The Scratching post #43687

I’ve realized 2 things since the fight ended:
NEVER LEAVE THE CLERIC ALONE IN A TORNADO
Never face off against the new guy, Urthan. He’s a beast with his ax.
I tried to pull Cordelia aside for a quick conversation about my concern about the blood bath we were a part of, but Sam overheard us. He started to ask questions about why I am a rogue, arguably one of the more notorious classes for getting our hands bloody, if I don’t like killing or looting? Well, I told him I would tell him in due time, preferably away from listening ears. With the promise of storytime and free drinks, the group headed back to my tavern.
To be fair, I fully have to trust these individuals it seems. The very fate of the world seems to be in the balance of their shoulders. I feel like Cordelia and I can help them. So, after conferring with my friend, we agreed to join them on their quests going forward, and I began telling my life’s story. I only hit the highlights honestly. Born in Sgand along the coast to a fishing father and a loving mother, wayward lifestyle led me to seek coin at every opportunity, wayward consequences of being turned on by my old crew and spending a long time in prison, being set free and helping my folks for a spell, the attack on Sgand that killed my father and maiming of my sister, and how I turned from there to be a beer seller by day, information seeker by night.
Of the many reactions I received, 2 were noticeable to me more so than the typical heartache on my behalf. Sam seemed to actually connect with the story a bit more than I expected. Perhaps there is something he needs to deal with there? Will he ask for the group's help with it? Urthan was the other one that caught my eye for a lack of expression. Did he seem… aware? Yet unbothered by it. Is he just a stone-faced man? Or, is he holding back for some other reason? Only time will tell.
After the storytime, Cordelia was playing a bit with the blue tiefling Aeirlyn. The two of them seem to have one creative mind for music. They work and interact well together. After the pair had filled the air with songs, Sam pulled Aerilyn for a quick aside. He was voicing his frustration after remembering she had handed him alcohol and not told him it was alcohol. I feigned ignorance as the conversation got a little louder than intended, though I am now aware of my unintended consequences of serving him wine. I’ll keep this in mind going forward though, and see if I can stock the bar with something other than alcohol. Maybe juice or tea? I’ll do some research and come back to this in time.
As the conversation concludes, we all make our way to bed. I thankfully didn’t have any customers this evening, so I just shut the tavern down and was able to get a full night’s rest with zero issues. This is something not to be taken lightly with this group apparently….
With morning comes my standard practice of letting our local waffle wizard in. His name is Bart and he’s done a great job for me over the years. Cordelia is up shortly after me and starts prepping the meats for breakfast, as I already prepped the coffee when I awoke. The others awoke and come downstairs in due time, sinking into the first full night’s rest most of them have had in a while. I pay Bart and we part with pleasantries. I sit back down to a LOT of questions about his life, how he does his work, and other comical questions about him. I inform them of what I know, and it results in a few good laughs. A great way to start our day.
It was promptly thrown to the side as Aerilyn dropped some information the group already knew about. Apparently, there is a drow army amassing beneath the earth, and they have started taking large sections of the map for themselves. Aerilyn voices concern for her mother, who lives near the capital of Sgand, Gere. I voice several concerns with this sudden drop of impending doom and am met with Sam informing me that he won’t tell me how he got this information (apparently he found out first?), only that he trusts the source. While I’m not happy with the initial drop of it, the information seems good enough and we discuss what to do with the roughly 4 main issues of our world they have been mixed up in.
Tall one - a necromancer of impressive power going through the land.
Lolth - a drow army is amassing under the earth and is in the initial stages of taking land for themselves. They serve a queen named Lolth, more info could be found there.
Orcs are raging near the mountains to our southeast. A low problem concerning other issues at hand.
Colder temps have been hitting the free world as a whole it turns out. I figured it was just going to be a bad winter, but nope. This party has gathered that there is an issue creating it further North.
The group decides to tackle the fourth issue first, as it seems to be linked to my investigation of Sgand citizens disappearing in the night and being sent out on ships headed into the ocean. We’ll need to work quickly though. The Drow army is closing in quickly. To prepare for our journey, we decided to gather coats and magical gear that can handle the colder weather. To do this, we need to head to Gere, the capital of Sgand that was recently taken over by the Mordrin Theocracy.
We make our way to the base of the city and are stopped from going into the upper city by some Mordrin guards. We (mostly) succeed in our lies to get past the guards, and are eventually granted access to the upper city. We handle our business effectively (Sam is an expert negotiator) and soon I find myself in the middle of a high-end weapons shop owned by a Zudd Nock with the men of our party. He’s a wonderful individual, who is absolutely ok with selling wares at a slight markup to go around the Mordin security issues. I like him. During this interaction, Borris blurts out that he apparently knows of some runes that can cancel out wild magic. Interesting tidbit.
Borris also blurts out that we are trying to find better weapons because the Drow are headed this way. Zudd immediately starts selling out his shop and will be traveling with us Northward. We will figure out how, when, and for how long in the upcoming future.
We later meet up with the girls and find out Aerilyn’s mom is in town, is protected by the local guards due to her last name and her husband. I wonder if they are still somehow together? The good news is I won’t have to wonder long, as we are headed to the jail now to speak with her.