Journal Entry 07.01 - Return to Chrailis

The party returns to Chrailis. Tars and Falgrieg depart for other ventures. Urik joins, taking up Tars’s axe. The party gears and trains up for their next leg of the journey, a return once again to Canton. Morvion learns of the Neffer Key.

General Summary

Once the party arrives back in Chrailis, they find themselves in a large warehouse. Those who had seen the other side of the gate when Dame Imokan had opened it before quickly realize that this is not the same location that Dame Imokan was working from.
Multiple functionaries, several guards, and more than a few scholars are roaming around. It appears rather chaotic. The warehouse is littered with desks covered in scrolls and a few books. Crates are stacked out of the way, creating makeshift offices. The overall bustle appears to have no one in charge. However, it is obvious that the world gate is the center of everyone’s attention.
Stepping through the gate, the party can see the portal remains open. Just a few feet away they can see jungles around Canton.
Though the party was told that someone on the other side would likely interrogate them, this does not happen. They are quickly led out of the warehouse and allowed to go their own way.
The party steps into a tavern only for a few minutes to get some well cooked food (ground lamb, carrots, peas, corn and mashed potatoes making up an awesome shepherd’s pie, a well-made peach cobbler, and they splurge on a bottle of 40-year apple wine brandy.) Upon leaving, they decide to make their way back to Dame Imokan to report in. Tars believes he spots someone following him – he mentions a pink hat. However, no one else sees anything.
Once the party arrives back at Dame Imokan’s estate, she quickly meets with them in one of her gardens and explains that some of her inquiries had alerted others to the fact that she had not only found a world gate but smuggled it into the city. Once this happened, men from Coterie Kas Dais showed up and demanded she turn it over, which she did. She also lodged a protest with her own Coterie but has yet to hear anything back. As far as she can guess, the gate is lost to her for now. The gate was taken in the middle of the night and Dame Imokan has only known about it for a few hours when that party returns to her estates.
As far as the inquiries, she believes it may have been when she started asking about the strange child in Kerlostra.
Almost immediately, Tars strides forth and slams his ax down on the table metal brunch table. “This damn blade keeps fighting me. I thought we were fine, but the more I use it, the more disagreeable it becomes.”
Imokan sighs with a concerned look. “I was wondering if one of you had chosen a wrong item. The affinity each of you have for the items isn’t an accident. Any of you could have chosen any item and gotten some use out of it. However, to be fully attuned, that item needs to match the specific person. I have another in my service who was unable to find an item of those I had. So please dear Tars, come back to your group’s study and try again.” (edited)
Leaving her garden, Tars and Imokan head inside. Arriving back at the study all the remaining artifacts are once again arrayed out on the table. Tars looks closely, then reaches out and picks up a small set of bone dice. “These. These are the items I should have chosen. I feel it with a certainty. Why didn’t I see them before.”
Dame Imokan nods and smiles, “Well – truth is. They weren't there the first time. I just obtained them. I think they might have been a slight peace offering for taking my gate away. They were delivered the day after by one of the patron’s factors. However – they are yours now. Use them to your benefit.”
Tars later tells the group that he can’t continue on with them. Now that he knows Rafe is alive and well, he must go to his blood brother. Dame Imokan agrees saying, “I am good with this leaving. I need a representative among the pirates. If I can still count on you when I ask, you have my blessing and may keep the dice.”
Tars agrees. “Honor demands no less. You promised to aid me in my search, and this quest of yours is the only reason I now know where to look. I am forever indebted to the house of Imokan.”
Falgrieg says he is also willing to travel with Tars, but first he must make a trip to help his ailing father. Tars says he will also make this journey. A few weeks delay will not matter at this point. Aja – believing she might also be of assistance volunteers. All three head up and sure enough, Aja is able to draw the degenerative properties of the poison into herself before neutralizing it. They stay another day before heading back. All told, this little journey takes a little over 4 days. Falgrieg promises to return to his family to run the business once he has helped Tars locate Rafe.
Upon returning to Chrailis – Tars and Falgrieg head off downriver to find a ship heading out to sea. Falgrieg says something about needing to find a smaller sharkskin duster.
Right before leaving, Falgrieg does discuss his desire to step aside from the mission. Dame Imokan is saddened, however, she understands. She does ask that should she need and the need is dire, he will be available to answer her call if possible. He agrees. She also allows him to keep the artifact for now. She says she may need to recall it, however as it has so strongly bonded to him it would be pointless to ask for it back.
The remaining party as a whole spends the first two weeks back in Chrailis training and researching new skills. While Morvion dislikes staying inside the walls of a city, the sad truth is furthering his skills requires access to knowledge. Knowledge not readily available among the trees of the jungle.
Overall, a full month is spent readying for the next leg of their adventure.
