"Sounds like a plan." Mirica did not expect any problems on the way to the ruins, or, better say, expected common problems that party was well prepared to deal with. "Have anyone tried to make the map of already cleared part of the ruins? Doe not mean those who searched did not miss anything but that will be a start at least." She was ready to go too.

Chen is somewhat dejected about leaving Cormanthor with his oath still unfulfilled, but this feeling is temporarily overwhelmed by his excitement at the prospect of travel to a part of Faerun he has never visited. He immediately begins planning what food supplies they will need for the journey and who can carry what, and generally making himself the quartermaster of the expedition.

"I can go with you, and I agree that the group needs a wizard! It is possible that Jezun will come back at some point soon, and, in addition to being confusing for everyone, it will require us to recall Toc back more quickly than perhaps he expects. But I am fine with the first destination," Nuzej says.

He asks Toc if he's considered trying to scry on Larloch or any of his lich-kin to try to learn more about them. He also looks into any known teleportation circles closer to their destination, or if anyone in town might have an item they are certain is from a place close to what could be the target of a teleportation spell that could shave off some time.

He does go back to finalizing his now-much fuller spellbook.

The sun is high in the sky as the group stands on the docks next to the 'Straight Shot', a large sailing ship outfitted with both ballista and several mounted heavy crossbows. The deck is abuzz with motion as the sailors mingle longshoremen, equipment, food, and gear being moved about. Chen stands to one side, a long checklist in his mind as he examines each box. "No no no, I said chanterelle mushrooms...I ordered them specially....ug...white mushrooms will not do!"  The admonished longshoremen takes the box of mushrooms away with wide eyes of confusion...muttering, "I ain't heard there's more than one sorta mushroom....." 

The seagulls provide a steady background of yells as the hover in the windy air eyeing the docks for lunch...while the captain, a one Faray Castle, stands to one side reviewing some lists with her first mate, Tessa Minnay. The ships flag snaps in the gusts, while they survey their domain and ensure the ship is ready for departure. 

Toc stands on the docks near Nuzej. They seem to be in conversation about some bit of lore or another, Toc handing yet another book to a stack of books in Nuzej's arms. 

Mirica is near the stern of ship, leaning against the railing and looking out of the harbor towards the open Moonsea. Her gaze is far away and her face serious as she contemplates the journey ahead. 

Russel is out amidst the bustling of crates coming and going to the ship and the people moving around the docks, while simultaneously always being out of site and out of the way. His keen eyes scan the coming and goings....reading the subtle language of the body of each sailor that he'll soon be spending weeks with, watching the docks for anyone too watchful...or for anything awry. 

Fianna sits on a crate on the dock, enjoying the firm feel of solid....wood...beneath her. The swaying of the ship will be all she'll be feeling for weeks, and she's quite happy to put that off for a time. Pleasant enough to be leaning back and warming her skin in the bright sun, she revels in the sound of chaos around her, knowing soon she'll have only the quiet of the sea and wind. 

Tic stands aboard the ship, off to one side, attempting to stay out of everyone's way, though is consistently moving from location to location as he seems constantly in someone's way. 

Soon enough though, the action dies down. The sailors are ordered to position....the passengers called aboard...and preparations for sailing are being made. 

Toc alone stands on the dock, watching as the others stand aboard, taking their last look at the harbor of Hillsfar for at least the summer. Some could stand for it to be for much longer. The human city has changed remarkably in the past few months. With the new laws.....and the very heavy handed influence of the now popular First Lord...the nearby settlements full of non-humans, and refugees from out of the city have slowly found their way into Hillsfar. Though, it seems, there is a long road ahead. More non-humans means more resistance to those non-humans. More grumbling of taking good jobs, or bringing crime or disease with them, or ....whatever else is grumbled at dinner tables and over the workbench. But, it would seem Yestrel is serious about the change being more than symbolic....and the view of the waterfront is not quite so .... homogeneous as it may have once been. 

