Zyzix, masquerading as Drax once more, stands near the group by the fire, absorbing all the details shared by his fellow caravan travelers. He tries not to let his curiosity show, but he gobbles up every last tidbit of information. It appears some of these people want to track down Gort and the marauders, he muses. This could be the beginning of quite the capable team. Think of all the info I could relay back to the Veil if I were to stick with this group! 

Eyeing the crackling bonfire distrustfully, he says offhandedly, "While we're on the topic of Gort, I overhead some of the townsfolk saying that he was heading back to Sembia. I feel obliged to at least track down the man and see why he brought such ruin upon this poor town. That way, the townsfolk could at least have some closure about what happened to them!" His statement was a lie; in reality, he didn't really care too much about the townsfolk. He was much more interested in all of the secrets he could glean about the unrest in the area. He was hoping everyone around him had enough morals to help the townsfolk. His intentions were to tag along in their journey so he could use them all to uncover more secrets of the area.

“This is helpful information. However I believe we should assume our new enemies know this too. They may have agents already in the road looking for him. Our one advantage is our small number which would grant us speed and make us less noticeable. I’m still not convinced we can find Gort first, but our chances have definitely improved.”

Galdric nods to Drax in appreciation, but wonders to himself why this wasn’t shared earlier in the discussion. May need to keep an eye on that one…

((Another quick retcon/clarification; orders for the tower were also to look for things related to anauroch))

“I’ll go where my shield is needed of course, if you all make the decision and it seems to make sense you can count me in. Simple as that.” Horros chimes in now laying down with his arms crossed over his stomach. 

"If we mean to go harass the brutes who attacked this town, I'm in." Cal chimes in wearing a grim expression. "They shouldn't get away with their crimes."

"We tail their forces, pick off any where we can, and perhaps even infiltrate their camp if we see the opportunity. At the very least we weaken them before they hit the next town they mean to lay waste to." 

"If they follow Gort to Sembia, I wonder if they change accents and weapons to appear to be from the Dalelands. Half of their efforts appear to be directed to stabilising the region. It is hard to explain why any Sembian aggression would be played out on the opposite side of their neighbour's territory and not along their border but it appears to be working with the local populace." Taya offers to the conversation. "So if we want to follow Riggs and his band or Gort, either way we are heading to Sembia, or so it looks to me. I also wonder what everyone is looking for in Elminster's tower."

“To that end, I went to speak with the two acolytes of the Arcane Brotherhood. Unfortunately they were in conference with Lord Varden at the time. I tried to subtly invite them to speak with us here afterward. Obviously as of yet this has yet to occur.”

"As Galdric has pointed out, Gort has a week's start on us, and could be anywhere, whereas we know where the Serpents are heading. I believe we would have more luck going after them, than after Gort".

Quote from nightbird1219 >>

“To that end, I went to speak with the two acolytes of the Arcane Brotherhood. Unfortunately they were in conference with Lord Varden at the time. I tried to subtly invite them to speak with us here afterward. Obviously as of yet this has yet to occur.”

 As if on cue, you all hear the beating of wings and the croak of a raven, then a dull thud as a leather scroll case lands next to Galdric. Within it you find a note wrapped within a piece of yellowed parchment:

“Galdric,

Your bravery saved my life, for which I am eternally grateful. I cannot meet you; Lord Varden's eyes are everywhere. Inside, find a map to a place in Anauroch that may hold answers you seek. Be cautious.

In your debt,

Caelum”

The map included with Caelum's note is a weathered, aged parchment, its edges frayed and ink faded in places. It depicts a detailed rendering of Anauroch, with emphasis on the Shadow Sea region. A precise location on the southern edge of the Shadow Sea is marked with an X.”

Galdric passes the map to the group. 

“It appears we may have a third choice. Perhaps this is what the Serpents were looking for in the tower.”

Quote from ArlingLongsword >>

Quote from nightbird1219 >>

“To that end, I went to speak with the two acolytes of the Arcane Brotherhood. Unfortunately they were in conference with Lord Varden at the time. I tried to subtly invite them to speak with us here afterward. Obviously as of yet this has yet to occur.”

 As if on cue, you all hear the beating of wings and the croak of a raven, then a dull thud as a leather scroll case lands next to Galdric. Within it you find a note wrapped within a piece of yellowed parchment:

“Galdric,

Your bravery saved my life, for which I am eternally grateful. I cannot meet you; Lord Varden's eyes are everywhere. Inside, find a map to a place in Anauroch that may hold answers you seek. Be cautious.

In your debt,

Caelum”

The map included with Caelum's note is a weathered, aged parchment, its edges frayed and ink faded in places. It depicts a detailed rendering of Anauroch, with emphasis on the Shadow Sea region. A precise location on the southern edge of the Shadow Sea is marked with an X.”

 Galdric passes the map around the group.

