Session 65 - High on a Hill

General Summary

13th Sov'van

The flight took a few hours and the sun was fully set by the time the gryphons and the party approached the Wing Guard outpost. Nestled in the cleft of a split-peak, there was a large open lanai with a knee high balustrade that looked down over the rocky mountains and the jungle far below. Doorways were visible on both sides, but light could be seen out of the windows to the left and that was the direction the gryphons lead the party. A large stone door was set with a large ring for a handle and Jadewing pulled it open ushering everyone inside.
The room beyond was large, easily 100ft wide and 150ft deep with 20ft ceilings. It was also warm, easily 75 or more. Several large nest of burlap and leather cushions were arranged in the back and a few doors were scattered along the walls. A kitchen was set up in one of the nearer corners and a large table with benches was set up nearby. Two half elves sat at the table talking while a lizard looking person was in the kitchen pulling loaves of round bread out of a oven.
The pair at the table turned to observe the party but didn't say anything as Steeltail stepped around the team and saluted, "We have returned, sirra. We found the flyer that was spotted yesterday. They are travelers and adventurers searching for something in the mountains. Jadewing thought it was prudent to invite them back here. Give them someplace warm and secure to sleep and maybe a chance to look at the maps of the Teeth."
The older of the pair, clearly in middle-age with short cropped grey hair and a scar under one eye, nodded and addressed the party, "Welcome, welcome, please come sit and make yourselves comfortable. Would you like something to eat?" Glancing in the direction of the kitchen area he called, "Imusk, please bring over some that soup and bread for our guests."
The lizard person, shortish and thin, had a long snout and a whipcord like tail as well as a fringe of greens and reds. When Nym spoke, he turned and nodded, "Right away, sirra."
As the party arranged themselves at the table the older half-elf introduced themselves, "My name is Nym Valeri and I am the leader of the outpost. He gestured at the other half-elf, a stout fellow with broad shoulders and brown hair gathered in a bun, "This is Tannatar Dormoira, my second. "
The conversation was interrupted by Imusk, the kassas, bringing over a tray filled with bowl of steaming soup. "It's a hearty vegetable and barley soup made with a nice fish stock," he said. "I'll be right back with the bread. Would anyone like something to drink? I've only got wine, water, or beer, but I could make some tea." After taking orders the lizard person zipped back over to kitchen and began filling glasses. Looking at the strange creature tickled something in the back of Denye's breain, but she couldn't put her finger on what, only that that it had something to do with the Troraine Timberland.
Leaving the others to do the talking, Ranunkel began examining the stonework, only to realize that there were no tool marks. The walls were flat and clearly worked stone, but it was almost as if the walls had been melted. This fascinated the dwarven druid and he began to eat quickly so that he could go and study it more closely.
As the others began to try the soup, over the link Janora asked, "Does one of you who speaks kinder than I want to explain. I would try but I would likely end up insulting the fellow."
Ell was more than happy to volunteer and after the first bite or two said, "Thank you once again for your hospitality. As you can see, most of us are not from around here, but we're here looking for a lost city said to be somewhere in these mountains. We believe there is information there that would be useful in some of our other work."
Tannatar leaned forward with interest, "A hidden city you say? I can't recall seeing anything like that on the maps. Is it inside a mountain? I suppose we might have missed and entrance or something."
"We can look at the maps later," said Nym, laying a hand on Tannatar's arm. Focusing back on the party, they asked "Do you know anything else about this city? I'm going to guess that it's a ruin, if there were people living there, the Wing Guard would have spotted them."
Ell shrugged, "I'm not sure, to be honest. We are following a vision and a seeking in search of a temple of a Sphinx with no nose. But if I may ask a question, who are you all and what is the Wing Guard? Jadewing mentioned that you represent the city of White Gryphon?"
"Indeed we do," replied Nym, nodding, "The Wing Guard are one of the nine chapters of our great city. We function as watchmen, guards, and militia for the city. Mostly we are made of La'naris and Gryphons, but we also have some Kassas and In'alli."
"Gryphons I have heard about," said Denye, "but who are the others? I don't believe I've heard those names before."
