Strange Aeons / Dreams of the Yellow King pt. 4 / Eire the 19th, 3592 CE / 1-14-22

The Rushton Redeemers have docked in the port of Distryll, capital city of Carthia, the country in which Hemlock and Esp awoke 15 days ago without their memories. Their ship, the Starling, is carrying them south towards Liem. From there they plan to make their way further into the Southlands to the city of Specularum, where they hope to catch up to their quarry, Baron Haver Lowell IV, Esp and Hemlock's former employer. The Starling's captain, Winnifred "Fred" Pike, has paused their journey in Distryll so that her cousin Coryston and her fellow Watchers can disembark with their prisoner, a cultist of Hastur whom the party captured in the course of freeing the town of Rushton from the cult's evil influence. Hemlock and Esp use the opportunity to explore a little through the bustling markets of the port city, including visiting a runesmith to gain some magical enhancement to Hemlock's rapier. When they return to the dock, they see two people unfamiliar to them boarding the ship. After noticing the newcomers heading for their berth, the are quick to investigate, and discover the new passengers are a pair of scholars from the Rosewood Academy named Reuben and Gossamer who are travelling to Liem to work on a research project for the famed wizard Erikorr the Sage. Despite some initial suspicion of the newcomers, it is quickly determined they are not duplicitous, and Esp makes fast friends with the scholars, who even offer to help her with her research into her collection of books and notes taken from the Baron's former estate of Orchid Hill, now a smoldering ruin after the events in Rushton. After the last passenger (Otis, who was running late but proud of his purchase of a new fishing net) is back on board, the Starling once more sets sail down the River Kir on its journey. As the two scholars help Esp in her research, they make two startling discoveries. One is an ivory carving of a staircase hidden within one of the books. The other is the formula for a ritual that will allow the user to travel to the Dreamlands! As darkness falls on the river, a thick fog rolls in. Trakir notes that as the Starling passes the fishing village of Ilmarsh, the residents are chaining up the docks. Esp spots a longship with red sails trailing behind the Starling before it disappears into the fog. But that's not all. Hemlock spots some shapes in the water, rapidly approaching the Starling. It appears that a confrontation is imminent!