Soon after Taltos introduced himself, Francis reenters the room.
"The king and council are ready to see you now. You may enter."
He leads you into the King's Conference Room. You see a table ahead of you with 5 figures sitting around it. The King, A burly human which you can guess is Malkas, a wizardly human which is recognized as Rever, a very beautiful elf (but not as beautiful as rumour suggests) Seliene, and finally a dwarf whom is not recognized by any. The King now noticing your entrance stands and speaks to you.
"Welcome saviors, I trust you have had some time to get aquainted? I am King Diamedes. And I thank you for your quick response to my summons. I am glad to see that you all appear to be a strong lot and ready for this challenge." The king sighs. "Unfortunately we do not have any information on the treat which has arisen. We do not have any idea of what is causing the disappearances. Which is why I sought to gather a group. We need you to find out what is causing this. Whether it is a simple band of thieves or something greater."
Now Malkas speaks up, "The first signs of trouble were in the east at Dreaus. To let you know just how serious these troubles are, recently a few more events have transpired. A merchant that was traveling through the Draeusian region happened upon one of the villages out that way and found it was completely leveled... Burned to the ground... No sign of survivors... we have not let that story reach public ear as of yet, but we are unsure of how long it will be before word gets out."
Seliene interrupted Malkas in her beautiful elven voice to dissuade you from charging directly to Draeus with the following, "But the most recent occurrence struck very close to here. In Matrix, Lord Uther one of the lords of that territory, has vanished as he was hunt in the fields near there. He had a squad of guards with him. 10 in number. A couple of halfling farmers were walking in the field there and found 7 of his guards butchered. No sign of the Lord or his remaining guards. I suggest you travel there first to investigate mayhaps you will find some lead. Do you have anything to suggest Rever?"
"Yes, another suggestion... it may be possible to uncover some information about this in Martines, they have many books there a lot of them older than the age. Perhaps some information can be gleaned. But I am not sure just exactly what you would look for..." Rever answered.
"One last thing," King Diamedes speaks, "This dwarf came to me recently to represent the dwarven kingdom in this quest, He will be joining you, his name is Caravlin Carason. I will allow him to tell you more about himself."
At a convenient moment, Caravlin rises to introduce himself.
'As the King has said, I have come from the Mountain Home to show that the dwarves support King Diamedes fully and to offer what help I may. In these troubled times all must work together, despite our own problems the dwarves recognise that'
'I am capable with an axe and I can understand both the glory and pain of battle, I place my entire trust in my faith, perhaps in the future we will be glad of that.'
Caravlin greets each member of the party in time, taking a little time as he apparently sizes them up. As he stands before Meskar he smiles, as with all dwarves a little uncomfortable in the presence of magic. Touching his cross he comments 'Mahtan has the only art I trust, that and some brave dwarven warriors'.
Slightly taller than the average dwarf and very broad even by their standards, he has dark straggly hair dark eyes and a beard that is surprisingly trim. Dressed fully in grey he reveals no interest in fashion.
He finishes by bowing low (a polite gesture by dwarven standards).
'Interesting times my friends, I think it will be our time'
Caravlin is patient and waits his turn, rubbing at his beard he rises, "I have some questions."
Clearly accustomed to speaking in public, and seemingly not overawed by the King, he quickly asks several questions without waiting for answers in between.
'How long was there between the attacks? Could they be done by the same group? Maybe we could guess the direction any group is heading in? Could we speak to the merchant who discovered the town or the halfling farmers? What about Lord Uther, did he have any enemies?'
Those present who know dwarves well are not surprised to hear that Caravlin would rather be out than in the library...
'I think we have the means in the party to learn more from the site of the most recent trouble. It could be like looking for a dwarf child in a mountain trying to track something down in books, we don't even know what we'd be looking for. We could get to Matrix fairly quickly, what do others think?'
Sitting back down he waits for some answers and opinions....
Ch'rowr eyes the dwarf, the elf, the wizard and lastly the King curiously but does not speak.
Elboria bows to the king and looks around.
He keeps listening to all the questions and seems satisfied for the time being. While waiting for the answers he looks for some fruit or something else to eat.
Rinkel gets up out of his seat, bows and falls to one knee...
" It will be a great honor to serve you my King ... we will do our utmost to help rid your kingdoms of this unknown evil that plagues the land. "
Rinkel slowly rises to his feet and turns to his new companions...
