When they are alone Drexon explains what he means to Lord David.
”I have a bit of a project I am undertaking which you may be able to help with. I am looking into the history of House Daxos, what happened to them and their artifact, and why the masons now have access to their fortune. Perhaps you could use any contacts you have that might have some information to help me? I would be interested in anything you can find”.
"The information about House Daxos is scarce since the family's departure from Mantagard," David admits. He falls quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "The entire family left to Montecarexpat during the War of the Best and presumed dead when they didn't return to Mantagard after the war ended. Their artefact, a crown, if I remember correctly, I believe would be in Montecarexpat somewhere."
"I'm not sure about their wealth being used by the Verdant Masons," he continues. His brow furrows in a frown. "If they are, then it is a legal bequeath from the city based on a will. However, as the Daxos estate still lays in ruin at the Westmoor district, I don't believe the Verdant Mason is controlling the Daxos' wealth. Maybe a portion, but not all of them. I can try to find out more. Might be a good opportunity to reconnect and mend some relationship with the Barony. Where are you going next? I can send a messenger there when I have any more information and if it is needed urgently."
"That may be the best solution," David nods. Before you leave, he imparts a final advice. "I think I am obligated to warn you that the coach will not get you to some locations. They will happily drive you to another city east or west of Mantagard, but north is difficult. You will only prolong the journey if you insist on taking the coach to any city north of here. The area is a rather unnaturally developed swampland. The coach can take you a quarter of the way in, maybe cutting the journey about half a day or so, but then you will have to continue on foot. The wheel becomes easily tangled with the vines and roots. Other than that, sometimes quagmires are rather hard to see given the unnatural way the swampland gets dark despite it being day."
Studying the map, Eremoz pulls out his map from Old Man Jiminy. He compares the two maps. “It would be a boon to us for sure, but we are needed elsewhere right now. We will have to look for it later. Losing Dvark and Karm makes our journey back that much more impossible. The weapon may have helpful secrets to reveal.”
Comparing the two map, you do not see the location of Runestone on the map from Old Man Jiminy. However, the Gorginite forest and the Silverpeak Mountain are marked on the map at roughly the same place as in the map of the maul, about southwest and south of Mantagard.
As Drexon meets back up with Cob and Eremoz, he feeds back to them what Lord David had said.
"It seems heading North will take us through the swamplands, where the carriage will be of limited use. A quarter of the way is all we will get out of it", he reports.
"What about the location of the item in the map Lady Zelena gave us? Any chance it is on the way? I guess we can't delay for any reason now, as we would be cutting it too fine".
"Looks like that's 3 days in the opposite direction. Three there and three back." Cob says. "I think that would mean abandoning the search for the kids."
He gathers his belongings and gets ready to leave.
"A half day sitting, getting some sleep, that doesn't sound too bad," Cob says.
Drexon shakes his head as Cob reveals that going for the relic would mean giving up on the kids.
"We can't give up on the kids now, we've come too far", he says also collecting his things. "We can spend the time in the carriage figuring out what we are going to do without Karm and his big brain", he adds, feeling way out of his depth with everything they need to do to get back to their own time. He really was relying on Karm to keep that side of things ticking over.
"Let's get going then," Cob says. "I've had enough of one group of spoiled rich people saying they're better than another group of spoiled rich people."
He waves goodbye to Dvark.
"I think we'll see him again," Cob says to the others, perhaps more to assure himself than them.
With a goodbye to Dvark and the Clarents, you make your way out of the estate toward the carriage waiting in front of the gate. With what had happened, access into the estate had been regulated with a significant presence of city guards and rangers barring anyone entry until the investigation was complete.
Cob and Eremoz, as both of you pass the pedestal in the middle of the estate's courtyard, where you know a statue used to be, you cannot see the rubble or the debris from the statue you've fought. Not even the tiniest crumbled piece of the statue is in the area.
