Day 35-41 – The fourth week in Northlake

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The early part of the week is pretty much normal, the streets are reasonably quiet and with spring planting now well underway, life in the city has by and large returned to normal. However, yesterday Caradoc first picked up a rumour that Elves were coming to the city, and this rumour spread like wildfire through the streets – with a general increase in unease. Late last evening a proclamation was made by the authorities that:

“In response to a request for audience by the Elven authorities, Duke Adamas after consulting with the King has agreed to allow entry of a diplomatic mission from the so called Elven Empire. The Elven party will be arriving in 2 weeks time and will be staying for a few days only. During this period all militia and city watch leave is cancelled.”

Obviously since that announcement, there has been little other gossip other than speculation as to what the Elves are hoping to achieve, or indeed why on earth Adamas and Alvera would agree to their entry. It soon becomes obvious to anyone with any intelligence that nobody knows……

Other general gossip (when there was some!):

* There have been several skirmish engagements between Solara and the Lizardmen up in the Northwest. The cause of this sudden friction is unknown.
* King Alvera has started fortifying Starport, a ditch has been dug around most of the city and walls are being erected. There have been complaints from citizens whose houses have been cleared to make way for these works.
* There have been a number of disappearances down at the city docks, the city watch has increased its patrols in the area.

**PARTY TREASURY: -3 Gold, 3 Silver (PLUS individual spends below)**

**Dougal**

With Joshua off shopping, Dougal finds himself pretty much tied to the market stall for most of the week. On his odd times off, he explores options for a protective case for his familiar.

Unfortunately, with planting season in full swing, most people passing the stall are now too pre-occupied with getting out early, or too tired when they return to consider reviewing the stall. The one exception is one evening where a young man, desperately looking for something different as a present for his Mothers’ birthday buys a couple of small brooches.

**TOTAL INCOME: 13 Copper (after expenses)**

**Joshua**

Has a great week on retail therapy, plus rummaging around in market stall odd’n’sods boxes.

Items bought:

* 12gp 3 Superior Staves – trade in is not an option
* 4gp 1 Superior Club
* 4gp 12 Silvered arrows
* 1gp 10 Silvered sling bullets
* 1gp 5 Silvered crossbow bolts
* 3gp 36 arrows
* 3gp Metal rimmed buckler
* 7gp 8sp Full service of Francis chainmail, including new undercoat (Francis)
* 2gp Decent boot, cloak etc (Francis)

On the fourth day of rummaging around the stalls, you come across a rusty spearpoint in a tinkers undercounter basket, what catches your eye is that there is a sigil on the spearblade that even obscured by rust reminds you of the brooch. The tinker notes your interest:

Tinker: “I see you are interested in that old Elven spearhead, a fine piece of metalwork under the rust. I keep on meaning to get it cleaned up but somehow never have the time.”

Joshua: “Well, I must admit to some interest in Elven pieces, but to be honest I am not convinced this is actually Elven.”

Joshua reaches in to pick up the spearpoint but is stopped by the tinker.

Tinker: “Sorry sir, but it is a valuable piece – but also fragile. You touch, you buy.”

Joshua (sighing): “What price are we talking?”

Tinker: “I couldn’t let it go for less than 2 gold”

……much haggling later…. Which Joshua did not unfortunately fare well at…. You settle on 1 gold, 15 silver.

Taking the piece carefully, you can now look at it more closely, and it is certainly a very old spearhead and was probably of very good quality. Scratched clearly into the blade is a sigil that matches the silverwork on the brooch you found a few weeks back.

When you pick up the Chainmail from the blacksmith the next day, you have an inspiration and ask the smith about have sigils inscribed into a blade. The smith explains that masterwork grade smiths are able to add extra potency to weapon blades by engraving the foes identifying sign, normally a piece of heraldry or similar sign. These weapons retain their potency for quite a long time and so the technique has been used for elite military units.