" I suggest we hastily travel to Matrix to investigate the disappearance of Lord Uther. Matrix is the closest city, and from there we can always travel north to Martines. Besides, ... if the trail leads us to Dreaus, Matrix is on the way there, and Martines is kinda a boring city anyhow."
Rinkel turns his attention back to the King and falls back down to one knee again...
" My King... I am but a simple halfling from humble beginnings... if I may be so bold as to request a wagon, horses and ponies for me and my companions to speed along our quest. As always... I will honor your will my King and I apologize if my boldness or request offends thee. "
Rinkel stands and bows then returns to his seat.
"King Diamedes, has anyone question the halfling farmers that found the bodies of the guard?"
I think first that we should try and get some information from the halfling farmers, then head to Martines to find out if any of the books have anything. I don't know if we will find anything out there..." you notice I have a puzzling look on my face, as I look at everyone."
What do you all think?
Meskar bows to the assembled dignitaries, and faces the King. 'Sire, thank you for granting us this audience. I do have several questions and requests on behalf of our company.'
(Deliver the questions one at a time, waiting patiently for the answers.)
Regarding the village:
Roughly how many villagers were
there?
What signs of a struggle were there?
You say no survivors, but were there any corpses? If so, how did
they die?
Do we know what the enemy force was composed of?
What tracks were there, leading to and from the village?
Were livestock taken, killed, or simply left?
Regarding Lord Uther:
[If corpses were found in
the above question] Did the guards' corpses bare the
same kind of wounds as those found on the villagers?
[else] How were the guards killed?
Had the halflings or anybody else in the area, seen anything out
of the ordinary in the past few weeks?
Meskar continues 'Indeed travelling to Martines would seem to be a most prudent course of action, but I agree with my colleagues, that since Matrix is on our route we should stop over there first and see if we are able to find out anything more of these recent events.'
'I do have two more questions. More requests actually, if I may be so bold to ask. Firstly, I would humbly ask Seline that the sages and historians of the elven nation might be asked for their knowledge in the matter of the evil that was vanquished long ago. While I know we are not yet facing such a catastrophe, the fact that we are all here suggests that this matter is of more importance than mere bandit raids. Especially information on how the evil first began it's rise, so that we may identify parallels. These indicators would tell us in what danger we stand too, and perhaps may help us determine a future plan of action. Essentially I will be looking for such information in Martines, as well as several other ideas I have.'
'Secondly, I would humbly ask you Sire, for a royal warrant, simply asking that people administer us with any aid that they can. I am not well traveled, but I believe that such a document would help us to avoid any unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape, and having the Kings royal decree may help us in ways we do not know yet. Though no mention of this mission should be stated, only that we are to be given every assistance possible. '
'While discretion will be our ally, at least early on, we will need to find out what is going on from town to town, city to city, and more importantly once we are under way we will need to be kept informed of any further incidents. Again something this document will help us with, do you not agree Malkas. Furthermore the names of a contact for any intelligence service you may have in Matrix and Dreaus would be invaluable, but I will quite understand you refusal in the name of secrecy.'
'I think it is also imperative that we find out how far this has spread already. Please excuse my dour tones, but there may be incidents that have not and will not be reported due either to fear or lack of survivors. We need information sent on to us as soon as possible on the situations in all the other cities and provinces.'
Meskar finishes ' We know of the rumours of orcs massing near Dreaus. Perhaps the Tower in the Sky is even part of this. These attacks appear to be spreading out from Dreaus too. It would appear Dreaus would also be a place to consider visiting. We have a lot of pieces of a puzzle that with a little ingenuity and luck we can piece together. And the sooner the better.'
Meskar bows once again, and steps back, remaining facing the King, to join the rest of his colleagues.
Once the audience is over, try to find time to quietly ask Rever if there is anything else he knows or suspects about the matter, since his comments were certainly directed towards a distinct course of action. Furthermore ask him if there is any way he might be able to convey any necessary information magically, in case couriers are not able to reach us. Finally ask him if there is anything he would have me do personally for him once we reach Martines.
The king is obviously startled by the amount of questions... He speaks to the group.
"I will answer all questions before granting any requests... Although I know not if Elboria wishes to speak yet. I will answer those put to me as of now.
