Wilberforce tries to understand what happened with the wagon. But this isn't like tracking prey, it's more like a puzzle and he has never been any good at those. He turns at the sound of a younger Kender approaching. She calls out a challenge to him, inwardly Wilberforce smiles in approval as Kender should be assertive. He releases the horse form and returns to the Kender that nature intended. He holds out his hands and says "No need to worry about me lass. I'm just old Wilberforce out of Kalaman. I was travelling to Vogler when I found these unfortunates. Look around, these ashes aren't fresh. The perpetrators are probably a few hours from here by now"

Persuasion 10

For a moment Ori stands, Hoopak still at the ready. She takes a cautious look around, and sees that this... shapechanger is correct. It does not look like anything here is fresh. 

She starts to lower her weapon, the hum of the strings stops. As she starts to walk forward there is a nagging at the back of her brain. "Wilberforce? Did he say...?" she thinks to herself. As she walks close enough to see his face, a memory of long ago springs into her mind. 

"Wilberforce!" She yells and runs to embrace the older man. "I can't believe it's you! How long has it been? I'm Orisatra, Ori, do you remember me?"

Wilberforce is completely taken back by this sudden change in events. He is then nearly knocked onto his back by the rushing Kender. He accepts the embrace and pats the younger Kender as he desperately tries to match the name and face in his memory. 

History 19

Wilberforce can barely remember anything at the best of times these days, the quick glance and rushed name are just not enough for him to bridge the years. He decides that diplomatic honesty is always the best policy in these situations. He holds the hands of the younger Kender, puts on his best smile and gently says "Ah very nice to meet you again lass. I'm afraid this old mind doesn't work as well as it used to. Can you remind me where we know each other from?"

Ori stays with her arms wrapped around the older man for just a minute more. When she releases him she looks at him and explains "I was a child in Aurbos... many years ago. I accidently transported myself to the feywilds for who knows how long in our years." she pauses for a moment, and looks down at our hands clasped together "When I got back... everyone... the whole village was gone.... and now Ispin too..." She trails off as tears begin to well up in her eyes.

If Wilberforce was surprised before that is nothing compared to the shock he is feeling now. He looks at the younger Kender before him, but his mind races back across the decades. He remembers that awful night when Aurbos was destroyed forever. How he was the only survivor, only to spend years under the slavers' lash. He remembers trying to save the young ones, but he was weak and had none of his wild druidic powers. He pushes his mind back further, to a time when Aurbos was alive with Kender. He remembers little Ori dancing with the other children, always first with a tune and a song. He then remembers that earlier, if less apocalyptic, tragedy when Ori disappeared. Wanderlust affects every Kender, but she was still far too young to be off on her own. The whole village turned out and the adults, including Wilberforce, spent months searching for Ori to no avail. 

Wilberforce looks at this proud Kender before him and suddenly he sees the child he once knew. 

Now tears of joy come to Wilberforce. He has spent decades, longer than this Kender appears old, thinking that all of Aurbos had been lost. 

He struggles to put his feelings into words, and completely fails. All he manages to say is “Ori, little Ori. They are all gone, everyone but me and now you. How did you get here? Where have you been?” Before she can answer he returns her hug a hundred fold and just says “It's a miracle. I’ve never been this happy.” Between sobs he asks one last question “How do you know about Ispin”

As the kender are having a tearful reunion, Daryan is busy looking for trouble aboard the boat to Vogler. There are a few other passengers; asking around, he finds one willing to play: a gnome of uncertain gender sitting with a large toolbox, playing around with some kind of wench-loaded spring mechanism. When Daryan asks him, her, or them for a game of cards, the gnome is happy to enough put down their work and take some sets of playing cards from their pocket.

"Name's Than," they say, "inventing's my passion, and do I have an invention for you! A deck-building game where you play as a Mage of High Sorcery! There are three colors the cards come in, you see, Red, White and Black. You can mix and match, but I recommend you start with a pre-built mono-color deck," they say, offering a choice from three decks. "The rules are simple, let me demonstrate..." The gnome proceeds to demonstrate some very complicated rules about when cards are played, how their power is calculated, and what the winning and losing conditions are. "Interested in trying?"

Daryan, if you're interested in giving it a shot, give me an Intelligence (Playing Cards) tool check to see how well you manage to grok the rules, and whether you manage to beat the inventor at their own game.

(How dare you make me cry the first day of this campaign?! hahahaha)

Ori holds him for a moment. Her own tears of sorrow turning to tears of joy for having stumbled upon this old friend. 