"Likely not," chuckled Nym, "do you know much about the history of White Gryphon?" When the others all shook their heads, the older half-elf nodded, "We arrived on this peninsula roughly five hundred years ago, escaping the Cataclysm. Long had we served Mage Duskglimmer, but when it was clear that he would fall to Darkhold we were sent away...as far as it was possible to go and so the five races found themselves in the jungles of the Karzaba Peninsula. "
"Five races," asked Denye leaning forward, "You only mentioned four."
"Indeed," said Nym, "the five races; the La'naris elves who numbered two thousand or more, a few hundred humans, and even less of the three Created races; Gyphons, Kassas, and In'alli. Over the years the humans and elves have intermingled to the point that we all call ourselves La'naris. The gryphons you are well acquainted with and Imsuk is a Kassas. The In'alli are a sort of bloodhound/gnome hybrid with the torso a humanoid attached to the body of a large hound."
Tannatar chuckled, "As you can imagine, they do not do well climbing mountains, so they generally serve in the city."
Janora's eyes had gotten a bit wide at the description of the In'alli and she wanted to ask more about it but instead asked, "If you serve in the city, why are you all the way out here?"
"Border guard detachment," explained Nym, "while we haven't expanded much outside the city, the jungle has proven both dangerous and bountiful. So we keep an eye on it from this side and keep an eye on the desert as well. Always a good idea to keep an eye on the neighbors."
Jilken burst out with a laugh and Janora's eyebrows tightened as she asked, "Worried about the Aiel invading the mountains?"
"Not likely," barked Tannatar with a laugh. Nodding at Jilken he said, "You are clearly Aiel, so pardon my saying so, but most of the Aiel are stubborn and mad desert nomads who refuse to leave their blasted wasteland. Mostly we watch for forest fires and the like."
Jilken shrugged, "It is not an untrue statement."
Nym trying to steer the conversation back on track asked, "Where are you all from? As Tannatar said, she is clearly Aiel, but the rest of you are quite the unique collection of travelers."
Ell realized that they hadn't actually finished introductions and quickly began introducing the various party members. Over the rest of dinner, he kept the conversation going, telling the pair of La'naris about some of the party's adventures. As the meal finished and Imusk began clearing dishes, Nym stood and asked, "Would you like to take a look at our maps?"
Most of the party stood and followed him through one of the doors and into a room that might have been an office or library. The older La'naris opened a chest and pulled several large scrolls. Setting them on the table and unrolling one he said, "We've had gryphons flying over the mountains for a couple of hundred years so we've been able to get pretty good images."
The maps were indeed done in fine detail and included elevations and some scattered notations about forests or points of interest. Ell and Denye quickly began to scan over them, noting several of the timberlands, waterfalls, and glades labeled. There were a few others as well, places like the dwarven ruin was marked as Shaledelver's Folly and one not far from the outpost that was marked simply as Cliff.
Denye pointed to it and asked, "Why would you are mark a cliff?"
Nym started to answer when a new voice cut him off, "It's not a Cliff, but rather Cliff the ogre who lives nearby and has a rather large herd of some tasty goats." The new gryphon with blue and yellow tipped feathers had entered the room at this point and clacked his beak in pleasure at the thought.
Denye looked aghast, but Jilken muttered, "Bet he loves that."
The gryphon blushed, his nairs turning red as he said, "We always pay for the goats we eat, we are not wild animals, but civilized people such as yourselves." Turning to Nym, he continued, "Pardon the interruption sirra, but I heard we had visitors looking for some sort of hidden city in the mountains."
"Quite right Cloudbuck," the older man said, nodding, "everyone this is Cloudbuck, he's been flying over the Teeth for the last 15 years or so and out of all three outposts. If anyone would know about ruins or other secluded sites it would be him."
Ell, who had been studying the maps thoughtfully, asked, "Are the any areas of the mountains where strange things happen or people disappear?"
"Or just dangerous spots in general?" added Denye.
Cloudbeck thought for a moment, but shook his head, "Nothing in particular, there is some aggressive wildlife in a few spots that could be a challenge for the unwary, and there is that one valley of angry rock spirits at the far end. Honestly I think the worst thing we've had to deal with was those demon cultists 10 years or so ago. You remember, Nym, they were causing all those shipwrecks."
"I do," replied Nym, "I had never seen the like, but it took three whole squads to take them down. I don't recall the god's name, something unpronounceable."
"Kthald'xalb," supplied Tannatar, "I suppose we'll find out in an eon if he is really coming here." Looking over to Ell, he offered, "I seem to recall in one of my early tours at the eastern outpost, one of the gryphons, an oldtimer named Nightbeak told me about this area he flew over where he always felt like he was seeing something else out of the corner of his eye. It has only happened a few times he said....but this is also the gryphon who told me he was haunted by a pair of dolls."