"As to the attack on the village near Dreaus. We have little information other than what the merchant told us. So we do not know when the attack was so we cannot tell how much time has passed between these events. However it is possible that they were done by the same group. Though if it were just a few people the widespread misdoings show they are quite the fast movers. The merchant has told us that there were probably somewhere between 50 and 100 villagers however he noted that very few bodies were found. And most of those looked like burnt toast. He did not remark on the other bodies that were not toasty. He didn't mention any signs of struggle, but the village was leveled so I don't imagine there would be any signs. He saw none of the enemy force so we have no idea who or what they are. He made no mention of livestock nor tracks. If you wish to question him yourselves good luck, he's somewhere east of the Shield Peaks.
"Now for Lord Uther, he was a powerful leader in Matrix, also one of the more militant ones. He was always one for preparation. He's the one who organized the 1st Matrix Regulars. So it is possible he made enemies, though I don't know of any nor can I imagine anyone stooping this low to strike at a notable figure of the public. The bodies were not burnt as in the village, sounded more like they were killed by blades. If you wish to find more information out about this scene talk to the two halflings who came upon the bodies, the brothers Bobba and Feldit Overstream. They live somewhere around Matrix, try asking around there for them."
Now Seliene responds, "The elves do have an extensive library, not as grand or extensive as the one in Martines, but it is possible there might be something there. I will send a messenger to the elven capital to ask for the queen to do something. But I cannot guarantee anything."
Finally Rever responds to his questions, "I do not know any extra information about this. I am not the greatest deviner in the world, I will admit, but I have tried and saw nothing except Dark... When you get to Martines you may want to seek out the sage, Malas. He trained me in the arts and is very learned on the 1st age of Athos as any man could be, it is his passion for some odd reason. Although I don't see why you would want to learn about days gone past when the threat is in the present!"
"Any other questions?" The king looks mostly at Elboria and Ch'rowr who have said nothing.
Meskar ponders the answers to the groups questions, and then says aloud,
"It is likely that Lord Uther did not just happen onto the group that attacked him. To be taken with 10 guards by an unprepared group is practically impossible. The levelling of the village was either a sign or a mistake due to over eagerness. I think the former personally. Also, why take Lord Uther alive. I don't see why they didn't just kill all the guards off either. This certainly feels like two different groups to me. "
"Lord Uther will be a valuable source of information for our enemy, of that I have no doubt. Magics can bend a man's will or have him see friends where their are only foes."
Meskar nods to himself, absorbed in thought before continuing, "Matrix should definatly be our first port of call. Lord Malkas, who could we contact there to find out about the general situation in Matrix, regarding law and order, and any more general disturbances or uninvestigated and unexplained events?"
Once Malkas has answered, Meskar concludes, "And with that, I think we should leave as soon as we are ready."
Once the audience is at an end, bow to all those present, and thank them for the audience, and any favours or gifts bestowed upon us.
Malkas addresses the group, "Well finally someone has decided to ask of my wisdom." He leans back in his chair and smiles. "Once in Matrix the person there that is the people's contact to us is Count Dergus, another member of their board. He sends us weekly messages. Although for the disappearance of Lord Uther he didn't wait that long. He would be the one to talk to. He could probably introduce you to almost all the citizens in Matrix." Malkas chuckles. "He hangs around with em long enough."
Now the king speaks, "We have spent enough time here. Now is the time you should go out and start on your mission. As for your requests, I have already prepared a document to aid you on your way, to show you are ordained in mission from me. Francis could you please go fetch the ordainance?Also as to the wagon, I will grant you use of one wagon and one draft horse to pull it. However I will not be respoonsible for upkeep of the wagon. You must deal with yourself." He jots something down on a nearby tablet. "Take this to the stables before you leave."
King Diamedes rises from his seat. "You are the protectors of this realm against whatever darkness has arisen. Now go forth and quest!" He shakes each of your hands and bows before each.
Francis returns with the ordinance. It reads as follows:
ROYAL ORDINANCE
FROM HIS MAJESTY KING DIAMEDES
This ordinance is to inform the city that these adventurers are
on
a mission from King Diamedes. They are to be given shelter and to
be allowed admittance to any city in the realm of Athos. This is
not
a passage of royalty. It does not allow its bearer all the
privileges
of royalty. Use discretion. BUT be certain these bearers have
shelter.
Under penalty of heavy fines and removal of forces for any
responding
city.
Signed:
(King's signature)
(There is space here for your signatures)
The king speaks, "Show this to any city official and they should lead you to proper course. Be aware this does not give you free stay in the Inns. If you can pay, pay. Also you must all sign below here before I put my seal on it. Any who do not sign this are not included in this contract."