After a moment she takes a step back. Catching her breath and wiping her eyes she begins to tell Wilberforce the story of her time in the wilds "I remember going into the forest to play one day. I was humming a tune and taking in the beauty of the light through the tree branches. The next thing I knew, I was in a clearing in the trees. Sitting in the center of the small clearing, with the sun shining down almost like a spotlight, was the fairy circle. Although I didn't know that was what it was at the time. I thought it just looked like a ring of mushrooms. I remember thinking to myself that that seemed strange, I had never seen mushrooms grow that way before. And they were so colorful! I walked up to take a closer look and must have accidently put both feet inside the circle. One moment I was crouched down looking at mushrooms, and the next, I was standing up in the feywilds! At first I was terrified, I tried to find a way back, but I couldn't. I decided to make the best of it, and started off through the wilds. Over time I made many friends with fairy dragons and sprites. They taught me their language and customs, and I came to love it there. It is a magical place, and there was always something new or different to look at or explore. You wouldn't BELIEVE the colors there, it is like nothing you have ever seen! 

And then, like I had so long ago, I was sent back. I laid down to go to sleep one night, and when I woke up, I was back here. People say time moves differently in the feywild, and I guess that was true. It took me a while to find my way back to Aurbos, and when I finally did there was nothing left. Except for Ispin. He never told me what happened or why he was there, but he took me in - he was like a second father to me. For a while we adventured together - he introduced me to guilds and friends. He taught me how to pick a pocket and tip a bar keep. And one day we went our separate ways. I guess I never imagined that he might actually die.... He always seemed invincible to me, the way all dads do. When I got this letter I knew I had to drop everything and make the trip to see him one last time. To thank him for everything that he did for me... 

I am so glad you're here Wilberforce." 

Not being one to back down from a challange, the white-haired half-elf makes himself comfortable across from the gnome. "Good to meet you Than, of course I will give your invention a try. You'll have to forgive me, I'm more used to conventional card games but as a friendly game to pass time I would be glad to have your company." He says with a polite smile and follows the inventor's instructions to the best of his ability, giving winning the game a shot but not investing himself in it particularly much.

Playing Cards based on Int: 10

Daryan takes a deck at random, happening to take the red one. It is themed around natural beasts, of varying powers: from the humble 1/1 badger to the mighty red dragon. Than first tries the white deck, featuring brave knights and restorative rituals. It is easily beaten. Than then tries the black deck, full of skeletons and other dark metaphors for evil. Again, Daryan bests them. "Maybe the cards still need some balancing between the colors," Than admits. Than then makes a special deck, drawing from all three colors, and tries again: this time it is a close match, but Daryan pulls off the win. Than grins. "Nice having a match with someone with brains for once!", they say happily, putting their cards away as the ship reaches Vogler harbor.

Calitynia is happy to speak with all the squires and deckhands aboard the Conveyance about whatever rumors that might have. She realizes she has little of interest to share herself - all she's ever heard about is idle gossip of which Knight might retire or where someone might be assigned.  But this was interesting, although it seemed everything happening was in the east. She would like to know more about where this elven fleet might be going. And where would the kender go if fleeing their own lands?  She tries to press for more information - or at least get speculations from the more seasoned sailors - while biding her time to get to Vogler. (Persuasion Check: 12)

Otherwise, she spends her times enjoying whatever sights there are to be seen along the river.  And doing her regular exercises to keep limber and well-practiced with her glaive. 

Shagrin scans the shadows just beyond the reach of the fires light. He listens intently for the snap of twigs and the russel of leaves. 

"Oh, thank you Than but it was mostly luck I'm sure. Interesting game you have created my friend, do you have a name for it yet?" The white-haired half-elf asks politely as the game finishes up. "Are you going to Vogler as well or do you have another destination your journey? And may I also ask, have you traveled the roads recently? I've heard there are rumors of black-cloaked persons skulking around." Daryan asks, as he leans back a bit after the game.

Persuasion if relevant: 15

(How long was the trip over to Vogler by sea?)

Wilberforce looks at Ori in complete amazement, the fact that he is standing in a murder scene and the mysterious tracks are now completely forgotten. He looks Ori up and down and says “I always knew you were special lass, but the feywilds. What an adventure you have had. I’m sure that you’ll become the most famous Kender in history, apart from Trapsringer of course.” He takes a steadying breath, unsure how many more surprises his old body can take in 5 minutes. Finally more composed he says “Well it seems like I owed Ispin more than I knew. I recall him mentioning a daughter a few times, but I always assumed it was his blood. He never pressed me on my background or other Kender. I haven’t spoken about Aurbos since that night. I knew there were no survivors you see because they made me bury them, every last one.” He then straightens himself up and says with a smile “What must you think of me lass with all this blubbering and forgetting my manners. We haven’t done the Kender greeting ritual yet. It has been a while, but I’m sure that I remember the basics.”