"Still," said Ell, interested, "that sounds like it could be some sort of shielding and illusion spell. Do you remember where it was?"
"Has anyone every tried sweeping the mountains for magic?" asked Janroa.
"It should be somewhere on map 17," responded Tannator, "and yes, the mages have done flyovers and never found anything."
"They did find that portal to the Plane of Air at the top of Mt. Nevrad'al," suggested Cloudbuck. "I would love to go explore such a place...if only the portal were more predictable."
As the others discussed this portal, Ell found the required map and began going over it carefully. After a moment or two, he pulled Denye over and whispered, "The vision we saw was of a valley open to the sky and a giant statue, so I'm thinking there is some sort of illusion or misdirection spell keeping the gryphons from looking at it."
"You think maybe the valley is keeping people from looking at it or recognizing it?" asked Denye catching his thought.
"More or less," agreed Ell, "we also don't know how large of area it actually is. So do you see any parts of this map that look duplicated or copied?" Pointing at one area of the map, he added, "I feel like there is something there, but I can't find it."
Denye cocked her head to one side and began examining the map with her left eye, before turning her head and examining it with her right. She bounced back and forth as Ell searched the map as well. It took a few minutes but Denye pointed at two spots on the map, this little lake and woods looks almost identical to this other valley. Neither valley was marked, but there was a notation nearby for a place called the Gate of Peace.
It also wasn't far from the eastern outpost and Denye looked up at Nym and asked, "There wouldn't happen to be a teleport circle between here and there, would there?"
Nym shook his head, "The gryphons are our primary mode of travel, it being much easier to fly over the jungle than try to move through it. That's why the artificers have been working on building an airship."
"An airship!" squawked Denye, her eyes pinning in excitement.
"Indeed," Nym replied, "now that they have managed to keep it aloft for more than a moon, this third one is quite a marvel."
"I have to see it," Denye said excitedly, "that sounds amazingly and I would love to learn how they did such a thing."
"You said this was the third model," asked Janora, leaning forward, "what happened to the other two?"
Nym chuckled, "Well the first took off and managed to stay aloft for about 20 minutes or so before it fell into the ocean. The second managed to stay flying for a couple of days before it too, fell into the ocean."
Vellikar looked concerned and laid a hand on Denye's wing, "My friend, this sounds dangerous, we should not do it."
The Corva wizard shook her head, "I have too! Can you imaging standing in the air. I must see how they have accomplished such a thing...besides Nym said they have fixed the problems and this one is trustworthy."
"Perhaps after we deal with this problem," urged Janora, "I would love to visit White Gryphon as well, but we should continue looking for the city."
"You mentioned that it was difficult to move through the jungle?" asked Jilken.
Tannator nodded, "It can be, mostly it's just dense and makes for some time-consuming travel but there are a few types of beasts you should keep an eye out for, like the large ape creatures with ridiculously large arms or the winged snakes that can spit fire. And if you see a butterfly with stained-glass wings....run!"
"Why would we run from a butterfly," asked Jilken.
"They are some sort of magical creation gone wrong," explained Tannator, "but they are blood feeders and have the ability to clone themselves quickly and exponentially. One of these butterflies that scents blood can become a swarm of hundreds in the space of a dozen heartbeats."
"Got it, avoid the butterflies" muttered Ell before looking over at Nym and asking, "Given the apparent danger of traveling through the jungle, would it be possible for a couple of the gryphons to fly us to the other outpost?"
The older man grimaced and shook his head, "I'm sorry my boy, we can certainly help you down on whichever side of the mountains you would like, but I'm afraid I can't spare them for that long."
"That's alright," said Jilken, reassuringly, "if you can just get us back down to the sands, we can take it from there."
Denye spent some time sketching out a copy of the area where they though the hidden city might be, but others went to check out the room that Imusk had prepared. It's wasn't much, a plain room with seven pallets laid out on the floor and a bucket and dipper in the corner filled with fresh water. The La'naris and the gryphons said goodnight and disappeared into other parts of the outpost as the party settled down for the night, It proved to be a quiet and peaceful long rest, although both Jilken and Vellikar had disturbing dreams.

