Cut Adrift Report

General Summary

After a night's respite in the safety of the Midnight Market, Gwen and Raro emerged, still uncertain about the next steps. Deliberating between themselves, they decided that the best play would be to head back to the Golden Docks where Threri Flaskbender would be waiting. There, they could leave the city of Timere, and the immediate reach of Count Blackwood, and make for Navarre to meet with the Obsidian Laurel. Gwen took up a new face in disguse and the pair left for the docks. Their plans were undermined, however, by what they saw as they approached the Red Wave.   Elanis Morningdew, the primary contact with the Obsidian Laurel, stood upon the deck speaking to Threri. The pair immediately ducked behind some crates to observe and gauge the situation, trying to work out an approach angle and see if Elanis was confrontational. With a few minute's of watching, they determined that the best plan would be to tackle this new variable head-on, on their turf.   Elanis, for his part, seemed pleased to see Raro, and a bit confused as to who he was travelling with. With his trademark cordiality, he asked Raro if there was a private place to speak and discuss business ventures. Raro invited Elanis below decks to his quarters, where Elanis revealed that he had been sent to check in on the group, and inquire as to why they had not yet completed their end of the bargan and made for Navarre already. Raro stated that the deal had changed with Vondal's death, and they needed to renegotiate. Elanis offered him a card with the name of a local upscale louge, The Mockingbird, saying that they should discuss business at a more formal location. Though polite as usual, the way he spoke suggested an undercurrent of "or else."   Once he left, Raro and Gwen spoke to Threri about her advice. To their surprise, she recognized the location said the first thing would be to get Raro a disguise, and provided him with a gift. A cartoonishly large hat that could change the appearance of the wearer, but not their physical form. The second thing they needed Threri for was a place to hide the statuette. Figuring that it would not be wise to walk into the lion's den holding the very thing they didn't want to give away, they asked Threri if she had any kind of secret compartment or holding space where she could tuck a duffle bag. Threri accepted without hesistation and stashed it somewhere she said she had used many times before with great success, and didn't tell the pair where because "it would be best for you and me if you don't know." Threri provided them directions to the Mockingbird, and advised that if they had time, they should try the pan-seared rock bass.   Taking on the appearance of a high-born man with a fashionably wide hat (Raro) and his musclebound bodyguard (Gwen), the two made their way to The Mockingbird. A finely constructed single-floor building in the commercial center of Timere, the ornate stonework construction and elaborate wire sculpture of a mockingbird in flight told them they were at the right place. The bouncer, a man of few words and much physical precense, said nothing to the pair until Raro showed him the invitation from Elanis. He welcomed them in, where the maitre d' quickly found the pair and sat them at a table. As the halfing musicians played a soft string piece, they purchased a few drinks and took in their surroundings.   A smattering of patrons, all dressed in fine regalia, occupied the various circular tables on the floor and booths along the wall. One table caught the party's eye in particular. Standing with its head almost scraping the ceiling, Nero, the Warforged Juggernaut, kept a motionless vigil of the lounge area while to its left sat Julius himself, speaking to the cowed form of Gideon Gale, propriotor of the Exotic Emporium and the man that told Gwen and Raro not to part with the statue if possible. Julius seemed fairly jovial and conversational, eating a roasted bird as he drank fine wine. Gideon, in contrast, seemed terrified. Barely moving aside from a furtive glance towards the door as Julius looked at the new entrents, he looked like a dog being reprimanded by his owner. In the next booth over, Elanis sat, shuffling through a number of loose papers while he sipped from a steaming mug. After a few minutes of waiting, the party got up from their table and sat across from Elanis, showing him the invitation and stating that they were here to talk. Elanis nodded and stood, crossing past Gideon to inform Julius. Julius looked over to the party and smiled, letting them know that he would be with them as soon as he finished one matter. Turning back to Gale, he reached out to shake his hand. As Gideon took it, an ear-splitting crack rent the otherwise relaxed atmosphere of the lounge, followed shortly by gurgling gasping and hard breathing. Julius stood and made his way to the party, tucking a gloved hand holding a brass and ivory contraption into his jacket, the end still smoking. He took Elanis's seat as Elanis remained standing and spoke.   Julius first expressed congratulations at making it out of the Blackwood Estate mostly in one piece, Vondal notwithstanding. After congratulations came disappointment at their failure to immediately begin making their way back to Navarre. The party retorted, saying that they had to recuperate after the loss of one of their partners and needed some time. Julius stated that he already knew what they had said to Gideon and understood that they were hesitating to return the items, but he was willing to answer any questions they had for him. In exchange, they would be honest with him. Concerned but certain that they had no other choice, they agreed. The party asked why the Laurel even wanted the particular items that they had stolen. Julius said the broach was to pay for the heist itself, the ring went to a nobleman who had always had been infatuated with the Lady Blackwood, and the statuette was to identify a member of the Hidden Hand. In return, Julius asked what the statue really was since Gideon had not told him. Gwen and Raro hesistated, and then stated that it was an artefact of religious importance to the native tribes of Imaruth. This seemed like new information to Julius, but not particularly interesting info. The party's follow-up question was what Julius intended to do with the statue after they gave it to him. He said that he had access to some individuals who could peer into an object's past and glean info about the previous owners, but other than that he had no plan further.   