The nervous panic begins to abate as Orlan appears to have been convinced by her frankly bad explanation. Sylnora leans back in her chair, relaxing a bit more now. She listens quietly as he makes his request.

"Of course, we're here to help." She says, though she glances around at the others with an uncertain expression. Perhaps it was unwise to speak for all of them. "What's going on in the valley?"

"Like you even need to ask me." Richter says, happy to hear that the old investigator even considered him for this task. He eyeballs the journal Orlan tossed on the table, and if it seems like he won't object, picks it up and begins to leaf through it while waiting for an answer to Syl's question. 

Xarian's nervousness at speaking of his situation and stature in his home village is replaced by barely contained excitement.

A chance to see the world!  Or at least other parts of the Snowsong Valley!

"Romping around the valley sounds all right to me, sir."

"This sounds very similar to a story my dad told me about when he first met you," Techlas exclaims. "The start of a heroic and legendary story, a group of nameless individuals brought together by a greater cause for a mysterious mission. I can already see the poets telling stories of this day!" His absent minded picking of the dulcimer has stopped now as he leans in excited to hear more about this quest. Out of his pocket he pulls a small leather-bound journal and begins to take notes. Any who glance at it see him writing descriptions of his companions, of their meeting, and of their patron.

Orlan says nothing as you lift the journal from the table and begin leafing through it. The first few pages are the most obvious: names, dates of disappearances, approximate locations, and a few other miscellaneous details. The rest is about two dozen pages of dated entries, detailing some investigations and interviews he's conducted in the city on his own.

He smiles as the group voices their acceptance, and continues. 

"There's been an uptick in disappearances in the valley these past few months. Almost always on the road, and seemingly random. Or at least that's what the authorities here in Caelor think. Bandits they say, or disrespect for the harsh weather conditions." His smile fades as he explains the problem.

"But there's just something about them that's bothering me. Like I've seen or heard things that my subconscious has locked onto - some unseen thread connecting them all, and the rest of my brain just hasn't had a chance to catch up yet."

He rests his elbows on the table, leaning in. "Like I said, I'm too old to go romping around the valley. But my mind is as sharp as ever. With you all as my eyes and ears, I feel like we can get to the bottom of this in no time at all." 

"Both bandits and weather mishaps are things we should be able to determine," Krizira replies. "We should hit the road and track down some evidence on a few of these disappearances?"

She looks over at Richter, who had taken the book. "I imagine that has some places we could start looking?"

Richter slides the book over to Krizira to peruse at her leisure.  "Did you have a particular lead for us to track down Orlan?"

"Disappearances meaning no corpses left behind, right?"  Even in a town as small as Acrine, Xarian remembers from his childhood that one or two of his urchin friends had just... vanished one day.  Of course, the town guard never bothered to investigate, the lives of street kids being beneath their notice.  "Was it all individuals traveling alone?"  He glances at Richter and Krizira as they may already know from reading the journal.

"Wait."  he looks back to Orlan.  "What do you mean almost always on the road, sir?  Where were the others?  Here in Caelor?"

"Mysterious disappearances? That could be anything. What if a dragon was eating them? Or a fey was taking them to be jesters in their court?" Techlas exclaims way too excitedly as he begins to brainstorm more and more outlandish reasons for the disappearances. 

Krizira is a bit surprised when Richter slides the book over, but she picks it up and starts to skim through it from the start.  She looks for any locations that might be close to Caelor. (Investigation to skim the book: 17 - in game log) 

Glancing through the first few pages of the book, Krizira finds that none of the disappearances have occurred close to Caelor - perhaps another reason why its authorities are so laissez-faire about it. The vast majority seem to have occurred on the roads much further northeast in the valley, and a few to the northwest. The closest to Caelor would be about seven days out, on a small path between the town Kelna and a small unnamed village.

"No corpses." Orlan confirms. As he answers your questions, he begins to pour himself another glass of wine. "A lot of individuals, the largest group I've heard of was six. And yes, you'll find that every set of disappearances has occurred somewhere on the road or out in the wilderness...Except for the first."

"This will answer both yours and Richter's question. You're absolutely free to start this investigation however you see fit, but if you run out of ideas and need a place to start...Well this would be my recommendation:" He takes a long drink from his wine glass, then continues.

"About six months ago before all of this started an earnest, a woman by the name of Sara Pedieu came to Caelor looking for help. She was from Pendle, which is about as far north and isolated as you can get in this valley. Both of her sons had gone missing, one young man and a small boy. Just up an vanished in the dead of night. I did what I could for her here, but of course none of Caelor's watch cared to actually help her. She returned to Pendle after a few weeks here, and that was that."

"Normally I would say the disappearance of her sons and what is happening now were almost certainly unconnected, were it not for two facts. One: I reached out to her a month ago to ask for more details about her sons, and received a letter in return saying that they had returned, and all was well. The thing is...I spent two weeks with this woman, and her manner in writing was nothing like it was in person. I know when I'm speaking to two different people, that was not her."

"Two: Few know it, but Pendle has been home to some truly twisted individuals and dark deeds in the past. There's more on it starting on the 15th page in that book." He says, pointing to the journal in Krizira's hand. "It was all supposed to have been settled nearly 50 years ago but...Call it detective's intuition. I think you'll find answers in Pendle."

"Sounds like you've already put in quite a bit legwork for us." Richter comments, not surprised, but still impressed nonetheless. "I say if anyone is curious, take a look through that journal before we decide to head out. If something jumps out at you, we can investigate it. Otherwise, we get whatever supplies we may need and head for Pendle."