Captain Castle shouts the order to untie the ship and push off. The woman seems very much like a professional and forceful personality that has complete command and control of her ship and crew. She came highly recommended by several of the groups inquiries around town, both with their contacts in the government, and their street level contacts they've met over the past weeks in bars. The decision was further blessed by a member of the Harpers, Matt Berking who came forward to introduce himself to Mirica one evening. He mentioned he'd been familiar with Jahren, and was glad to meet her acquaintance. In the end though, it seemed the ship was eventually just assigned to the group. "Under order of Lord Yestrel himself, may I offer you my services...." were the first words out of Faray Castle's mouth when she'd met them. "It would be my honor to serve whatever quest you find yourselves upon." 

The ship slowly drifted out into the harbor proper as the sailors crawled across masts and scampered across the ships surface ensuring everything was as perfect as their captain required. With a final look and a wave, Toc turned to head into the city of Hillsfar to get some supplies. The rest of the group looked out to the Moonsea, the first part of their voyage which would take weeks, and find them traveling the Moonsea, the wide river south, and then across the Sea of Fallen Stars far to the south to the country of Aglarond.  

Aglarond, a strange and fantastic land once ruled by the great Simbul, and now ruled by the Simbarch, a collection of wizards trained in the Simbul's way of magic. It is doubtful they would see much of the country though, since the ruins of Nhalloth lay in the waters off of Aglaronds western coast, amidst a set of islands known as "The Thousand Swords".  But they would be traveling directly across the Pirate Isles....the set of islands that dot the center of the sea, and were sure to see some fantastic sites on the way. 

Either way, they'd be on this ship together for a few weeks at least. And with all the strained conversations recently, there was a bit of a storm cloud that threatened to follow the ship...

Regarding Nuzej's suggestion around scrying on Larloch...Toc toys with this briefly, and then says, "I've never met Larloch. But even if I did, i doubt I would try to scry on him. Seems...dangerous. And I do not know any of his Lich-kin, so can not scry on them. The only ones we've met, I believe we've thoroughly destroyed with the Mythallar." 

With only a small time for digging, you're not able to discover any teleportation circles. It being on the far side of the sea of fallen stars....and though you do know a teleportation circle in Cormyr, finding a ship there, without the same contacts as here, could take quite a while. Nuzej is also familiar with Telflamm, in Thesk...and indeed has an object from it. The trip from Telflamm could potentially cut a week off their trip, but Nuzej and Jezun left for a reason....the political powers there had become dangerous. It might not be worth the week to become embroiled in the local power struggles with the shadowvar there. 

Chen's stomach grumbled. It had taken longer than he expected to load all the supplies, particularly with the unmentionable errors from the dockhands. But all the same he felt comfortable on this ship. It felt familiar somehow. The Straight Shot. The name reminded him of Jahren for some reason. Something he had said perhaps? Or maybe it just brought to mind the time they first met, shipbound for Hillsfar. But it wasn't just the name that made Chen feel comfortable, but the fact that this time he was well-prepared to overcome his chief objection to sea travel - the lack of a decent meal. With the stocks he had brought, he hoped he and his companions at least wouldn't have to resort to gruel or hard tack and stale water. The first mate didn't seem too impressed with all the extra stowage, but she looked like the forgiving sort. There was something familiar about her too - she made Chen think of tea-time. But then again, what didn't? His stomach grumbled again. Better have a quick bite to eat before got too far out to sea - Chen found it always helped to lessen the nausea of the first few hours of sea travel. He looked at the receding shore and thought about how recently it seemed that he had arrived at this same port. He had come seeking allies, enlightenment, and exotic recipes - and found all three - and yet it felt like the search still continued...

 Chen also wonders how the first mate will react if he uses his Bag of Tricks on board...

     Fianna has Fi’Finella sitting on her shoulder for the start of the voyage.  Instead of being invisible, Fianna had the imp shape change into a raven.  This kept the evil stares away, kept the imp from criticizing everything and, of course, put Fianna in a proper pirate mindset for such a voyage.

     Fianna moved about the crew with grace and ease, offering to help on the rare occasion it seemed like she actually could, staying out of the way when she couldn’t, and just chit chatting with whoever when they had an idle minute or so.  All in all she just really laid on the charm.  She wasn’t trying to gain anything but when you’re stuck on board with the same people for weeks on end it’s better when you get along with them than when you don’t.  She also used these social interactions to move about the ship early on in their travel and use her Eldritch Sight to detect magic and just make sure all was copacetic.