**JOSHUA SPEND: 40 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Copper (excluding research)**

**RESEARCH SPEND: 9 Students (45 silver per day) – 15 Gold 15 Silver**

 **9 Runners (18 silver per day) – 6 Gold 6 Silver**

**Bazin**

Spends the week buried in the cellars of the college, supporting the research focussed on the “Wild”, it soon becomes obvious from the pointers given by Francis that there are scrolls that are being consistently overlooked by the runners. Now you know what to look out for, it becomes a lot easier to focus in on scrolls that may provide more useful information.

**TOTAL SPEND: 8 Copper**

**Hamish**

Supports the runners with the majority of the party, whilst you can follow the same technique as Bazin, your lack of Elven written skills does limit your effectiveness somewhat in that you end up passing up some elements of dross.

**TOTAL SPEND: 10 Copper**

**Wun**

With spring planting in full swing, Wun ends up being extremely busy this week, strapping up sprains and the like. One evening as you are about to leave for the day, a man is brought in with a series of bloody wounds as it from claws or similar. There is a cleric on hand and so you are not actually needed, however you do catch up on the case the next day.

It turns out that the man was a fisherman, who was attacked by a reptilian being whilst hauling in his nets. It sounds as though the man-reptile had got caught in the nets and lashed out, as opposed to a pre-meditated attack. Thankfully it was a two-man fishing boat and the mans brother was able to bind the wound and bring the boat to shore.

**TOTAL EARNINGS: 1 Gold 4 Silver 4 Copper (some expenses paid out)**

**Twoo**

Supports the runners with the majority of the party, whilst you can follow the same technique as Bazin, your lack of Elven written skills does limit your effectiveness somewhat in that you end up passing up some elements of dross.

**TOTAL SPEND: 3 Copper**

**Quercuis**

Most of Querius’ time is spent in the usual tasks of maintaining the Defiance shrine and it’s environs, whilst chatting with your fellow devotees. It turns out that some of them have journeyed North up to Far Haven, generally working their passage in a merchants caravan. It seems that to many of the common folk in Northlake, Far Haven is seen as exotic and a place to visit – although few actually get to do so. Those that have been there describe a place that is somewhat less civilised than Northlake, and not necessarily somewhere that they would visit twice.

It is late on the second day that Golderod appears in the gardens, he apologises but your meeting will have to be early tomorrow and having nothing better to do you accept.

The next morning, you arrive at the shrine early and with a few minutes Golderod appears and suggests you take a walk around the gardens together. The ‘walk’ is obviously a pretext for Golderod to review the boundaries of the shrine, as he often stops at points and either casts a spell or makes a note on a piece of parchment he is carrying.

Golderod: “So I promised you some time, unfortunately not as much time as I had in mind, but here we are – first let me know your thoughts, concerns and queries and I will see where I am able to help”

Golderod: “Clearsight eh! Another one of Olg’s pet theories, I swear that the man has a silver tongue and could make you believe that night was day if he put his mind to it. If he spent less time frequenting the Inns and Taverns and more time preaching his faith would be much stronger in the city than it is. As I said last time, I am aware that there are many things that are somehow hidden from me, but I put no credence in this magical clouding of vision and insight that some people are, for whatever reason, able to see through. If the Elves were so powerful that they could invoke magic that simply transported them all away and made everyone else forget about them, I fail to see how this fractured realm was able to resist their invasion. In some ways this is as fanciful as theory as that once held by a small faction in the Church, their belief that the Elves were the true guardians of nature and the balance – well look how true that turned out to be!”

Quercius shows Golderod the drawing of the Brooch.

Golderod: “….and you got this from one of the so called Ogres?”

Quercius: “Yes, we believed it to be a shaman of some form.”

Golderod: “….I will show you something at the end of this boundary tour.”

Golderod: “The Centaurs are a noble race, gentle but warlike, wise but playful, their faith in Wyldwood is well known. In the Church they are seen as prime examples of our determination to resist and destroy the abomination of undeath as epitomised by Ghoulagabba. The shifting animals images that are mentioned in the tale refer to Wyldwood Avatars, if you were a priest you would soon be coming into this knowledge yourself.”