”It appears we may have a third choice. Perhaps this is what the Serpents were searching for in The Tower”

Seeing Horros nigh overwhelmed with the wounded, Bell takes over with some of the mundane repairs, Mending that which needs mending.

“Haj, your bow! Here, let me see.” The transmutation takes but a minute, and he hands it back, good as new.

“The starting of wars, fueling fears and hatreds, has a long and storied history. I would not be too hasty, leaping to conclusions, taking up arms.”

Who profits from this, I wonder?  Upon hearing of the visit to the watchtower, the explorer is almost disappointed that the note was discovered so easily (also part of a ploy?), and further investigation of the ruined tower is not warranted.

Aftermath: Oho, a map! The half-elf breaks his uncharacteristic silence, and peers around Galdric’s feathered shoulder. “Now this is just the thing! These are the answers I would seek. Who is this Caelum, and are they to be trusted?”

There are few things that Bell loves more, than an “X” on a map. His innate sense of adventure and desire to explore, overcome any reservations about venturing to the Shadow Sea, however ill-advised…

As the hour grows late, he produces his viol and plays an old favorite, All Along the Watchtower:

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶  🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

((I’ve circled shadowdale to the south, Snowmantle to the north, and the x on the map to the west. Sembia is far to the south))

Haj looks at the map and grimaces, muttering under his breath. He turns to Bell "You called my homelands accursed. In this case you are correct."

"There are many dangers in the sands, but none worse than those we call 'The Evil Ones Below' for they are the ones who blighted the lands many centuries ago. Many have claimed them to no longer exist, but we know some still exist on this plane for we have fought them not so long ago, when we fought against the Netherese."

“So, our choices seem to be to the impossible search of a lone man somewhere between here and Sembia with a weeks head start on us, pursuing a mercenary band that vastly outnumbers us and whose objectives are uncertain, or exploring an unknown region of the desert haunted by unknown and terrifying evil. Thrilling choices all. In my opinion, pursuit of the Serpents seems dauntin as the others, but at least there are fewer unknowns in that direction. But I, of course, am open to alternate interpretations.”

"Well, didn't the letter in the tower said that failures would have consequences? Riggs didn't enter the tower and didn't get Gort as far as we can tell, right? He might still try one or the other, or both," Taya ponders. "A small group might be able to pursue Gort faster than a band of disheveled mercenaries, more so if they manage to do it on horseback. If Riggs still wants to get Gort, he has to separate his forces, because he won't want to miss his rendezvous with his disappointed superiors. Harben indicated that Gort must know something and the attention that he receives - I mean they literally invaded a town to get him - tells that he knows something or carries something important if not crucial to their plans. I think he is a central figure in whatever is unfolding here and I think hunting the brigade will only delay whatever is on course. The serpents seem merely an instrument, but Gort - I think - is somewhat a key. I would recommend to follow Gort but I cannot leave you alone to face these mercenaries, if most of you wish to follow them, I will follow you." 

“I don’t disagree about Gort’s importance. If we could find him before the Serpents do, our gains would be significant. I’m just not sure of our likelihood of success. But if this group believes we have a chance of finding him first, I am willing to gamble on you. You’ve earned that much after today’s events.”

"Personally I think we may get more answers by going north". "I believe that chasing after Gort would achieve nothing but giving the serpents more room to act, however it is not my decision to make."

"Perhaps those of us who are better suited to fighting should go north, and let our more inquisitive companions search for Gort?"

Preferred options:

For Haj - Go to Snowmantle, and then head for the Shadow Sea.

For the group - as above or split and meet up at a point en-route after x days.

He will abide by the groups decision.

“The only thing I’m sure about is that we are not ready to run into the desert. Everyone is warning us about it and we only have a letter that says we should go there. We can’t even be sure from who we’ve got the letter, I’d say. Anyone could have sent it.”

Taya prefers to search Gort but would bow to the majority of they wish to pursue the brigade. She speaks out strongly against entering the desert at this point.

“On that point we agree. I believe going to the desert at this point would be an enormous mistake. At this point it is my opinion that we would be more of use pursuing the Serpents. I have a strong belief that they will find Gort before we can, so perhaps if that happens, pursuing the mercenaries could put us in a position to help Gort anyway. Besides, this task was offered to us by the Lord of Shadowdale. I do not trust that man as far as I can throw an ogre but our task being officially sanctioned may come in handy at some point on the road.”

Galdric is in favor of chasing the Black Serpent Brigade, but will defer if enough people disagree. 

Zyzix remains silent for most of the conversation. To be honest, he didn't really care too much about whether they go after Gort or the Brigade, just as long as he was able to tag along. He speaks up, "If Gort is wily enough to dodge an entire brigade, I have a feeling he'll be able to survive another week or so by himself. That brigade, on the other hand, is a far greater threat to the area! I say we should track them down first before moving onto this mysterious tower or Gort." 

Decision:

As mentioned above, Zyzix doesn't care too much about where they choose to go. He'll go wherever everyone else decides