     The first night aboard, the first minute she has alone (unsure if each have single cabin but doubt it), Fianna will check on The Book in the demiplane she stashed it in.  She’ll summon the door, open it, make sure nothing has been removed or disturbed... then hesitate.  If it seems she’ll have the time she’ll pull the book out and read a bit of it, just out of curiosity.  Not being a wizard she cannot attune or use the time but it does have a dark fascination to it... and it keeps the wizards hat she created good company.

     Other than that first time she’ll refrain from using demiplane in case she and Toc need to use the one set up to exchange items or people...

     Otherwise Fianna will seek to spend her time meditating in the sun or studying books on enchanting, as become her habit.  She’ll not experiment at all, doing such on a ship would be foolhardy...  but she’ll plan!

     Fi’Finella will often take wing and fly about the masts and such, naturally enjoying higher perches.  Such excursions also give the imp the opportunity to pop invisible and then go snooping and eavesdropping about the ship.  She has no target or reason for such other than imps be imping when they get the chance.

The first mate and captain seem aware of your 'reputation' as great hero's, and are very respectful to you all. They also don't seem to be shocked by much, and Chen gets the feeling that the crew has been 'spoken' to about their special guests, and so things like an animal appearing on deck, summoned by these powerful hero's, is unlikely to surprise anyone. 

The crew seems quite pleased to have Fianna along, and her charisma is contagious. They seem more than happy to have her help out, as they show her the way of things on the ship, give her pointers, and generally are just pleased to have her contagious attitude about. As such, she finds she has free reign of the ship, except for the captains cabin, though she gets in there for a brief conversation once or twice. Checking out the entire ship, she finds that a few sailors have a few minor magical knick knacks on them, while the captain has a magical dagger at her side and a pair of boots that are made of green stained leather that are also magical. In the captains quarters, she spots a magical quill on the table. 

The first night on board is the first night that Fianna learns something about her demi-plane door she didn't know....casting it on a ship doesn't work well.  The door appears, and.....drifts lazily away through the wall.....and....as she tries to follow it...it vanishes out the back of the ship...hanging in the air above the dark sea as the ship sails away from it. She dismisses the spell and realizes she'll have to wait until the ship comes to a stop to do her work. The imp does it's exploring, a bit of innocent snooping and doesn't see or hear anything untoward with the crew. Though, she does overhear a few of the sailors speaking about Fianna. It would seem she has several fan boys who may be embellishing their interactions with her in their minds and reading a lot more into her occasional smile than she had intended.  Dal'mor in particular seems confident that he can 'seal the deal' before the reach Elmwood. For his part, Dal'mor is probably the most attractive of the group. Muscles, tanned smooth skin, rough sailor hands. 

Regardless of all that, Elmwood is about a day away, and it sounds like they'll be stopping there...which will give Fianna a chance to check on the book. 

     Hmm, there’s more than one way into the Captain’s Wuarters, Fianna thinks with a smile.  It could also let the seamen know she’s not interested with no messy confrontations...

     But no.  Fianna decides to just ease back on the charm a bit and avoid a couple of sailors.  No need to create waves while out on the high seas.

Mirica enjoyed the journey. To her it felt more like the extension of their vacation, better even: all she could get (and understand) about Mythallars was studied, they had a clear objective and was moving towards it, yet, there was no need to actually do something, the ship moved on its own.

From the moment she got her "seal lags", Mirica was just enjoying herself - sunsets (and sunrises!) on the sea are magnificent, even while the shore is still in the view. She talked (more like listened) with Nuzej when he was in a mood to say something about the dangerous objects and beings they were after, participated in Chen's tasty experiments, laughed with Fianna and even tried to communicate with Russel - not inquisitively but she was genuinely curious about his people. Even Tic never caught any irritated look, though pity, he could see in her eyes, could be more upsetting (or not - they did not discuss it).