14th Sov'van

Over a filling breakfast, the party discussed what their next steps should be, eventually deciding that the best plan would be to return to the desert far enough out to call up a worm and head south. Janora was unconvinced about how they would find this spot, but Denye assured her that she had made copies of the maps and they would be able to find it once the team got closer.
As the meal finished, the jackalope, Jax, jumped up on the table and staring into Vellikar’s eyes, asked mentally, “You still want to go?” After getting over a momentary shock, the firbolg questioned what was going on. Jax explained that he could take Vellikar to his Master and he would be able to help bring Errin back. Thinking quickly, the druid decided that yes he needed to follow-up on this.
Looking around at his friends, Vellikar tearfully explained a bit about his dream and his need to follow it if there was a way to find his brother once more. He was concerned that the party would be upset that he was leaving, but insisted that the others continue searching for the Bells. The rest of the party assured Vellikar that they understood and would always have a place with the team when they were able to return. Finally, when Vellikar was ready to go, Jax jumped into his arms, wiggled his nose and the pair vanished in a puff of blue and green smoke and the sound of a whoopie cushion.
Cloudbuck and Lightfall were assigned to fly the party down from the high outpost. Without Vellikar, the gryphons had to carry two each, but it wasn’t a problem. It took an hour or so for the group to fly down in a southward direction, eventually dropping the party to the ground in a swirl of biting sands. After a few quick words, the gryphons took off, causing another whirlwind, leaving the party to their own devices. Ranunkel used his stone sense to confirm that there was still a solid rock shelf under the sandbed and Jilken led the party off in a direction that should take them to open sand while still moving in the right direction.
A few hours later, Janora flying overhead, spotted a group of eight figures moving on a path that would intersect with their own. The witch called a warning down to the others and asked Jilken what they should do. By this point, the other group had topped the large sand dune and pulled out a short spyglass, Jilken got a better look. She recognized them as an Aiel hunting pack, but wasn’t to tell what clan. A few moments later, the pack noticed the team and someone in the group began waving his hands in what Jilken recognized as battlecode. The Aiel fighter was a little rusty, but communicated an acknowledgement of non-threat. As the two groups converged, Jilken gave the party a quick rundown on how to interact with her people.
The hunting pack was from Voxis, a group of 8, and the pack leader introduces himself as Conall Da’faren. When Jilken introduced herself, he blinked and said he had been told he might run into her. He has a note he was told to give Jilken, but he hadn’t believed they would actually find her. When pressed he admits that they were told to go in this direction and keep an eye out for Jilken and her band and given the message by RM Oladre.
Jilken scanned the note and paled a bit, but begged Conall for a moment and returned to speak to the others, letting them know that she was being called to judgment for bringing the team out onto the sands and sharing secrets with outsiders. The party’s reactions varied from shock, to annoyance, to anger that someone would question Jilken’s honor. After some conversation the team decided that it would be best to head there directly and deal with it. Janora only agreed when Jilken pointed out that the best place to learn more about Token’eska would likely be Voxis.
Conall knows nothing about the contents of the note, but is happy to travel together. Getting a little further out into the sands, Jilken called up an impressive worm, but lost her grip when trying to get herself anchored. Conall was right behind and got control of the worm quickly. From there it was a simple matter to drop some ropes and get everyone up onto the worm and Conall turned the worm in the direction of Voxis.
Well before the order to disembark came, it was clear that the destination was an enormous outcropping of stone that rose in the late afternoon sunlight. The group took to the ground a mile or so out and with the hunt leader and Jilken taking the lead, they closed the distance. Twice, Jilken caught Conall signaling hidden watchers and even noted one or two as they made their way in.
Arriving at the door, they found it guarded by four stone-faced Aiel. Conall announced himself and the group, and explained that the Reverand Mother was expecting them. The warriors said nothing, but a moment later the outer door opened and the fighters stepped aside to let them pass. There was a 10x15 room beyond and another door and as the outer door clanged shut, the entire team looked at each other in panic.

Character(s) interacted with

Jadewing (she/her, 31) - Gryphon and Wing Guard member
  Cloudbuck (he/him, 25) - [Gryphon} and Wing Guard member
Lightfall (she/her, 19) - Gryphon  and Wing Guard member
Steeltail (he/him, 20) - Gryphon  and Wing Guard member
Nym Valeri (they/them, 120) La'naris elf and Commander of the Northern Wing Guard outpost.
Tannatar Dormoira (he/him, 73) La'naris elf and Second in command at the Wing Guard outpost.
Sana Tralamin (he/him, 37) La'naris elf and Wing Guard member
Tiriana Crabella (she/her, 41) La'naris elf and Wing Guard member
Imusk (he/him, 53) Kassas Wing Guard cook at the northern outpost
Conall Da’faren (he/him, 189) Aiel elf and Hunt Leader out of Sietch Voxis 

Report Date

27 Jan 2023

Primary Location

The Teeth