Email2020-10-02 13:03

See answers below - note that most is well above the squads pay grade......
Key points are:
* The only thing the squad can tell you about Starport is that early during the reign of Williams father it was a ruin but was known to be the home for very large hawks. These were trained as mounts and the city rebuilt around the growing garrison which evolved over time into the Royal Sky Knights.
* 'Caradoc has some rumours about the Elven Sky Fleet - rumours of a city appearing in the sky above Stormhaven as part of the invasion. 
* The Falling Star has been in Northlake for as long as people can remember, no ideas within the squad - remind me later if you are planning to quiz Jurrage 
* Rohl'dal had picked up on that - but put it down to Elven internal politics. (Refers to Oranzar) 
* Kirsten can pick up the scent of Elves from the passes provided by the guardsmen - Rohl'dal would not recommend leaving Kirsten manifested whilst on the highway,
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I hope that we can rewind a bit to pose further questions that we would have asked Rohl’dal or the squad before we reached Northlake, based on the info we obtained along the way. The biggest question must be about Starport given the comments from the Elves of: 
* "some phrase about the Empress and her five stars"
* and later on: "these rabble are trying to raise one of the	stars."
Combine this with what we already know about Starport:
* Starport was chosen by Alvera as his capital in exile, and is	where the brooch and intelligence that we acquired were sent.
* Starport has been calling for mages of power to attend court	although the reason for this is unknown.
* Starport is a pilgrimage site for the Wyldwood religion. (And add in	the Elven comment of "unless those fairy stories about the	wild wood are true".)
* Most city names appear to be called after something/someone - or are	fairly literal geographic/functional descriptions. eg. Nortlake,	Hightower, Stormhaven, Riverside and all the other ports - Westport,	Norport, Tradeport, Royal Farport etc. Starport sounds like	one of these descriptive names, but is nowhere near the coast or any	large body of water - in fact it is on 'the main highway from	Hightower to Sabarath'. So its name may be quite significant.
* Starport does not appear on most maps, for unexplained reasons.
It is hard not to jump to the conclusion that Alvera is attempting to raise a 'star' in Starport. No evidence yet about what exactly the 'star' is (starship/celestial or powerful being/portal/spell?), but if Starport itself was originally a flying city that they are trying to 'raise' then that would explain why it has no fixed place on the map - or perhaps it is indeed illustrated at the bottom left of our map (after all, the sea monsters turned out to be real enough for the invading Elves.) Or there might be some connection to the Elven afeared Sky Fleet'.'Caradoc has some rumours about the Elven Sky Fleet - rumours of a city appearing in the sky above Stormhaven as part of the invasion. So how much can Rohl’dal or the squad tell us about Startport, and what is there? They may not know anything about what the mages are doing - but might provide some insight into the city, and if it was a sensible/obvious choice for Alvera to pick as his capital - or if it seemed a bit strange at the time. Also, when was it founded and are there stories about the origin of its name or of flying cities? People from HighTower or Sabarath (including Dougal/Hamish, Wun and Fannor) may know some gossip as it is the city nearest to them.The only thing the squad can tell you about Starport is that early during the reign of Williams father it was a ruin but was known to be the home for very large hawks. These were trained as mounts and the city rebuilt around the growing garrison which evolved over time into the Royal Sky Knights. There is also the coincidence of the name of the inn that we are intending to stay at - the Falling Star. Of course, this may well have nothing to do with the 'star' from Starport, but when we get to Northlake it will certainly be worth asking Jurrage discreetly about the origin of its name - and we can ask if any of the squad know the history of the Falling Star in the meantime.The Falling Star has been in Northlake for as long as people can remember, no ideas within the squad - remind me later if you are planning to quiz Jurrage On a different topic, the Elves mentioned Oranzer twice as the Elf in charge - but the 'public' narrative given out to the Alveran masses (ie us) was that "The forces of Northlake were able to crush the land-based invasion of Oranzar of the Elven Empire, which brought about his fall from grace within the Empire and the eventual return of Magelord Renzel." So either Oranzar has been reinstated, or the Alverans have been misled. Either way, it is something that Rohl'dal may wish to note, if he hadn't picked up on it already.Rohl'dal had picked up on that - but put it down to Elven internal politics. One other thing that Joshua would have liked to have done on Day 12 after we were no longer being observed: He would have asked Rohl'dal if he could manifest Kirsten to try and get familiar with the scent of Elves. Nothing as unsubtle as going up and sniffing one in the crotch (like Buster did to Paul almost 40 years ago), but maybe picking up scents from the road or wherever Elves have recently been etc. However, if Rohl'dal says 'No', he won't push it or do anything stupid...Kirsten can pick up the scent of Elves from the passes provided by the guardsmen - Rohl'dal would not recommend leaving Kirsten manifested whilst on the highway, Cheers - DavidP.S. Can Rohl'dal please sign Dougal's copy of 'Tales of the Unexpected'?LOL!