The crew of the ship seemed healthy and did not need healer's attention, the weather was good, and ahead was a nice little town founded "by adventurers for adventurers". No, really, it was the best vacation ever!

No long after they board the ship and set sail, Chen hands out a few small snacks that he made while in Hillsfar. Most are simple munchies to nibble on while passing the time, but he also offers each of his companions a special treat made from the elven recipe book he found in the ruins, with a few personal touches.

To Mirica he hands a small garlic-smelling bread wrap, inside which is a matbucha of Calimshite peppers and Rashemi paprika. I call it Spear of the Salamander. It's very hot, but I promise you won't feel anything hotter for a while afterwards. Mind yourself the next morning though.

To Fianna he gives a small pastry he calls the Trollsbane Tart. Made with Turmish pomegranate and Tashalar yhaumarind compote in a lemon zest crust, just the smell of it makes Fianna's eyes water. It's tart all right! Very acidic. Enough to give you a kick, but nothing more acidic will affect you much while that's in your tummy.

To Nuzej Chen offers a donut soaked in tapdragon spirits with Damaran peppermint frosting. Yeti's Teeth this one is called. Might give you brain freeze, but it will keep the chill off for a while.

And to Russel, the dragonborn chef hands a small biscuit. This is called Breakfast of Champions. It's ground Zakharan coffee beans, steeped in sugar, and blended with Chultan guarana, ginseng, ginkgo biloba and yerba mate, then dried and pressed. It'll give you quite a buzz! Maybe save it for when you need an energy boost.

Chen also has a small mushroom cake, the recipe of which he says was simply called Eat Me. He hasn't tried it yet, and doesn't know what it tastes like or what effect it might have, so he decides to keep it himself and try it some other time.

Mirica thanked but that particular thing was not the experiment she would willingly subject herself (as a sane being with the sense of smell). Not now, at least (she wrapped it well and placed in to an airtight box). There are cases when well peppered garlic might look attractive, but for the moment she wanted to live.

Elmwood was best described as sounding of sawing, and smelling of sawdust. The city was practically brand new in the past few years, every building, every part of the settlement rebuilt from strong Cormanthyr oak. Three large warehouses line the edge of the wharf. Birds flit here and there, but predominantly its the shout of people at work, the banging of hammers, and the busy sound of construction that fills the air in Elmwood. The place is the central stop over for any ship heading out of the Moonsea and south down the river Lis to the Sea of Fallen Stars. 

The ship moors one night here, giving everyone a chance to ground themselves before making the long slow journey south. Captain Castle is nice enough to appraise you of your route in the past day of travel along the Moonsea coast. Two days down the river, then a third to the port of Calaunt. They'll be offloading lumber there for ore...which will sell nicely across the sea. Two more days to the port of Procampur, then from there it was straight across the Sea of Fallen Stars. It was end of summer and the seas would likely be fair. If they got into trouble, they could head to the Pirate Isles for safe harbor, but hopefully with good weather they'd be across the sea in about a week and in amidst the Thousand Swords. A harsh, desolate land, the land around was sparsely settled by an island going folk, a third of whom lived amidst the thousand swords themselves. Urbryur was a small port there, but likely a good place for them to land, move the ore, and inquire what the locals know about Nhalloth. 

That evening, while others are at dinner, a purple nimbus of a doorway forms in Fianna's cabin that she shares with Mirica. Fianna steps through into her demi-plane. She walks over to the book...the tongue that is wrapped across its front lashed over to keep it closed. As she touches it, the gruesome tongue rolls back and allows her to flip open the book.  The pages are blank...thin like tissue, almost see through...with very little of interest on the inside. Though.....as she watches, some writing begins appearing on the page, as if someone were writing it.  In common, the writing read, "A wind blows in my face, scattering my playing cards from the table before me. And I say to the wind, why have you come. Why wind have you scattered my cards so? The wind...it responds, I am of this world, natural and without regard for your cards. Do not blame me. Blame yourself for setting your cards in my path, for as you can see, I always have been, always will be, and even the mountains are but dust to me. It is ok, I think, as the cards are retrieved from the rocky ground. I can build a wall and seek refuge from the wind for a time....and play with my cards free of the wind's meddling presence."

