Relics of Valére

"You know, I used to think there wasn't any kindness left in this world-" "Maybe there's not. Now get out of here."

Castien ushers away Soline Remenel after giving her a horse, cold and bitter from losing Kiernan.

On the 29th of Harvest, 6911, the half-elf warlock-rogue Cromwell, the elvish rogue Castien of Valris, and the Ren Berig artificer Kiernan MacElroy find themselves in the Roadise Rat, a lonesome tavern in the Northern Commons, a few miles away from the eastern edge of the Godscar. While Castien and Kiernan become drunk from mead, Cromwell leaves their game of go fish to talk to an anxious looking woman, whom she learns is Soline.    With some convincing, Soline tells Cromwell that the owner of her land is meeting her at the tavern to collect a payment which she does not have. Cromwell agrees to help her with this situation. Meanwhile, Kiernan goes and speaks with a mysterious woman wearing a trenchcoat and wide-brimmed hat, her feet propped up on the table. They chat until they are interrupted by a representative from House Octanavie, who enters and tries to force Soline to pay him.   Cromwell stands between them and refuses to let the representative take advantage of Soline. She is joined by Castien as well as Kiernan, who accidentally says her full name. The representative recognizes that there is a bounty on their heads, and flees to inform local bounty hunters that they have been found. The party instructs Soline to run away, and then flees the tavern themselves.   That night, our heroes sleep in a field, taking turns keeping watch. Kiernan and Castien have uncomfortable, bizarre dreams due to the large amounts of mead they have consumed. Cromwell, meanwhile, meets with her business partner and agrees to assassinate a dwarvish farmer, who she will later learn is named Alain Patrice.    Shortly after the three women wake up, they run into Sophie Belaveau, who is frantic and terrified. She explains that her son, Pierre, has been taken by a mysterious figure on horseback, presumably northwest into the abandoned town of Valére. This is also where Soline's trail leads. They follow her, and head to the ruined settlement.   On the way to the town, the gang has a couple of strange encounters. First, they meet a travelling salesman who sells them a substance called banner sap, claiming that it is a healing potion. After they buy a few bottles, Kiernan performs an analysis of the drink, and finds that it contains the hallucinogens Nightlady and Redbrush. She remembers that banner sap is an addictive drug that is a problem in some parts of Beurum, but recognizes that the substance does have some healing properties.    Second, the party finds a baby griffin that has fallen out of its nest from a large tree. Kiernan attempts to return the animal to her family, but falls, dropping the griffin. While Cromwell catches Kiernan, the griffin, whom they have named Chickpea, falls and is severely injured, having been knocked unconscious. They stabilize the animal, and then move on, with much sadness.   Once the gang enters the outskirts of Valére, they find two buildings that are inhabited. One is the house of Alain Patrice, the man whom Cromwell has agreed to kill, but for now they just steal a map of the town that he has made. They also peer into the house of Abrielle Michaud, identifying a few strange trinkets, but do not further interact with her.   Our heroes venture further into Valére. They realize that a large amount of smoke is coming from the Theatre of Florentine, and enter stealthily to investigate. Cromwell, however, trips over a boulder, and alerts to their presence the woman whom Kiernan spoke to earlier in the tavern. She reveals to them that she is a bounty hunter, and has decided to take them in for money. Though this woman, Bastienne Clevere, attempts to thwart them with her rapier as well as some dust bombs, she is defeated by the group.    Following this, the group investigates the ruins of the Warrior's Guild Hall, where they find Soline. She has twisted her ankle, and explains that she needs a horse to escape the Northern Commons. They agree to find one for her, and then investigate the ruins of the Miner's Guild Hall, where they find an inscription detailing the exodus of the dwarves from Valére after the local mines ran out of ore.    The gang heads to the Miner's Memorial, where they find that a large statue of a dwarf has toppled over and leans against the wall of the Fortress of Pompeius. After finding an explorer's note that details how it is odd that the other statues have not endured such damage, they climb up the toppled statue into the fortress.   In the fortress, they find an Uburi bounty hunter named Rasp, holding Sophie's son Pierre hostage. He explains that he took Pierre to lure the three women to him, so that he could turn them in alive. Just as the group drops their weapons, however, all in the fortress hear a terrible cry. Suddenly, a chimera flies up from the Godscar and attacks them all. Rasp is burned to a crisp, and Castien shields Pierre to protect him from the chimera's fire. A ferocious fight ensues. Castien and Kiernan are eached knocked unconscious, with Kiernan bleeding out and dying. Just as Cromwell is knocked unconscious, struggling to hang on for life, Castien pretends to be dead and sneak attacks the chimera from behind. Our heroes win the fight, but not without a heavy cost.   Revived by Castien, Cromwell goes to kill Alain Patrice, while Castien carries Kiernan's dead body and gives Rasp's horse to Soline, before telling her to get out of the Northern Commons. After killing Patrice, Cromwell asks her patron to return Kiernan to life in lieu of a hint on the whereabouts of her wife.    The three women take a much-needed rest. Just as they wake up, Castien sees her brother, Praxeon, with whom she has previously shared an icy relationship, riding towards her. He is accompanied by a number of kinsmen and remarks that he has finally found her.