"Well we ain't going into the Labyrinth, that's for sure. But the place is was home to rakshasa till a volcano blew up near it. Now its got lave going through it, stray fiends that wander in through portals, and the general bounty of unexplored lands. And we'll get there by airship, I worked out a bit of a deal with an captain and he'll take us to my house's port, Blood Crescent." She explains, "And since it's at my house, they can provide me with some horses for you all. I'll stay there in the port, I have to deal with a few negotiations. And if you're worried about how prepared they are, don't. Cause they aren't, didn't see any fortifications, no rakshasa, hell, the only thing I saw from afar was a fiend eating another fiend."

And with a nod to Axon, "And we can leave once you all are packed."

Hari listens closely, fingers drumming on the war horn by her side. She nods abruptly. "Already packed. Ready to go."

Same as her ready to begin. Connor fills his waterskin and sits on the edge of the table

Rusty notices Forjar touch the Holy symbol adorning his belt, he does not recognize this as a sign of fear, inspiration or dread. He addresses the group I am ready barring any specialty equipment required for the termination of abyssal entities. I have not experienced or researched these beings so any deficiencies or vulnerabilities is out of my purview.

"I think for this initial outing our hope is to avoid too much contact with such creatures.  From what I have heard tell we are likely not much of a match for the true terrors of the demon lands.  As the lady said, they aren't prepared for us.  That is likely our best weapon.  Surprise."

Forjar chuckles at the irony of it, his chainmail jingling with the movement of his chest.

"I am ready to go whenever" Liliana gets up pulling a faceless mask out of her bag nodding once.

Hari sighs. "Hiding," she grumbles. "Not again."

"I am ready" Axon said, chiming in plainly with the others. 

Forjar shifts out of his chair, jingling chainmail again announcing his movement.

"A commission cannot be finished until it is started.  Let us go." The saying has the quality of a religious aphorism, perhaps one of his faith.

Clara grins, "Great, cause we'll be gone from Sharn for a little while. Hopefully it'll be a fast flight." 

The party departs for the southern cape of the Demon Wastes upon an airship. The trip takes about 5-6 days and is rather uneventful. From the roaming lands of Breland, to the monstrous jungles of Drooam, and finally past the marshlands of the Shadow Marches. The party can start to see a small coastal town as the air ship starts descending, beyond the town, they see the wasteland of the Demon Wastes, burned and ravaged by natural and unnatural forces.

"Ah, I forgot to say how much obsidian I need." Clara says, as the ship starts to dock near the town, "It needs to be a good chunk of it, about ten pounds. Now then lets rest for the night before you all head out tomorrow." She says as she leads the party to the town.

Blood Crescent is a small port town, mostly filled with orc, half-orcs and humans. While it is a port town for House Tharashk, most clans still have their clan names rather than Tharashk. Clara talks to a few friends of hers as she manages to secure a lodging within a linens craft shop. The beds are rather nice than the stiff cots you've all had to sleep in the past couple of days.

There's not a word of complaint from Hari about the rough cots on the ship. In fact, there aren't really many words from Hari at all. She spends most of her time on her own, either at the bow keeping her arms and armor in perfect condition, or along the deck doing exercises to keep her body fit. Her exercises are composed especially of a strange, flowing style of fighting with the longsword at her side, like nothing any of you have likely seen before. In addition, each night, she plays a different song on her horn, the pieces incredibly expressive, especially with their lack of spoken lyrics, telling of great battles and terrible loss without a word.

In Blood Crescent, Hari observes the inhabitants of the town with interest, especially the orcs. She especially takes note of any tribal markings (not dragonmarks, though). As they stop in the linens shop for the night's rest, Hari is once more silent, sitting on her bed and carefully checking over all of her equipment to make sure it's perfect for the expedition starting tomorrow.

Rusty will attempt to slip away to the roof to try and find a good vantage point of the shop and surrounding area with quick regress while he takes his Sentry's Rest. 

Perception 26

Investigation 14

Stealth 23

[occ] rolls if needed [/occ]

Axon needed no sleep, instead choosing to remain on deck during the trip only going inactive for a few hours each of the days. Once they reach the Demon Wastes he takes note of the ravaged lands, they in some small way reminded him Cyre on the day of Mourning, or what he saw of it as him and his unit fled west into Breland. So many of his brethren had been lost on that day. 

While the memories raged in the Warforged's mind it would be impossible to detect on his surface. 

Inside the linen shop Axon took guard by the entry to where the cots were, he pulled a small knife from his pack as well as a small piece of wood that has been whittled already and continues shaping it into the form of dog, mechanical looking in nature with a spiked collar.  

During the trip over if Hari was willing Connor, would supplement her horn with his Lute and during his free time he would be jotting down Titles for his book  "Conno and the Nathum 5: Against the Fiends", "The Adventures of Nathum Book 1", Perilous Tales of Connor Nathum "

When  they arrive in Blood crescent if there's still light out he will attempt to find a cartographer and book store to acquire a map of the area and some books about  history of the area and important people

investigation  24

Hari doesn't object to Connor joining her music, but she doesn't exactly teach him the songs she's playing either, tunes nobody on the boat has likely ever heard before. She also slips away once finished with her music, perhaps hoping to avoid being posed the introductory questions he asked everyone else before Clara came in.

The town has a cartographer but does not have any book store. Primarily there to transport goods and people, the house doesn't show much interest in history there. They do know that the Ghaash'kala would have more stories but as nomads it is hard to keep track of them. But they are mostly known for guarding the entrances of the labyrinth, so that would be a good guess on where to find them.

The maps are mostly rough drafts of the southern cape, marked with spots of interest and resources. There are some drafts of the labyrinth north of here but each seem different from each other, even entrances.

The surrounding area of the town is scarred, with plumes of lava and unnatural screams. It is hard to keep track of what is out there as the distance makes it hard. But each one is disturbing, either an aberration or a fiend, all were disfigured.

And with morning comes a sense of serenity as the town comes alive once more. It busies itself with new arrivals and sending cargo off. Clara gives the party a wave as she leads them to a stable, "Morning all, hope you all had a good rest. Now the site is about an two hour ride away, four if the horses are gone. So I'd assume I'll see you all later today, with my sample of course." She says as she nods to an orc, guiding some horses out.

Hari eyes the horses suspiciously and mumbles something in Goblin.

Goblin:

She appears reluctant to actually mount her steed.

Axon looks to Hari and responds in Goblin

Goblin:

 His mechanical, and frankly dry tone, makes the goblin even more disconcerting to hear, but following his comment he then demonstrates how to mount the horse.

Continuing to scowl distrustfully at the horse, Hari reluctantly accepts Axon's assistance, continuing to mumble curses in Goblin the entire time. Once aboard the creature, she sways a little, glaring at the creature, and grumbles, "My ancestors did not need such creatures. Gharr'dishk never rode a horse to battle the southern barbarians."

Getting onto the horse Lili will hold her hand down "If it makes you more comfortable we could ride together"