After you all sign the document (You can all sign your name) The king stamps his seal directly over the signatures. And hands the document to Meskar to hold onto. Then he tells Francis to lead you to the stables. (A couple more questions may be asked at this time, they will be answered before this next part.) Francis leads you to the stables where he shows the paper the king jotted on to a stable hand who pulls out a covered-wagon and 1 rather large draft horse.
"'ay, you, com'ere." The hand points to Taltos. "You know how to drive one of these? How to hitch and unhitch horse?" He then not waiting for an answer goes over the finer points of wagon driving and how to hitch and unhitch a horse. He speaks to the entire party even though he called Taltos over to him. "I 'lieve dats all youse guys need. Now I gots some stuff I need to get done. So get on out o' here. I put some oats in the back for horse, names Duke. 'e's a strong horse 'e is. So you better take damn good care o' him." He hugs the horse then goes back inside the stable.
Francis says, "I usually prefer not to come down here because of these ruffians. Exceptionally short of speech and often rude. But the king calls them 'the salt of the earth' I believe and that's why he hires them. Sigh. OK I will show you out and let you be on your way. It was nice meeting you all. I truly hope to see you again soon."
With that he shows you out of the castle into the city proper of Narsus. You may do any final equipping here. Or head out onto the path.
I am sitting on the wagon looking around at everyone.... "Are we all ready to start out?" I think that we should get going soon. Once everyone one is ready and we are all loaded up, we shall head out. I walk over to Duke, patting him on his head. " We shall not let this evil take over I land..." I whisper to Duke.
When it becomes Rinkel's turn to sign the warrant his face suddenly turns a rosy red ...
" My king, I thank you for your generous gifts, but as I said before I am from very humble beginnings and have never learned to write. So I can not sign this helpful warrant, but my word is my contract. "
Rinkel bows and then waits for the others to head to the stables.
Once we're at the stables ... Rinkel tugs on Francis' shirttail...
" Francis, can you tell me how many days travel it is to Matrix by wagon? Are there any streams or lakes along the way?"
Rinkel gathers all his belongings and puts them in the wagon...
" C'mon , it's gettin' late... lets get movin' ! "
Rinkel, instead of climbing into the wagon, jumps into the back of the wagon and tumbles towards the front ... pulls out a blanket and lays back...
"Somebody tie a sack of sugar on a stick and hang it in front of ol' Duke... that'll get us movin’. "
Ch'rowr falls into step beside the wagon wordlessly.
Before leaving for the stables Caavlin thanks the King and adds that he is sure that more dwarven support will be available should it be necessary.
Having signed the charter, Caravlin who has been quiet for a while, speaks up, 'Hold your horse Rinkel, I wish our journey to go well and before we travel I need a moment to ask for Mahtan's blessing'.
Facing away from the group he offers his silent prayer to Mahtan.
'I assume we are agreed that Matrix will be our first destination?'
Turning to Meskar and then Ch'rowr he gives them both a warm smile and says 'It's amazing how some people love the sound of their own voice isn't it Elboria?'
He chucks his pack into the wagon and then tests the weight and sharpness of his axe, seemingly pleased he too climbs onto the wagon.
'Come friends, I'd have liked a flaggon or two before leaving but in truth I've had enough of the city air, let us begin the journey'
I stand up look around and say " which one wants to ride up front?" I need someone to navigate and keep looking out for us! How about you Meskar.... This could be interesting. So, which is it Matrix or Martines? Let's get going... before sun fall.
Meskar bows once more as the meeting finishes, and with a nod to Rever, turns to face the group.
"There are a few things I need to see to before I can join you, please prepare the wagon and wait for me outside the stables or in the courtyard."
With that he turns and walks briskly out of the hall.
About half an hour later Meskar appears back outside, now laden down with equipment, and dressed for the outdoors. He looks much like any traveler would, with no armour and normal clothes. At least he sports a dagger, so he doesn't look entirely defenseless.
Meskar dumps the lot in the back of the wagon, and from that pile pulls out a backpack, which he leans against the side of the interior of the wagon, opens up, probably checking everything is there, and then fastens it shut once again.
Looking about him, he smiles at the group, "Are we ready then? Just one more thing to do."
Meskar disappears into the stables and returns quickly, leading a grey mule by a length of rope that he ties to the rear of the cart. Ruffling the mule’s hair, he comes around the side of the wagon to sit up front beside Taltos. He calls back into the wagon "We ready? Good.", and nudges Taltos to get the horse moving.