Golderod: “To be honest, I am not certain as to how long the stone you refer to has been here, it is certainly very old. Each of the 7 pilgrimage sites has a similar stone with identical engravings, although the one at The White Tree is noticeable older than the others. All are allowed to worship at the shrines although only the truly faithful are allowed entry to the inner sanctums, and so only followers of Wyldwood can complete the pilgrimage.”

Golderod: “I haven’t heard the Gods of Saratan mentioned for many many years, it’s another myth or legend about Elven history where they were involved in a great conflict against a chaotic horde led by Saratan and a pantheon of demigods. Since Elves are now known to be real, I would guess there is some element of truth in this myth, but who is to say how much?”

Golderod: “Sorry, I have no knowledge as regards the shrines of the Elven goddess, I hadn’t heard about this theory of 5 being a significant number to the Elves either. I assume it is just a coincidence that we regard only completing 5 of the pilgrimage sites a bad omen.”

Golderod: “I never met Bez Drock myself, I was only a child when he pillaged our shrine in Far Haven. From what I have heard, he was an honourable man as nearly all senior Shanah priest are. I had heard rumours that he is still alive, but if so I would imagine he is getting on a bit.”

Golderod: “Well Totems and Avatars have been around for a long long time, familiars though in their current form are a more recent innovation by the arcane classes. If I remember correctly, the secrets of their binding was first discovered up in the Blue Crystal Spire in Dalzon, you would have to ask someone who knows more but again from recollection, it took a lot of effort to prise the secrets out of that tower. Personally, I am obviously far more in favour of spirits that cooperate freely or are provided as a boon from your faith, the concept of binding a spirit for personal power and gain feels slightly wrong.”

The tour of the boundary finished, Golderod leads you back to that central stone, then carefully she begins lifting away the moss and grass at its base. The stone obviously is taller that it first appears, just the base has become overgrown. There is another carving at the base of the stone, which shows a similar sign to that of the brooch, there is also a repeat of the same figures all facing away from the sign, although one of the humanoids could appear to be looking back.

Golderod: “Strange isn’t it? I have no idea what this means, although I have always interpreted it as the animals and people rejecting whatever the sign means in favour of the Oak Tree, symbol of Wyldwood. If I am right then this brooch has some religious meaning, and I would be very cautious.”

Golderod: “Anyhow, I have to go now, there are some visitors coming to the city in the next couple of weeks and there are many arrangements to be made.”

**TOTAL SPEND: 3 Coppers**

**Caradoc**

Another busy week, even supported by the YOP squad, Olg in particular takes most of the week to track down. It is not that he seems to be avoiding you, but he seems to wander around the city without a specific route or timetable. Somehow, when you do finally catch up with him, he has contrived to be at an expensive tavern in the Lakeside district. He is just about to sit down at a small table when he contrives to notice you and Garaf approaching.

Olg: “Greetings again Garaf, obviously I was wrong about us not meeting again, what a pleasant surprise! And I see that you have brought a colleague, what is your name sir?”

Caradoc: “Caradoc”

Olg: “Good to meet you Caradoc, I gather that you are not a follower of Perceval – or at least not directly. Anyhow, what can I do for you fine folks, since you have obviously spent a lot of time trying to find me?”

Garaf: “Just would like to chat, possibly trade notes.”

Olg: “I nearly always have time for trading, tell you what – why don’t we have dinner here. They cook some wonderfully spiced Lamb and have a decent selection of wines.”

Garaf: “I guess we could open with that.”

Olg: “You are obviously learning.”

Olg waves to one of the waiters, who indicates a slightly larger table in an alcove.

The waiter recites a menu and taking the lead from Olg – everyone orders the spiced Lamb, whilst Olg asks the waiter to fetch a couple of bottles of the Sarantaplo Red – the good stuff.

