Alluminos

The Aunt Hare has docked at its destination, Alluminos, a port city on the shores of Morado. I met with Captain Siesko immediately after my morning mediation to ensure that he had no further tasks for me until landfall. He commended me on a job well done, paid me for my services, and only asked me that I deliver a message to Priestess Sophia and another message to Mister Malopher. I thanked him for his hospitality, but he said that such things were unnecessary.
 
I set about finding Priestess Sophia first. The message was apparently from her family’s estate. For some reason or another, the estate was willing to pay people to accompany her on her travels. Perhaps a safety measure, perhaps something to persuade skeptics to accompany her long enough to be successfully converted, speculation on the motives behind the note are really none of my concern right now. I agreed to accompany her, as she is currently my primary contact on Morado within The Holy Zygallic Church. I will admit, the pay is also tantalizing. My funds are by no means inadequate, but if I am to better establish myself in this new land, I will need a job and I will need to network. This is an opportunity to do both of those things.
 
When I asked Priestess Sophia about Mister Malopher’s whereabouts, she appeared interested in finding him together. She presented him with the same offer she gave to me and he accepted. The Priestess also roped Miss Stonetell into the journey as well, and Mister Marlowe expressed interest, apparently overhearing the conversation.
 
I forgot to mention something very strange that happened overnight. I had the tower dream again. I have been seeing this tower for several weeks now, but the dreams have been getting more vivid in the sensory experiences. Lately, it feels less and less like a dream. Last night, I saw five figures other than myself. Priestess Sophia, Mister Malopher, Miss Stonetell, Mister Marlowe, and a man I had never seen before. Earlier in the morning I had felt somewhat uneasy as I realized that those figures were these people I had been seeing throughout the voyage, but thought little of it.
 
As the ship was readying to dock, Captain Siesko said that myself and the others had someone waiting for us. Captain Siesko lead us into the city and to a drinking establishment. An old man and a very young man were waiting for us. The old man had a fascinating instrument, which he called a hurdy gurdy. He introduced himself as Storyteller. The young man goes by the name Clem, and he was the fifth figure in the dream from the morning. Mister Storyteller claimed that the six of us were brought together through cosmic forces, and asked us if Mister Clem could accompany us. Apparently, it is part of his people’s customs to bring people safely from one point to another as a right of adulthood. Mister Clem seemed to be as surprised by the course of events as the rest of us, which was to a certain extent reassuring.
 
We agreed to take Mister Clem with us and when we left our meeting, Captain Siesko said that he would meet us later at the ship. Mister Storyteller had reserved rooms for us at a tavern called the Bitter Salt, having obviously divined our arrival through some means or another. We had some difficulties in finding the establishment, but found it in time, only to be told that our rooms had not yet been fully readied. We headed back to the Aunt Hare to collect the rest of our belongings, but Captain Siesko was still in Alluminos on business, so I imagine we will need to see him another day.
 
During this time, Priestess Sophia decided that she would like to rest and retired to her room. I decided to maintain a close proximity to the others for the time being, as there is safety in numbers. By my own assessments, I think that so long as I stay with the others, I ought to be rather safe. The group decided to pass some time becoming better acquainted with the city and its infrastructure, and so we left.
 
Later, we discovered that one of our associates apparently has a habit of assuming a fabricated identity. Regretfully, it was I who caught them and I did not handle to situation with the subtlety with which I had hoped to. The group as a whole seemed to have quickly moved past this issue, which I think bodes well for their general temperament, but I still feel terribly guilty for having revealed such a secret.
 
Once the initial shock had passed, the group traveled to a drinking establishment in a less reputable side of town in order to gain information. Some of my new companions appear to be interested in the pursuit of fugitives. While I would prefer to stay out of dangerous situations, I would much prefer helping these people through their endeavors for the time being than being left alone in a foreign land, and so I accompanied them on their errand. We did not obtain all of the information that we sought, but did receive a few leads, which we immediately set upon.
 
One such lead led us to a small church. The church appeared to belong to the Mother Sun in joint with the Akachetan faith. I would be curious to hear the priest’s sermons at some point, if only to see how he might go about bridging the cultures together, but we came in search for a different sort of information. We were directed to the quarters of the new groundskeeper for the cemetery located on site. Questioning the groundskeeper proved difficult at first, but my companions managed to gather just enough information to lead us further on our way. We were given a vial with remnants of a strange substance.
 
I proposed that we tend to a library in search of records on various substances so that we might gain further insight into the situation. Some of my companions had interest in following this path while others did not. Ultimately, it was decided that I would take two of our party with me to the monastery of the Dusk Mage on the northern end of the city. First, however, we dined with Captain Siesko. It seems he is having difficulty filling the position I have vacated. Were the circumstances different I think I might have liked to stay with him, but to do so would be to give up on so much more, and as such I must press onward.
 
Mister Clem and Priestess Sophia accompanied me to the monastery. We arrived at dusk, and it was as we were greeting the guards at the door that I had received a sending from Sensei. The feeling of her presence upon me, if only briefly, was as a blanket in the chill of a cold night. I excused myself for a moment of respite whilst I carefully composed a response, reconvening with my companions as they were apparently coming to the close of some small talk with the guards. We were granted entry.
 
It was in the monastery that I briefly met the Bishop of the establishment. He generously aided us in our research and while the answer we received was not one that left me with any sense of comfort, it was precisely the information we required nonetheless. Mister Clem committed a rather grievous faux pas, however, and we were left with little choice but to excuse ourselves. I thanked the Bishop for his invaluable assistance and left him my information, assuring him that I would speak to my companions about propriety later. Before I leave Alluminos, I must return to the monastery and make amends with him, lest my reputation in the colony suffer unduly.
 
On the way back to the inn, Priestess Sophia overheard the guards speaking to a Tiefling woman, who was meeting some resistance in submitting a report on a suspicious figure chasing her earlier that night. I suppose while we are in town it would be wise to continue traveling in groups. Priestess Sophia made some insinuations regarding the competency of the town guard which will hopefully not find a way to haunt us later, as the guards left rather quickly afterwards.
 
When we returned to the inn properly, Mister Marlowe and Mister Malopher were speaking privately to one another. We each shared the information that we had compiled and worked through some hypotheses. Ultimately, it was decided that we would head to a location which we knew our target would visit. It was a bar of ill repute. Priestess Sophia and Mister Marlowe stayed outside of the establishment as sentries. Mister Clem manned the door. I went into the bar with Mister Malopher.
 
Soon enough, our quarry had entered the establishment with a small entourage in tow. I have witnessed the prejudice with which people have treated Mister Malopher for much of the day, but it seems that even Elves are not exempt from such behavior. Why, I myself was disparaged for being Aurumi whilst at this bar. This is only relevant because the man we were searching for started a fight with us simply because Mister Malopher would not leave the establishment. My allies subdued the threat shortly. They are very capable, and our assailants were not. Still, I am quite rattled by the experience.
 
We recovered some evidence which implicated them in crimes beyond those of which we might have initially assumed. Tomorrow, we will file this evidence to the proper authorities. I must return to the monastery tomorrow and have some blasphemous material properly disposed of as well. I would like to emphasize that I and my companions are all quite well. I am merely shaken by the experience. I have always known the capabilities of magic for self defense, but I had never imagined that I might have to use it in such a manner.