A carriage is waiting for you at the front of the estate. It is a simple horse-drawn carriage. The coachman, a middle-aged man opens the door and motions you in. "I'm not sure if Lord Clarent already told you, sirs, but I can only take you to the edge of the Umbral Mire," the coachman says. "Afterwards, the road would be too broken to pass through with the carriage."
As the carriage rides forward, you look back toward the estate just in time to see Fenton and his ilks being dragged out of the estate. Drexon and Eremoz, the two of you are the only people to see it from within the carriage, but you notice there is a speck of dark object flying in the air heading toward the gate of the estate. You look at the roofs, but you cannot see where the object came from. As the dark object crests in the air and falls back down again, it rapidly speeds up, strikes Fenton in the head, and embeds itself on the wall behind Fenton. You can just see the silhouette of a black arrow before the guards around the estate rouse up and surround the area more when Fenton staggers backwards and slumps to the ground with a hole in his head. You feel a shiver at the back of your neck. Fenton is not lying when he says he wouldn't live long after his failure.
The carriage rolls onward toward the north without stopping.
{{What would you like to use your rest time for?}}
"Maybe we can find another time that's more hospitable than this one?" Cob suggests as he settles in. "Maybe Pancarona next time."
He closes his eyes and tries to get some rest.
(Long rest if allowed, otherwise a short rest - if just a short rest, he'd spend the rest of the time looking at one of the books he'd picked up - The Star Weird).
“We are aware. The edge of Umbral Mire will be just fine. Thank you.” Settling into his seat, Eremoz watches as they leave the city. Noticing the statue and Fenton’s fate, he remarks, “We haven’t been the best at keeping to ourselves. It would probably make things… easier.”
Eremoz spends the first couple of hours reading his copy of the Jormungandr Syllabary. Afterwards, he tries to make himself comfortable and get some rest.
Drexon watches unsympathetically as Fenton is assassinated during their departure, merely turning to Cob and Eremoz and shrugging.
"Well that was certainly coming. But we are not without information, although it is sparse", he says, before checking to make sure the driver is not able to hear them before he continues.
"Fenton met with a member of the Residuum, I only know his title is Keeper and he was elf, after being introduced by the Grand Mason. It is the Residuum who were behind this, as they seem to be behind most things at the moment".
He settles back and closes his eyes.
"We really do need to figure out how we proceed without Dvark and Karm. We have no healing powers amongst us now, and Karm's ability to retain and process information is something I personally was relying on in figuring out the mystery confronting us".
He appears to be focussing on the practical side of their absence rather than any feelings, and might come across as quite heartless at the loss of their companions.
"Oh, and the Grand Mason suggested we use only coins from this time. He knows we are displaced. He is a powerful one for sure.", he mumbles as he starts to drift off.
Cob drifts off to sleep to the rocking of the carriage. His sleep is filled with dreams of a fiddle playing satyr dancing through an ancient forest. At one point, if the others are awake they would see Cob become surrounded by a silvery mist that seems to rise from Cob himself. Suddenly Cob blinks away and appears again on the other side of the carriage. The teleportation causing him to murmur in his sleep.
When he finally awakens he's sure he can still hear the sound of a fiddle playing. He plays his own fiddle, trying to capture the tune, but he can't quite get there.
After a few hours of sleep, you are woken up by a hard shaking of the carriage. Looking outside the carriage window, you can see the sun is getting low and the sky is darkening. There is probably another hour left before sunset.
"Sorry about that," you hear the coachman yell. "From here on, the road will be very bumpy and wet, but I can maybe drive you a couple more hours further before the road becomes too indistinguishable from a mud pit."
When they are alone Drexon explains what he means to Lord David.
”I have a bit of a project I am undertaking which you may be able to help with. I am looking into the history of House Daxos, what happened to them and their artifact, and why the masons now have access to their fortune. Perhaps you could use any contacts you have that might have some information to help me? I would be interested in anything you can find”.