Mostly reassured that they could get the item back after Julius was satisfied, the two parties came to a tenuous compromise, where the original deal would still be upheld despite the difficulties. Julius then asked them to deliver the items, to which the party stated that they didn't currently have them, but could bring them shortly. Julius, seemingly unsurprised by this, said that as insurance he'd be sending them with another member of the Laurel to ensure that they weren't going to just vanish. Elanis retreived a new figure from the back room of the lounge and brought him over. Sevro Kelestis, a human artificer with a genial attitude and a collection of odd items, was introduced to the party. The now-trio headed to the Red Wave, which Sevro seemingly had heard of, and asked if Threri would retrieve the "wine" they had stashed earlier. She understood and disappeared belowdeck, returning shortly with the same duffle as Gwen gave her. Satisfied that nothing in the bag was missing, they returned to the Mockingbird, prepared to hand over the bag and be done with the Laurel for the time being. What they found, however, was anything but expected.   Elanis and Julius appeard to be in the middle of an intense discussion when the trio returned, and Julius said that he had a new opprotunity for them as bonafide Movers in the Laurel, not as those who owe him a debt. He had Elanis handle the details as he returned to his food and investigating the items that the party handed over. Elanis informed them that the Laurel had a few storehouses on the outskirts of Timere that had been dealing with a number of attacks recently, and the party would be dispatched to figure out who did that. They could make it to the site by that evening and had no time limit for when they had to complete it. Agreeing to their first contract, the trio headed out.   When they arrived at the storehouses, they found a massacre. Two of the buildings were burnt almost completely to the ground, and bodies were strewn and brutalized around both of them. The survivors, holed up in the third structure, seemed pleased to see members of the Laurel were on-site, but annoyed that it wasn't the medical extraction they were promised. The survivors shared some information about the previous attacks, including the troubling knowledge that they believed the attackers were werewolves, and a firsthand account of one of the survivors. A young man, he witnessed an incendiary attack on the warehouse he was guarding and heard howls and snarls, followed by rending flesh and tearing sounds. He ducked into a barrel to stay hidden and wait out the threat. As the survivors anticipated a third attack, the party constructed a set of defensive mazes in the warehouse and had the majority of the guard force retreat to a barred office. Night fell and a howl was heard, followed by a bead of fire flying through the glass of the window. Wolves broke themselves against the doors and the preset spell glyphs, while a pair of werewolves leading the charge broke in via windows. These lycans fought with tooth, claw, and explosive beads, demonstrating a desire to both destroy the building and any who would stand against them. They fought until mostly dead, when they, seemingly out of a zealous devotion to "The Path", detonated the remaning beads in their pouches to self-immolate and try to kill those around them. During the fight, both Raro and Sevro were bitten by the werewolves, though they felt unaltered.   After confirming the attackers and getting a sketch of their symbol, the trio headed back to Timere to get Sevro and Raro some medical attention. Heading to the Order of Thor's outpost in the center of the Red Ward, they sought sanctuary and restoration from the godi there. Eldath, the elven clergyman currently presiding over the morning meal, informed them that while he personally couldn't help them, the godi would be back from a morning errand in just a bit. After having a morning meal and having Sevro's more traditional wounds attended to, the godi arrived. Either a tall dwarf or a short man with a plesant demeanor and a full bear, the godi was more than willing to provide the neccessary restoration magic to cure Raro and Sevro, and seemed concerned about the prospect of werewolves near Timere, saying that there had not been reports of lycans for a long time. When shown the symbol the werewolves left carved on the rubble, the godi grew serious, saying that it belonged to an isolationist group called the Followers of the Old Ways, an ecological cult who believed that civilized folk had ruined the natural order. The Followers keep to themselves in dense woodlands that they cultivate themselves, supposedly waiting for what they believe to be the inevitable end of cities and nations before they return. The godi finished by stating that he'd look into the Followers working with werewolves, or lycans who claimed allegence to the Followers, but it meant trouble one way or another. The trio remained at the temple until Sevro was back on his feet, and they headed out, beginning the journey back to the Mockingbird and Julius.

Rewards Granted

Raro: 20-Gallon 10-Gallon Hat (Threri Flaskbender, gifted)

Missions/Quests Completed

None, though began an assignment from Julius to investigate a series of attacks

Character(s) interacted with

Urth, Lortor, Timan: Contractors for the Obsidian Laurel. Working as guards at the Timere warehouses. Urth is an older human man, seen a few fights in his day, cares about his subordinates. Lortor is a hotshot with a fighting history and a willingness to square up. Timan is a 17 year old man who just joined on for some easy money, and witnessed the attacks firsthand to his own horror.    Elanis Morningdew: Member of the Obsidian Laurel. Tall, thin, Flynn Ryder-esque features. Olive skin and shoulder-length auburn hair. Last seen with Julius at The Mockingbird.    Julius: Head of the Obsidian Laurel. Charasmatic, with a voice like molten chocolate over razor blades. Only seen by the party twice, once in his fortress-apartment in Hisn Al'Arbe and once at the Mockingbird.    Eldath: Cleric of Thor. Shorter elven man with mid-length shining blonde hair. One of the clergy at the Order of Thor's temple in Timere.