Some More Downtime in Kelethin

The party spends some time in Kelethin before returning to Emerald Outpost. Some of the things they see and hear shocks them.

November 8th - November 10th

Uneventful travel back to Kelethin. Roswyn arrives early, drops off their prisoner, and waits for the party.  

November 11th

The rest of the party arrives in Kelethin to meet Roswyn. The party receives a coded letter from Sarowyn informing them that he has made it successfully to Kaladim and is on his way to the docks to head to Antonica. Ellie decides to spend her day attempting to restore the medallion she found in the spider cave. Yarver seeks out Lina once more for some information and potential magical crafts. He shows her a glowing mushroom he harvested from the spider caves and asks if she could use it to fashion anything. She says Ueass the potion maker would likely have better uses for it than her. When Yarver shows her the giant spider egg he stole, she seems uncomfortable and hurries him out. Carlos leads a reluctant Roswyn and the rest of the party to see Maesyn to inquire about the prisoner.   The party arrives at the ranger guild hall where Maesyn summons Kelolan to assist the party. While they wait, Maesyn asks about their adventures since they last met, especially the part about killing Lord Darish. After some colorful recollections, Kelolan arrives and leads the party out of the city to one of the many, many giant trees of the Greater Faydark. Raising his staff, he unlocks a hidden door on the trunk of one that reveals a dirt path the delves into the depths under the forest floor. It opens to a single dome-shaped cavern. In the center is the Drachnid prisoner handcuffed and half entombed by the surrounding earth. It looks beaten, broken, and completely exhausted. The group is scared and horrified of the wood elves in a way that they have never been before.   Kelolan lets the party question the Drachnid prisoner. Roswyn casts Zone of Truth to ensure the Drachnid cannot deceive them. The Drachnid is surprisingly forthcoming, but does not seem to know much. The party learns of the origins of drachnids and their relation to Mayong Mistmoore and that this one abandoned his duty to Mayong. The one semi-important detail that it divulged is that drachnids use tunnels under the Lesser Faydark to move undetected. There are even tunnels that lead directly into the castle, including some in hidden catacombs. With no more information to give, the party decides to head back to the city. As they leave, they hear the brutal sounds of the creature being strangled to death by vines via one of Kelolan's spells. An unsettling feeling sets in among the party that any one of the hundreds of trees in the forest could have a similar structure beneath it, and the party's image of the jovial, kind wood elves shatters.   When the party heads back to Kelethin, shook up, they decide to retire for the evening. Ellie continues her work on restoring the medallion into the night.  

November 12th

The party wakes early to visit Maesyn once more while Ellie continues work on her restoration. Carlos inquires about Mayong, but Maesyn says that they have not seen him since the party last did, despite their best efforts. Yarver heads to Ueass to get some potions and potentially find a use for the glowing mushroom he harvested. Carlos plays heavily into Ueass's hatred of orcs when recounting their story of killing Emperor Crush's son in hopes of further discounts. Roswyn heads to Minamas's forge to check up on the refitting of her axe as well as sell the very fine steel swords they got from the drachnids.   Later in the day, Ellie finally finishes restoring the medallion. She's able to tell that its around 500 years old and has been in the ground for nearly 50, but not its origin. She brings it to Kelolan who is able to identify it as an old dialect of dark elvish. Though he cannot read it, he copies it on some parchment to be sent for study in Felwithe. In the conversation, Ellie learns of the Plane of Knowledge. Roswyn gives Carlos the studded leather she got from Minamas, who has the brilliant idea to have Lina combine it with his owlbear leather armor, but it will take some time. That night, seeing's Roswyn's loss of her puzzle box, Ellie designs a new puzzle for Roswyn to complete in its place. Lastly, Carlos procures a wagon for their frequent travels.  

November 13th

The party kills some more time while they wait for some of their orders in Kelethin. Ellie spends the day continuing her restoration work on the papers from Orc Hill. She discovers that some of the papers refer to a place known as Echo Castle. Roswyn spends the day with Equestrielle bonding. Arya sends letter to her parents back in Qeynos. Carlos wakes up late with a slight hangover and heads down into the tavern. He sees a pair of dwarves day drinking and decides to strike up a conversation with them. They don’t mention anything of import, but are quick to embellish their suspiciously uneventful journey from Kaladim to Kelethin. After his conversation, Carlos purchases a draft horse to help them pull their wagon through the forest. When he is on the forest floor, he sees Briseis Au'Lune and Arrias Arcanum coming toward the city from the west.   Their numbers are noticeably fewer but it seems that they were victorious in their mission, whatever it was. Not feeling too well still, Carlos decides it's best not to engage with the surly Briseis. Instead, he heads back to the tavern. Briseis and her soldiers are not far behind him, heading to see Maesyn no doubt. The full plate soldiers draw many eyes as they are not common in the tree city. They uncharacteristically decide to not insert themselves into this meeting. Instead, they finish gathering supplies they will need for the coming battles.   Later in the afternoon, Ellie's work bears fruit: she finds out the Orc Hill used to be called Echo Castle, a fortification held by the elves. One of the soldiers stationed there was Maesyn Trueshot. Upon discovering this, Ellie heads straight to his office to tell him. She sees a private meeting with Briseis, and she cannot help but eavesdrop. What stands out most is the mention of werewolves, but she doesn't make out anything specific. Ellie asks why the elves haven't just exterminated the orcs if they seem to be so much more powerful. He explains that the orcs breed and grow quickly, making them quite a pain to deal with. The orcs have also created a nearly impenetrable fort. That coupled with the planar wars of the last century, the most powerful elves departed Norrath. She inquires further about the planes and her recent discovery of the Plane of Knowledge. Her curiosity is immeasurable at the thought of an entire plane of existence full of books. Maesyn regales her with the story of Zebuxxoruk and his aid to the mortals. They discuss Mayong Mistmoore and Briseis's confrontations. Maesyn casually mentions the Briseis is one of the most powerful clerics alive.