04 - 12/06/23 : The Bonding

"Nothing is random, my dear."  

Melfina Eres

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  Their meal finished, the party departed Blue Clam to head to Town Hall of Whiteridge. While walking, Ragna asked Dahlia if her father was related to the sacrifice killings. Dahlia denied this, but revealed that her father had been part of a party of his own that made an effort to find a solution for the Eternal Winter; she believed that this may have incurred the wrath of the Ice Druids, and she wasn't going to accept that he was dead until she saw the body with her own eyes.   Within the town hall, Speaker Oarus Masthew was arguing with some of his militia about the kobolds and missing miners situation. The party approached and volunteered for the mission, and warned speaker Oarus to prepare for the possibility of a dragon commanding the kobolds. Oarus also promised an additional reward if they could find out what happened to the one miner that had not come home.   Party made the trek eastward, stopping at the local inn known as the Eastside to pick up supplies while they were in the area. Within they met Marta Peskryk, the teenage human staffing the front. They learned and revealed to her that the heirloom ring she wore around her neck was actually a Ring of Warmth.   From there, they ventured out to the eastern end of Whiteridge over to the tourmaline gem mine, where they quickly encountered the kobolds lurking within. Ragna and Melfina mercilessly threw two kobolds down a massive hole to the underdark despite Alithkav's protests, and then met two more who tricked them into wandering into a grell's lair.   After defeating the grell, the party pursued the kobolds, where they met their leader, Trex. Trex wore a pair of shabby fake wings and spoke unusually eloquently for a kobold. The party tried to reason with Trex, with Melfina securing a deal to get the kobolds to work for Whiteridge as miners, but when Trex mentioned Tiamat, Alithkav furiously attacked the kobolds.   When Dahlia struck Trex down with an arrow, an angry ghost emerged from him, revealing him to have been possessed by the angry ghost of the missing miner. The ghost furiously attacked the party, phasing in and out of the ethereal plane as he did so, but Melfina's sight beyond the weave allowed her to track him and help the party bring him down.   After killing the ghost and the last of the kobolds, the party explored the tourmaline mine, finding a few geodes worth a few gold. Ragna found a strange skull in which was embedded a glowing purple crystal; Alith recognized the skull as a mind flayer skull, and the crystal as a psi crystal. This crystal acted as a sort of communication device, allowing Alith to communicate telepathically with nearby creatures. However, attuning to the crystal also afflicted her with violent memories from the dead mind flayer, assailing her psyche and leaving her somewhat traumatized and hyperfocused on the presence of possible Tiamat worshippers in the area.   Also found in the area was a small satchel of plant and moss samples on Trex's body, which was threadbare but embroidered with the initials "J.A." - likely the initials of the miner that had possessed the kobold.   The party reported back to Oarus, who gladly compensated them for going above and beyond. Alith warned him about possible Tiamat influence, which Oarus did not seem to take entirely seriously. As additional thanks for their work, however, the speaker covered their night's stay at the Eastside before they departed west for Mirlake.   That night, Melfina and Alith met in their room to go over their nightly Gith language lessons. Although they were unable to unlock the next stage in the puzzling Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon, they did have a heartfelt discussion about their origins and their homes. Alith admitted to some curiosity about Melfina and how she had learned all she had, and wanted to see past the mystery the strange wizard had cultivated. Melfina was reticent at first, saying that revealing her identity could bring harm to her if it were known, but after Alith promised to tell her own story, Melfina agreed.   Alithkav revealed that she was a runaway 'daughter' of Vlaakith, the immortal lich-queen of the Githyanki. One of many cloned 'sisters' created through some unknown means, she was set to be sacrificed in a ritual apparently intended to extend Vlaakith's longevity, but Alith was able to escape and sign on with a band of realmspace pirates, whom she had been with until the crash in Frostgale Taiga.   Melfina honored her agreement and threw back her hood, revealing herself to be a drow elf. She had also escaped her people, but was well aware that her kind was not looked upon kindly on the surface, and that revealing herself to the townspeople of the Ten Towns would be a sure way to get herself sacrificed or otherwise driven out. Alith thanked Melfina for being candid, and expressed her trepidation about her situation; that she had become stranded in the Flatlands for some sort of reason, whether by a plot from an outside force, or by the whims of the gods. Melfina replied simply that "Nothing is random", believing the party had been brought together for a reason.   With their studies concluded, Melfina and Alith retired for the night, with the party set to move on west to the town of Mirlake the next day on their way to Icemeet. <span id="sceditor-start-marker" class="sceditor-selection sceditor-ignore" style="display: none; line-height: 0;"> </span><span id="sceditor-end-marker" class="sceditor-selection sceditor-ignore" style="display: none; line-height: 0;"> </span>