Krizira quickly flips through the journal to page 15 and starts to read through what's there. She also tries to recall whether Kelna might be along the path to Pendle.  For now she just says, "To Pendle then. If we can just find who sent that letter we'll be in good shape."

At the mention of supplies, Sylnora perks up. "I think I'll need to get some things to help deal with the terrain here. I'm not really used to cold weather like this..."

"After that, Pendle sounds like a fine start to me."

To Xarian, Pendle sounds faraway and exotic.  So had Caelor until now, for that matter.  He nods enthusiastically in acceptance of the mission as he leans over and attempts to look at the journal past Krizira's shoulder about these mysterious dark characters, mumbling the words to himself as he reads.

Perched on Xarian's shoulder, his owl familiar, Ash, rolls her eyes at the big man's eagerness and begins to preen her feathers.

Absent mindedly, Xarian responds to Syl's comment about needing cold weather gear.  "Sure, Syl.  You'll want warm clothes, crampons, snowshoes, and some pitons and a small hammer.  We should all have rope too of course, along with rations.  I have all those but not a climber's kit.  Having one of those might not hurt.  One good thing is that (I think) we all have darkvision so we don't really need torches as much..."

History - 8

Techlas nods as his companions begin to plan what they will need for the trip. 

Krizira is more than happy to shift the book a bit so Xarian can see the journal as she looks at it. "If we're headed to those towns, I doubt we'll need climbing gear. Could be cold though," she adds off-handedly, still mostly focused on the notes she's trying to read. 

Pendle? It's not large or important enough for someone from further south to have heard about. And if Techlas' father ever went, he never mentioned it.

"I've done just about everything I can without wandering too far from Caelor, the rest of the facts I leave for you to uncover." Orlan says, responding to Richter's comment. As Krizira flips through the book to the page he specified, his voice grows quieter and more serious. "And this is primarily a fact-finding mission. You get Pendle, and find out what you can without stirring anything up. At the first sign of trouble, you split. What I found in gods-forsaken manor all those years ago still gives me nightmares, and I don't want to see the same happen to you all."

The 15th page of the journal begins with a short introduction by Orlan:

I've summarized the relevant findings of my initial journal entries. I was young then, and perhaps not as concise a writer as I am today.

I first became aware of the Carhil Manor after intercepting a wounded messenger bird. It bled from its pores and had a crazed look about it, I doubt it even knew where it was before passing. The message was authored by an operative of an organization labeled "LOC," one that I have yet to run into again or identify to this very day. The contents of the message were encoded by a modest scheme that took me a few days to figure out. It was a call for help, reinforcements. The author, one "Captain Umber" - who I have also been unable to identify - spoke of an ill feeling concerning an upcoming mission, an assassination of a target code-named "Orange" - also unidentified.

This "Orange," was currently housed in the Carhil Manor in the town of Pendle. The manor was the family home of one Sylthas Carhil II, a wealthy man who owned the rights to many lands rich in astralight ore. He also maintained a peculiar interest in occult matters, as I would come to find out. Prior to his gruesome end, Sylthas was the leader of a secret society known as Brand's Memoria. From documents I later uncovered at an apparent "LOC" safe house, they had initially dismissed the secret society as a mere self-indulgent upper class social club. The true extent of their capabilities were not understood until it was too late it would seem. 

On the 15th of Utkar, 2131 P.T. in the process of attempting to carry out their assassination mission, members of this "LOC" group interrupted a ritual taking place within Carhil Manor. As no one matching the description of this "Orange" was among the dead, I can only sumrise that they failed in their primary objective. I discovered thirty-three corpses within the estate; eight of which I suspect belonged to fallen "LOC" members. Of the thirty-three dead, all but six displayed unusual causes of death such as disintegration, implosion, and fatal physical reconfiguration. Sylthas Carhil II was among the deceased. 

My subsequent investigation into the manor and this "Brand's Memoria" revealed a cult that would frequently host events that included ritual torture, human sacrifice, and cannibalism. Discovered within journals left behind by Sylthas Carhil were notes from religious sermons and guest lists that included surnames from several other influential families. As of the present, none of the individuals listed were found to actually exist. 

Among Carhil's belongings was a handwritten religious tome, referenced by other writings as the Inspiral. Inspection of the book proved impossible, as the very text appeared to be cursed. My mind twisted and seared as I attempted to read the pages, threatening to send me into an abyss from which I would not return. I recovered only a single from the text:

"He is that which is end. The final god of terror—the purest light, the darkest hour. And He shall rise again."

I burned the book.

An investigation into the town of Pendle revealed that many had suspected Carhil as being responsible for numerous disappearances of young men and women, but none dared take a stand against his authority. With the exception of the target "Orange," I assumed the "Brand's Memoria" cult to be entirely destroyed. Despite decades of searching, I have been unable to uncover anymore on this "LOC" group, the "Brand's Memoria" cult, target "Orange," or this ominous final god of terror mentioned in the Inspiral.

The rest of the pages are a general description of the town of Pendle. It's population size, local geography, economy, and a crude map of the town and its immediate surroundings. There are sketchings of runes and occult symbols found within the Carhil Manor.

The last page has a sketch labeled Sara Pedieu.

Quote from Culuril >>

She also tries to recall whether Kelna might be along the path to Pendle. 

 
As for the path to Pendle...You would be aware that it's not strictly the fastest way to get, but you can take a route around the east side of the lake that will pass through Kelna, and still take you to Pendle.

"Anything else we should know before we leave?" Techlas says looking around eagerly. "Orlan you won't regret choosing us. It'll be like when you first met my father."