As soon as we are moving, speak aloud so that all can hear me, "While I believe we should make all possible speed to Martines, we will go to Matrix first. Since we do have a contact there, we may be able to delve a little deeper into the mystery, and besides there are questions I would ask, not only of these events but of the Lord Uther as well."
Meskar takes a deep breath and continues "If this situation is merely a precursor to events on a much larger scale, I believe we will not be the only group out there searching for information and a solution. The King himself may have more than one group tackling this problem. We must also assume that the evil that people suspect is rising again, will also have agents out seeking to disrupt any attempts against it. This is why I believe we must make all haste to Martines. If I were the enemy, one of the first things I would do is try to destroy the library there, or remove those bits of information that might prove vital to us in the days to come. This thought worries me deeply."
"We must be vigilant, and discreet. Let nobody know what our true business is, unless absolutely necessary. I know a group of ours can only be discreet so far, but we must try to avoid arousing interest in ourselves, or suspicion. If we act too strangely people may well believe us to be spies of the enemy. We need a cover story? Any ideas? Come now, a likely reason for a group of us to be travelling together."
Then abruptly Meskar's tune changes and the seriousness drops from his tone "But what am I doing? Depressing us and making us fear the worst before we have even traveled a single league. Lets just make best speed to Matrix, and enjoy the scenery?."
Meskar adds in a soft voice, "While we can."
+ For the journey simply keep my eyes open and stay alert, and as soon as I see other people, or anything which I consider to be out of the ordinary, alert Taltos, or whoever is beside me, and then the others. Give other travelers a friendly greeting if we pass them, and ask of the where they came from, and generally ask them about where they came from and any places they may have come through, without being to prying or overbearing.
+ Make sure we keep a good speed, but also that we are not going to fast for my mule.
+ If I feel tired, get any of the others to come and keep watch up front while I get some rest.
+ As dusk approaches try to find a suitable place to take our rest, if we have not made Matrix. I assume we do not want to travel all night? A single watch should be sufficient, and we set out again at first light.
+ If any of the others ask, tell them that I do have the Kings Ordinance.
Caravlin, calls from the back
"Taltos, I think we've established that the consensus is for Matrix. Are you sure you know how to drive this thing? "
After a moment's thought he adds, "Wouldn't you like to navigate to start Elboria? I could assist a little later. I'd guess that Meskar knows the city better than the open road."
From the front of the Wagon, Meskar looks around at the others, and shrugs as mush as his position will allow.
"You are welcome to choose whoever you wish to come sit up front here. My knowledge of the lands around Naras is fine, but limited beyond that to the tales of travelers and those messengers that come to the castle. So I bow to your experience dwarf, since you have already traveled down here from your own home, and must by now know every little nook and cranny along the way"
With that Meskar, jumps off the wagon to the side, waits for the wagon to trundle past before jumping back on at the rear. He leans against some of the equipment in the rear, makes himself as comfortable as possible, and then closes his eyes.
"Wake me up if anything happens won't you."
After bowing to the king and signing the document Elboria follows the rest of the group.At the comment about people and their voices he grins and nods to Caravlin.
Elboria then gets his horse and sadles up. "I will ride ahead towards Matrix. When dusk appears I will locate a suitable place to camp. I will not be very far ahead." Then he string his bow and starts off.
Acquiescing to the other's experience, Ch'rowr will follow either riding in the wagon or walking alongside the horse pulling it, chanting an ancient poem of the beastpeople in their language silently under his breath. he will seem sunk in his own thought and will reply with shortly worded replies to the best of his knowledge, but won't volunteer anything.
As Elboria seems to be riding alone, Caravlin climbs into the front of the wagon, placing his axe beside him.
"Okay the music has stopped now Taltos, I think we can leave, only don't ask me to drive this thing.'"
"Meskar has a good point though, we need to have some story for being on the road, as far as I can see, we don't look like your average bunch of travelers"
"I know it's an old one, but how about we're merchants? Travelling between cities. Ch'rowr and I could be bodyguards and Meskar, Taltos and Rinkel could be merchants. What do you think Ch'rowr?"
Ch’rowr scratches neck for a moment in thought then replies "Yes, I think it could work. Perhaps you others could barter for some better fare though. Yes. I will be a guard for these merchants" He smiles his feral grin and goes back to muttering his chants.