01-15 to 01-18 963: Carpal Diem

Saturday morning, the party awoke feeling rested and considerably less achey after a night off the ground and under a roof. Although the night was uneventful for most, Dendra was visited by a messenger of Pelor, St. Mattathias himself, with a change in plans: it seems the disturbance felt in the Citadel had shifted to Stenbalan. Dendra was given a golden ring, with the instructions that it would disappear when Pelor's influence was masked, indicating that the disturbance was nearby. After learning of Dendra's previous dream Mattathias appeared to grow stern, stating that they had "been over this before" and that "this is the will of the Father." With a wave of his hand, Dendra's memories of the previous week's dream faded, as did the momory of the conversation around it, before she was returned to sleep with the words "rest easy little sister." Upon waking, Dendra had the ring in her hand, but no recollection of the conversation about the dreams until a flash in her vision and momentary splitting headache gave her clarity. With this cleared head, she also remembered similar instances of bringing up the dream and her memory being masked numerous times in the past. With this unsettling new knowledge Dendra joined her compatriots for breakfast, but did not share what occurred with anyone.

Along with a simple breakfast Nexus received a set of engraved Grey Render vertebrae from Brother Eric, while Dr. Venma inquired with Brother Silas about his connection with St. Berengar and how such a bond could be established.

Once on the road, dark clouds could be seen approaching from the west which boded ill according to Nexus's new vertebrae. Taking some time to erect an earthen windbreak and some cover, the party hunkered down to wait out the storm. This shelter proved inadequate, and everyone except for Nexus (being built of sturdier stuff) and Father Ilatris (being a stubborn old gnome who lived through The Winter of 453 ) had their newly rejuvenated vitality sapped.


The morning of the 16th, the party was met with clear skies and puffy clouds. Along the side of the road they came across a cart with a broken axle, which they repaired and hitched up to Chedvah to allow Father Ilatris and a few others to ride. That night, as the group stopped to make camp, Lady Evelyn Valda's party came up the road behind them and made camp across the road. Recognizing the party, Lady Valda made further inquiries about the Highwaymen they were after and invited them to join them for dinner. Throughout this interaction Luci was trying to remain hidden beneath one of the benches of the cart, but to little avail. After some discussion on whether Luci should attend dinner it was decided that it would be best to attend and make a good effort, despite worries over the mysterious letter he had sent with Nissos at their last meeting.

Later in the evening everyone headed over to enjoy a hearty stew prepared by Lady Valda's guardsmen, and over dinner Lady Valda apologized for her previous rudeness to Luci. The two engaged in some polite conversation about their experiences as nobility. After the meal, Nexus and Sinata played a game of Dragonchess to the enjoyment of the guardsmen. Meanwhile, Nissos asked for a brief word with Luci and the two stepped aside for a brief conversation about the current news in noble circles, after which Luci suggested he look into the Bellestair family of the Valarin.

The next morning, Lady Valda's party moved on before the sun rose, and the group was able to get underway without issue. Later in the day, they came across an angry drunken man yelling at his donkeys for not pulling hard enough as they were stuck in the mud. With some clever use of a cantrip, Nexus was able to take care of the mud and get the man on his way, for which he tossed Nexus a jug of apple brandy in thanks. As they continued on in the day, finally entering the Great Oakwood, camp was made and brandy was had, although even Nexus couldn't get drunk when he drank it from the tankards they found, giving more insight as to their function. That night, Luci read out of Autumn in the Summer Court, Nexus did some meditation on the nature of falling things, and Dendra did some inner searching about her dreams, latching onto "rest easy little sister," which Mattathias seemed to repeat each time masked her memories.

  The final day of travel, Tuesday the 18th of Aven, as the party stopped to eat a midday meal, the jingling and jostling wagon of Luxus Brucavion came down the road. In a very showboaty fashion, the man began opening his wagon to the party and presented his collection of "every pill, potion, lotion, and charm in the kingdom." Out of his collection of odds and ends, Nexus detected several magical objects. Among these were the Knucklebones of St. Bucephalus the Lucky, which Luxus stated saved his life at least once, and its previous owner credited it with bringing him great luck. Luci purchased these for 5 gp, while Nexus became interested in a toe bone of a dragon, apparently that of Galmatrinox the Cruel, which he bought for 2gp. Chedvah pocketed some hoof balm in a vial, and Nexus immobilized and then freed Luxus's wagon with Mold Earth. As everyone went their separate ways, the party broke through the woods into a large area of cleared land around the city of Stenbalan, the current destination of their travels.