I hear the wind blow

I hear the wind blow

It seems to say "Hello, hello

I'm the one who loves you so."

     Fianna shrugs as the snippet of a tune flashes through her head.  “Odd book,” she says, closing it, wrapping it in some cloth, binding it with some rope, and then tossing it back into the Demiplane and ending the spell.

Earlier in the secret base...

Russel just kind of stands and looks at Mirica awkwardly. Unsure of how to answer her question. He hasn’t heard the right phrase of words to describe his homeland and the rest of the group seems to just move on. Russel relaxes slightly hoping that this is the last time this gets brought up.

On board the ship...

Russel accepts the biscuit from Chen and stashes it in one of his many pockets. And unless specifically requested to be elsewhere or one of his new companions requests his company he spends all of his time up in the crows nest. Greatly enjoying the feeling of air flowing over and underneath his “wings”. Though he only held them out when he thought no one was watching.

If time and space allows Russel would attempt to create more potions. One can never have too many of them. There’s practically one for every occasion. He would also attempt to replicate the size and shape of his bag of holding. (Let me know if that’s possible and what if anything I need to roll)

The River Lis is a wide, shallow river that cuts between the farthest eastern edge of the Cormanthor, and the closest western edge of The Vast. Really, a line drawn in moving liquid between the east and the west of Faerun. The river expands outside its boundaries wherever it sees fit, leaving lands in a swampy expanse both to the left and right of the river proper. Occasionally ancient ruins can be spotted amidst the forest, on both sides of the river...but there is little activity otherwise. You pass four other ships sailing north, oars out as they row slowly against the current. During the evening of the first day down river you come to the a large bridge the spans the waterway. In its center, two large draw bridges sit on squat towers leaving a gap wide enough for a ship to pass through. With boards and masts creaking, the vessel slips between the gap, the edge of the stone structures within spitting distance of either side of the ship. Men with long poles man the sides and make sure the ship slips through without contact.  Soon the forest on the west side gives way to open plains and farmland, while on the eastern shore it looks as if the river has exploded across the forested land, a bog stretching off as far as you can see amidst the stunted trees. The river begins to slowly widen....and widen...until you're not longer in a river, but have reached the Dragon Reach proper...the northern arm of the Sea of Fallen stars. Mountains tumble towards the sea on the left....the Troll Mountains, their high peaks looking down steep cliffs to the waters edge. Occasionally you see animals amidst the cliff faces, but the range is far too severe for any road to pass along it. Fishing vessels dot the waters as you pass by a small city with a busy port on the eastern shore called Ylraphon. The better part of the next day you find yourself sailing along the eastern shore beneath the towering peaks of the troll mountains, before coming round the last peaks and seeing a large city port sprawled all around the mouth of a large river. The city of Calaunt, the capital of the new nation known as Vesperin, a collection of numerous cities that dot the southern plains that stretch between the Troll Mountains and the Earthfast Mountains further south. 

The ship pulls into the city, full of lumber that is valued by the busy cities....ready to trade for ore of silver, iron, and copper from the rich mining nation with their Merchant Dukes. Several naval vessels are perched out in the water, and watch your ship approach carefully. The city, built with high stone walls dotted with watch towers, looked ready for attack from anyone, though, as the ship pulled into the river and into the port, a thriving city was revealed. 

Tessa, first mate, finds you all standing along the balcony watching the approach. "I'm sure you've little to fear, but....The First Scepter and ruling Merchant Dukes here covet magical items. Best to keep yours under wraps if you're to walk the city. Just...don't do anything flashy and you'll be fine. Calaunt is a den of corruption though. Have your pay-offs handy and watch your backs. You can get anything here. Any drug, and vice, be it material, living, or spiritual. We won't stay long. The streets here at night are well known for being unsafe. And the whole northern part of the city is a massive slum. Their thieves guild, the Shadowcloaks....is very influential here. Anyway, it'll take us a day to offload the lumber and purchase and load some ore. Take care if you leave the ship."