"The information about House Daxos is scarce since the family's departure from Mantagard," David admits. He falls quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "The entire family left to Montecarexpat during the War of the Best and presumed dead when they didn't return to Mantagard after the war ended. Their artefact, a crown, if I remember correctly, I believe would be in Montecarexpat somewhere."
"I'm not sure about their wealth being used by the Verdant Masons," he continues. His brow furrows in a frown. "If they are, then it is a legal bequeath from the city based on a will. However, as the Daxos estate still lays in ruin at the Westmoor district, I don't believe the Verdant Mason is controlling the Daxos' wealth. Maybe a portion, but not all of them. I can try to find out more. Might be a good opportunity to reconnect and mend some relationship with the Barony. Where are you going next? I can send a messenger there when I have any more information and if it is needed urgently."
“That sounds good, although we will be moving around. Better if I simply come back or send word if that is ok”, Drexon replies.
If Lord David agrees, he heads off to find the others.
“Looks like we’ll have to save retrieval of the maul for the return journey.” Cob says to Eremoz.
"That may be the best solution," David nods. Before you leave, he imparts a final advice. "I think I am obligated to warn you that the coach will not get you to some locations. They will happily drive you to another city east or west of Mantagard, but north is difficult. You will only prolong the journey if you insist on taking the coach to any city north of here. The area is a rather unnaturally developed swampland. The coach can take you a quarter of the way in, maybe cutting the journey about half a day or so, but then you will have to continue on foot. The wheel becomes easily tangled with the vines and roots. Other than that, sometimes quagmires are rather hard to see given the unnatural way the swampland gets dark despite it being day."
Studying the map, Eremoz pulls out his map from Old Man Jiminy. He compares the two maps. “It would be a boon to us for sure, but we are needed elsewhere right now. We will have to look for it later. Losing Dvark and Karm makes our journey back that much more impossible. The weapon may have helpful secrets to reveal.”
Comparing the two map, you do not see the location of Runestone on the map from Old Man Jiminy. However, the Gorginite forest and the Silverpeak Mountain are marked on the map at roughly the same place as in the map of the maul, about southwest and south of Mantagard.
As Drexon meets back up with Cob and Eremoz, he feeds back to them what Lord David had said.
"It seems heading North will take us through the swamplands, where the carriage will be of limited use. A quarter of the way is all we will get out of it", he reports.
"What about the location of the item in the map Lady Zelena gave us? Any chance it is on the way? I guess we can't delay for any reason now, as we would be cutting it too fine".
"Looks like that's 3 days in the opposite direction. Three there and three back." Cob says. "I think that would mean abandoning the search for the kids."
He gathers his belongings and gets ready to leave.
"A half day sitting, getting some sleep, that doesn't sound too bad," Cob says.
Drexon shakes his head as Cob reveals that going for the relic would mean giving up on the kids.
"We can't give up on the kids now, we've come too far", he says also collecting his things. "We can spend the time in the carriage figuring out what we are going to do without Karm and his big brain", he adds, feeling way out of his depth with everything they need to do to get back to their own time. He really was relying on Karm to keep that side of things ticking over.
Eremoz puts his map away. “Let’s rest while we can and head off to find the children. I could use a nap.”
"I think the suggestion is that we can rest in the carriage, if it is taking us on the first part of the journey", Drexon suggests to Eremoz.
"We just need to let Lord David know to bring it around".
"Let's get going then," Cob says. "I've had enough of one group of spoiled rich people saying they're better than another group of spoiled rich people."
He waves goodbye to Dvark.
"I think we'll see him again," Cob says to the others, perhaps more to assure himself than them.
With a goodbye to Dvark and the Clarents, you make your way out of the estate toward the carriage waiting in front of the gate. With what had happened, access into the estate had been regulated with a significant presence of city guards and rangers barring anyone entry until the investigation was complete.
Cob and Eremoz, as both of you pass the pedestal in the middle of the estate's courtyard, where you know a statue used to be, you cannot see the rubble or the debris from the statue you've fought. Not even the tiniest crumbled piece of the statue is in the area.