The meal is extremely good, as is the wine.

Things you and Garaf manage to pick up during a meandering conversation are:

* There does not seem to be a way to learn the ‘detect clearsight’ ability, or certainly not one that Olg is aware of;
* In Northlake, the key people that Olg is aware of having clearsight are Duke Adamas, Apana and Cohner, there is also a senior officer in the city watch, plus he believes that the senior researcher that went to Starport had it;
* The forget/ignore effect seems to cover everything from a period about 10 years into the Age of Chaos and back. People, religions, events – all seem to come under the umbrella effect. It seems to particularly limit any focussed activity as opposed to generic. So for instance during the Age of Chaos people were aware of the Elven ruins but simply passed them by, as things stabilised people were able to explore these and a general understanding of the existence of Elves etc. was gained. People or groups of people with intellect and insight were able to explore more deeply, hence the success of the College, but even so – until clearsight began emerging they were just skimming the surface.
* Another thing to note is that once a fact emerges it seems to be removed from the scope of the ‘forgetting’, once enough people had seen Elves for instance – their existence become known to all and not considered as folklore.

The bill arrives, and Olg gets up to leave.

Olg: “Many thanks for the meal gentlemen, and a very interesting discussion. I have a busy couple of weeks coming up assisting in some negotiations – and no you could not afford any insight into those. Good luck up North, perhaps we will catch up again if you pass this way, I would be interested in any news on Ownen.”

The next evening, Caradoc decides to stay in for the evening, the inn is packed with people speculating about the Elven delegation and their purpose. However, towards closing time you are able to sit down and chat with Jurrage, over a couple of bottles of wine – thankfully not as expensive as the Sarantaplo Red. It soon becomes obvious that Jurrage, although extremely observant, does not have clearsight.

Jurrage: “Hentorn you say, well the body was never found, and as you can imagine there were a lot of people out looking for it. Shame really, he would have been a good King, somehow he always managed to keep Solara and Alvera on at least civil terms with each other.”

Jurrage: “Not sure I can recommend an Inn in Far Haven, the place is pretty uncivilised to my way of thinking. ‘The Wanderer’ near the South Market is at least clean and honest, not that cheap but at least it doesn’t try to rip you off – aim to spend 4sp per person per night at a minimum there. On route North, the ‘Griffin’ waystation near the Larkstone [corrected from Larkspur] turn off is excellent, only issue is that it can often be full. Pretty much all of the others are far too expensive for what you get, too many merchants travel that route and sometimes I think they have money to burn.”

Jurrage will give you the name of a number of trustworthy animal dealers, his recommendation is that you buy the animals in Northlake rather than Jevenne.

Jurrage: “Sure, I’ve met a couple of Centaurs, really nice folk although I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of one of their lances. They do, or rather did, a really good job of keeping Ghoulagabba and Trollheim in check. Generally they are really easy to get on with, but don’t go imagining that they are totally laid back.”

**TOTAL SPEND: 3 Gold, 5 Silver, 6 Copper**

**Garaf**

Supports the runners with the majority of the party, whilst you can follow the same technique as Bazin, your lack of Elven written skills does limit your effectiveness somewhat in that you end up passing up some elements of dross. You also work with Caradoc to find Olg again…. (see above).

**TOTAL SPEND: 18 Copper**

**Umar**

Supports the runners with the majority of the party, whilst you can follow the same technique as Bazin, your lack of Elven written skills does limit your effectiveness somewhat in that you end up passing up some elements of dross.

**TOTAL SPEND: 7 Copper**

**Francis**

You continue in your role as a runner, but also accompany Joshua on a couple of shopping expeditions. For the moment you stay in your rented room, although you will certainly be glad to see the back of it, in fact you are looking forward to getting out of Northlake in general.

**Steve: Not sure if you are lumping your funds into the party treasury??**

**TOTAL SPEND: 2 Silver 15 Copper**

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