest. I think we are okay...”

"I hope so then" Khessa resumes her smile. "Anyway" puts an arm around the elf's shoulders "good you were on watch. Should it have been a worse threat, you would have been able to alert us".

“I’m good with the night. Peaceful and quiet. I’ll be comfortable keeping watch for half the night when needed.”