The ship eases into the docks and settles against the wooden bumpers before being tied down. The gangplank is lowered and the harbor master is quick to approach the captain and secure his fees....and then the sailors get to work securing everything and preparing for offloading their shipment. 

Sometime during the time traveling between the two towns, Russel approaches Fianna (ideally when she is by herself) holds up a bag that he made that is a thread for thread replica of a bag of holding. Mimicking her voice says “Arts and Crafts. Bag of holding”. And holds up the bag for her to take. 

      When Chen offers Fianna the tart her eyes start to water - she can smell the tartness baked right in it!  She smiles widely up at Chen and says "Thank you, it smells fantastic!" and immediately goes to bite into the treat.  She stops when Chen holds up a hand and instructs her that it has more properties than it's deliciousness...  

     Fianna reaches up and places a hand on the side of his face.  "You are truly the kindest of us all..."

---

     Fianna gasps when Russel holds up the Bag of Holding.  "Where did you get..." She starts to ask then "You made this?  Really??  I should have been the one helping you!  Wow, this is amazing!  Thank you..."  

     Fianna gently gives the Kenku a hug, afraid to squeeze as she's not sure quite how delicate the bird like person is.  "Hey!  You know what?"  Fianna pauses and starts rummaging through her bag.  When her eyes find what she is looking for a sparkle shine and she smiles.  "I got something for you, too..."

     Fianna slowly reveals a shiny silver dagger, finely made and highly polished.  "It's named North's Needle.  It's not quite as fantastic as the bag but whoever holds this dagger will always know which way North is, and in that way they will never get lost..." Fianna has the shiny dagger laying across her two palms and she holds it out to Russel.  

((Normal dagger 'sept you know where North is.  I don't think there's an actual item for it...))

---

     Fianna will at some point also catch Mirica alone.  "The book is still safe," she advises her. "I know I shouldn't be so paranoid about it, but I kind of am.  And...  Well, it's blank.  Most of the time, I think.  But as I glanced at it words appeared.  Word that didn't really make sense but..."

     Fianna shrugs.  "It seemed like maybe a weird diary entry or something.  But told more as a parable or lesson or something rather than to a diary.  Dunno, it was weird."  Fianna then closes her eyes for a moment and then recites as much of the writing as she can.

     "Do you think it means anything?  I think it's just nonsense but...  I don't think I'll be opening that book again.  Just in case."

---

     Fianna will take the warning from Tessa to heart and ask if the ship is safe.  "I have no need to go ashore, I could loiter on board in case I am needed."  Fianna is likely to stay aboard the ship in any case, truthfully having no business ashore unless someone else asks for her to come along.  Any exploring she needs do could be done via Fi'Finella flying about and spying on things.

"Wait... You opened it?! Alone?! Fianna..." Mirica looked Fianna up and down, even walked around her and looked into her eyes. "I never said you are paranoid, all I was saying - get at least some protection before toying with it! And have someone around so the helper could - may be! - stop whatever malice comes out of it. Promise me, if curiosity strikes you again, you will call someone next time. I would much prefer it to be me, but anyone will be better then doing it alone."

After that short lecturing, though, Mirica gave in to her own curiosity. "First it was a chessboard, now cards. And still some outside forces... Are we the wind that blew off Larloch cards and he is sheltering them from us now? Or are we the cards, that he is going to put back on their place? Too much of a puzzle for me, though, have to admit an interesting one. May be at some point worth to mention to our wizards. For now we have another Mythallar to deal with."

Fianna seemed fine, the book was secured and the puzzle to difficult to dwell on right now. So, nothing really spoiled Mirica's mood. "Want to check out the city? We can take Chen and hit the market. Promises more trouble than fun, but I've never being here and the ship is a bit too noisy and busy to hang around." She did not insist - really, it was an idle curiosity and inability to lazily rest with all the commotion around.

Chen is keen to stretch his legs, and would like to procure some fresh fruit, vegetables and meats, as well as to sample some of the local wares. Taking careful note of Tessa's warning, Chen leaves all his magical items and weapons stowed on the ship, taking only his pack, a waterskin, a handaxe and dagger.