The Age of Worms / A Gathering of Winds pt. 1 / Von the 21st through Kith the 3rd, 3593 CE / 11-20-22

General Summary

The party has just discovered the body of Lulu's ally, Eligos the Sage, murdered in his own home by assassins working for Loris Raknian. After finding a secret cache of notes that Eligos left concerning the Age of Worms, Not by Choice must deal with the Kedeshite soldiers who have just arrived to investigate the disturbance in Kedesh's upper class Garden District. Nataliya quickly disappears from sight before she is discovered, leaving Nari and Lulu to have to explain their presence in the home of a murdered man. However their fame from the Champions Games serves them well, and eventually they are ruled out as suspects and sent to the Government Building to give a statement to the commander of Kedesh's military, High General Motumbe. Motumbe recognizes Lulu from a previous encounter in which she sued for peace for the lizardfolk of the Mistmarsh, and he has many questions for her regarding her involvement in Loris Raknian's plot and Eligos's death, but Lulu plays coy and ultimately Motumbe relents and allows the party to depart. Meanwhile Nataliya has made her way back to the Free City Arena. After disguising herself as a soldier, she is disappointed to find out that Loris's mansion may have been ransacked of its valuables even before his death in the arena the previous day. She takes some comfort in humiliating some of the other soldiers before making off with the contents of the Loris's wine cellar, which she off-loads through her Thieves Guild contacts. Knowing they must next return to Ludon and seek out Allustan Neff, to whom Eligos had been writing a letter which he stashed with the hidden documents, Not by Choice decides to first rest and recuperate from the Champions Games and spends the next 10 days training and taking advantage of Groquin Shortstone's generosity by staying at the Crooked House. In that time Nari learns a new spell that will become eminently useful, when she uses it make her newly purchased wagon fly. Lulu also has an unexpected reunion, when she is tracked down by her little brother Taavi. Initially the strong-willed lad insists that his sister return home to Pandona, but eventually he gives in to her own insistence that she finish her quest in the southlands and decides to accompany her, joining the party. At the end of the party's training period, they depart the Crooked House and, boarding Nari's flying wagon, make their way to Ludon, avoiding many of the hazards of traveling overland in the South. However, when they reach the mining town, Lulu can immediately detect that something is wrong. Though when she left seven months prior there was some lingering destruction caused by the Ebon Triad's summoned monster, the destruction seems to have worsened and spread, including multiple buildings that have been burned and destroyed. The party makes their first landing at Lulu's cottage, and, after determining that it appears as she left it, make their way next to the manor of Allustan Neff, which they discover to their dismay has fared far worse. In fact the building has been so badly burned that Nari warns against even going inside, lest what remains of the structure collapse upon the hapless guest. Nataliya goes to a neighbor's house to inquire further, and discovers that a dragon has been the cause of the destruction plaguing the town, though the neighbor is unaware of the fate of Allustan himself. Having some clout with the local militia, Lulu decides their next destination should be the nearby garrison, but Nari discovers the dragon has put the soldiers on high alert, as she quickly lands the wagon when it nearly draws arrow-fire. The party is met by Captain Tolliver, who reiterates that a black dragon has been plaguing the town for the last three days, though the attacks seem to stop after the destruction of Allustan's house. When asked about Allustan himself, Tolliver tells the party that the sage wandered into the Cairn Hills just before the attacks began and has not been seen since, but does know that his last stop before departing was Lazare's Gaming House. Knowing Lulu's reputation as an adventurer, he does also ask the party to try and stop the dragon if given the opportunity. Lulu, knowing of at least two black dragons that might have a vendetta against her and her friends, fears a confrontation is probably inevitable. The party makes their way to Lazare's Gaming House, hoping to find another clue to help them track down the missing Allustan before he meets the same fate as his associate, Eligos.

Character(s) interacted with

Lulu Victry, Nari Ashida, Nataliya Cantri, Idra, Jozu, Taavi, Essster, High General Motumbe, Taggin, Captain Tolliver, Lieutenant Eskari, Josef, other Kedeshite soldiers, Thieves guild members

Report Date

21 Nov 2022