Calitynia gets speculations from one sailor that the elves are sailing west, to their secret homeland across the sea. Another contradicts this, saying that the ships were seen heading southbound. Overall, not many solid facts on that.

About the kender, Calitynia hears some less than kind statements, stuff like "they're like roaches, when their nest is disturbed they'll scurry to the nearest city, whether they're wanted or not".

Than thinks as the ship docks, "Black-cloaked persons? Yeah, I've stayed off the roads but I've overheard Becky talking about them, all concerned-like. Lizardfolk raiders sneaked into the forest south of Vogler, sounds like, they've been spooking travelers and horses but no violence last I heard. Anyway, I am indeed stopping in Vogler! Mind helping me carry that box of gears and gizmos to the castle? I can show you around the castle, and around town if you're not familiar." They then get excited at another thought. "Oh! And I can show you my greatest invention yet! You'll love it!"

Ori blushes ever so slightly and looks down sheepishly at such high praise. "I am sorry that you had to go through what you did. I wish I could have been there to help. Although I am not certain how much help I would have been."  At the mention of the greeting ritual Ori perks up slightly, and slowly walks through/remind Wilberforce of the steps. Once that is completed, with a smile on her face, Ori remembers where we are standing and takes a look around the devastated clearing. 

"What happened here? And who did this...?" She asks solemnly. 

(16 Perception - is there anything in particular Ori might see that gives some indication of who did this or what happened to the caravan?) 

"A castle? In Vogler? Now I'm intrigued Than, of course I will help you carry your...things up there." Daryan says with a curious smile. Quickly getting his gear and helping Than carry as much as he can as the move ashore, the white-haired half-elf makes a mental note of reporting to the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth soon again. "I'm looking forward to see your greatest invention Than. Is the castle yours then or are you simply allowed to use it as a workshop and laboratory?" He asks with a friendly smile as they leave the ship, giving a wave to it's captain after a safe journey up the river.

Calitynia puzzles over the conflicting information, but does not really dwell on it much.  The unkind sentiments about the kender didn't sit well with her.  The few she'd met seemed quite pleasant folk. Although she had heard they had little respect for the laws of the land. That was something she wouldn't put up with. 

By that point she decided it better to drop such subjects. She stuck to talking about what sights there might be along the river or in Vogler especially. She presumed some of these folks had traveled there many times. 

Ori takes a look at the scene around her and Wilberforce. She sees, of course, the burnt-out covered wagon. It looks like there were crates and provisions being transported; digging around in the remains of the crates reveals what is left of fire-consumed leather armor and slag iron that might have once been weaponry. The dead were humans; their metal armor torn through as if by claws. A few of the guards' spears were left unbroken if you would like to take some to defend yourself, or as evidence of what happened here.

"Well, less of a castle and more of a keep," Than admits. "Beautiful example of pre-Cataclysm engineering. Becky keeps it in order, and gives me space to work on my inventions. Oh, don't call her Becky when you meet her though, she hates that! So what brings you to this quiet little fishing village anyway, friend?", the gnome says as they lead the way through Vogler's streets.

Calitynia learns that Vogler is a fishing village about 25 miles from Kalaman, the nearest real city. It was built around an ancient Solamnic keep. She also learns a bit about the festival planned for the day after the funeral: the Kingfisher Festival is a time of merriment and reflection, full of fishing contests and eating of pies and even a battle reenactment. It started in commemoration of a local battle, according to the deckhand who says he's from Vogler. The deckhand also recommends where to stay in the village (the Brass Crab inn) and where to find a good time (The Fishbowl, a tavern).

The ship is now scheduled to arrive in Vogler in maybe a day or two, just in time for the funeral of Ispin.

Wilberforce looks over at Ori examining the wagon. He is calmer now. It’s been years since he performed the Kender ritual, but it seems to have gone OK and he doesn’t think that Ori noticed his occasional lapse. He gently strokes the Oak Tree carved into the pommel of his scimitar and a stray thought comes to his mind “The voice said that I wasn’t the last, that’s how I knew it was just a dream”. Wilberforce shakes his head, decides it’s time to be useful and announces “Lets see if there are any witnesses left”. He casts

Speak with Animals

He then looks for any animals who may have seen something useful and asks them to describe what killed the humans and burnt the wagon

Survival 18