Graykar will spend his month not only training but reestablishing his friend network since he has been absent over a month. He also spends time trying to figure out the small chest he obtained, to little avail. He does discover that the chest is nearly indestructible. Graykar doesn’t try everything on it, but enough attempts to saw and drill through the wood to know it is protected. At this point, anything capable of opening the chest by force will likely damage anything inside if it is at all fragile.
Additionally, Graykar now has a line on some Crystal Ooze – needed for the main quest. If the party wishes, Graykar can set up a meet. Aja travels out to her home villages, meet up with some of the local healers to exchange wisdom and some gossip, then also arranges a trip into the Quirk Woods for a meeting with her dad. After a month, she returns to Dame Imokan’s study at an agreed time.
Both when she first arrived and then when she returns at the end of the month, Aja is able to converse with Dame Imokan about her visions some more. Dame Imokan shows Aja some pictures of cities in far-off lands. Looking at the pictures, she sees one city – Crynthia – which matches closely to her dream quest. Dame Imokan says that reaching the city is almost impossible, however, if she tried it would likely be a one-way journey and she doesn’t recommend even starting the journey. More pressing matters exist here at home. What information she has on Crynthia is that it is a port city stagnant from the rule of law and discipline. The weather is cold and constantly rainy – matching the bleak outlook of the citizenry. Imokan has no idea why Aja would have dreamed it – slavery is punishable by death in that particular city.
Aja attempts a few more readings, however, her deck seems to be only giving basic information and premonitions, adding nothing new to her outlook of the long-term future. Her deck has gone silent – as the saying goes. This is nothing new in and of itself – decks often go silent until the subject of the reading starts moving. With decks – motion begets motion whereas subjects at rest tend to stay at rest. Aja muses that maybe she should make a witch rule about that – sounds catchy.
Morvion, not really intending to stay, gets caught up in more and more research. He finds out that Canton is far from unknown in Chrailis. It has a history. About 400 years ago, a prominent brother and sister arrived in Chrailis from Canton. With them, they brought strange magics which utilized feathers. Some of the feathers still survive in a few museums the collections of the wealthy. The siblings were somewhat of disruptive but never caused any great civil unrest. Pranksters might have been an apt description. Then they suddenly disappeared.
Continuing to research this, Morvion finds that their last known mention was putting on a magical display down at the docks during the Mid Year festival. From there, some family of the aristocrats invited them into the city center for a different celebration. No later mention is made. He does find however a notation in one book stating that the siblings were looking in Chrailis for Neffer Key.
Following that tangent, and still trying to determine what was lost in Canton, Morvion finds only one other clue. A Neffer Key is an instant redirect of a world gate. No direction is given to how it works.
On the plus side, after taking the scroll to others, he finally makes the connection of the strange word in the scroll. It was badly pronounced, but was the name of one of the trees in his village. Most recently it belonged to the healer’s family, but for centuries it was the traditional home of the village shaman. Morvion feels this might be a good place to resume looking for the mysterious object which the lizards were obsessed with and now consumes some of Morvion’s time. (edited) One thing of note which happens during this month is that almost immediately upon returning, Morvion becomes convinced he is being followed once again. He sees some bright pink clothing in the corner of his eye more than once and believes someone is watching him as he moves around the city. Mentioning it to his comrades, Graykar also catches a flash of the pink clothing (he thinks it might be a hat) keeping distance. While Aja is gone, they Morvion and Graykar and set up a few stings, but never quite succeed. Once, just once, they actually saw a smaller person running down an alleyway only to lose her. At least Graykar is certain it was a woman running away from them. And their quarry was definitely wearing a pink hat. Even after this, it didn’t dissuade there stalker – she was back just two days later, or at least Morvion reports seeing her again out of the corner of his eye. Morvion has gotten really good at walking along and suddenly turning around, much to the amusement of Graykar who keeps encouraging a more nonchalant and less noticeable action while in public.
As far as the main quest goes. Graykar easily obtains some Blue Silk Tree Bark at no additional costs by trading some information. Each party member receives a whole 5 gp’s for their stipend from Dame Imokan. Each party member has trained into their next level (character level 6 for everyone.)
And Dame Imokan introduces a new party member she would like you to take with you. A powerful orc she refers to as Urik Bonecrush. She says he has served her well these last several months and now that he wields the Black Axe which Tars had carried, he will be a more than capable replacement the loss of Tars in the group. Sadly, at this time, she has not located another to replace Falgrieg.
Dame Imokan tells the group that she has secured passage for the group if they wish to travel back to Canton.

Report Date

13 Mar 2018