A carriage is waiting for you at the front of the estate. It is a simple horse-drawn carriage. The coachman, a middle-aged man opens the door and motions you in. "I'm not sure if Lord Clarent already told you, sirs, but I can only take you to the edge of the Umbral Mire," the coachman says. "Afterwards, the road would be too broken to pass through with the carriage."
As the carriage rides forward, you look back toward the estate just in time to see Fenton and his ilks being dragged out of the estate. Drexon and Eremoz, the two of you are the only people to see it from within the carriage, but you notice there is a speck of dark object flying in the air heading toward the gate of the estate. You look at the roofs, but you cannot see where the object came from. As the dark object crests in the air and falls back down again, it rapidly speeds up, strikes Fenton in the head, and embeds itself on the wall behind Fenton. You can just see the silhouette of a black arrow before the guards around the estate rouse up and surround the area more when Fenton staggers backwards and slumps to the ground with a hole in his head. You feel a shiver at the back of your neck. Fenton is not lying when he says he wouldn't live long after his failure.
The carriage rolls onward toward the north without stopping.
{{What would you like to use your rest time for?}}
Cob watches the killing and shakes his head.
"Maybe we can find another time that's more hospitable than this one?" Cob suggests as he settles in. "Maybe Pancarona next time."
He closes his eyes and tries to get some rest.
(Long rest if allowed, otherwise a short rest - if just a short rest, he'd spend the rest of the time looking at one of the books he'd picked up - The Star Weird).
“We are aware. The edge of Umbral Mire will be just fine. Thank you.” Settling into his seat, Eremoz watches as they leave the city. Noticing the statue and Fenton’s fate, he remarks, “We haven’t been the best at keeping to ourselves. It would probably make things… easier.”
Eremoz spends the first couple of hours reading his copy of the Jormungandr Syllabary. Afterwards, he tries to make himself comfortable and get some rest.
Drexon watches unsympathetically as Fenton is assassinated during their departure, merely turning to Cob and Eremoz and shrugging.
"Well that was certainly coming. But we are not without information, although it is sparse", he says, before checking to make sure the driver is not able to hear them before he continues.
"Fenton met with a member of the Residuum, I only know his title is Keeper and he was elf, after being introduced by the Grand Mason. It is the Residuum who were behind this, as they seem to be behind most things at the moment".
He settles back and closes his eyes.
"We really do need to figure out how we proceed without Dvark and Karm. We have no healing powers amongst us now, and Karm's ability to retain and process information is something I personally was relying on in figuring out the mystery confronting us".
He appears to be focussing on the practical side of their absence rather than any feelings, and might come across as quite heartless at the loss of their companions.
"Oh, and the Grand Mason suggested we use only coins from this time. He knows we are displaced. He is a powerful one for sure.", he mumbles as he starts to drift off.
Cob drifts off to sleep to the rocking of the carriage. His sleep is filled with dreams of a fiddle playing satyr dancing through an ancient forest. At one point, if the others are awake they would see Cob become surrounded by a silvery mist that seems to rise from Cob himself. Suddenly Cob blinks away and appears again on the other side of the carriage. The teleportation causing him to murmur in his sleep.
When he finally awakens he's sure he can still hear the sound of a fiddle playing. He plays his own fiddle, trying to capture the tune, but he can't quite get there.
After a few hours of sleep, you are woken up by a hard shaking of the carriage. Looking outside the carriage window, you can see the sun is getting low and the sky is darkening. There is probably another hour left before sunset.
"Sorry about that," you hear the coachman yell. "From here on, the road will be very bumpy and wet, but I can maybe drive you a couple more hours further before the road becomes too indistinguishable from a mud pit."
"No problem", Drexon calls out. "I assume you will be stopping at sun down? Or will you drive the cart back in the dark?".
He looks to Eremoz and Cob, "I guess we haven't got time to just camp until first light, right?".
It has just occurred to him that sleeping through daylight hours meaning travelling at night, or wasting precious time.