Kartakass: Chapter Seven

[steveflam]

Over the next few days you manage to gather some fresh supplies as well as potions, if you have enough gold for them. The rest is very beneficial to you all. Those of you who want to get fresh clothing do so and finally nearly a week after you've arrived in Port a Lucine, it is time to embark on the dragonboat.

With Lucius and Cornelius' help, passage has been acquired during the week. The rooms you have are quite cramped but will do. The boat will stop three times. Once in Pont de Museau, then Har Thelen and finally in Kartakass. The voyage will take several weeks. As Cornelius stated they only move at 5 miles an hour, thus the long trip.

It is by far the safest trip you have thus far. You arrive in Pont A Museau two weeks later. You stay there one day, with nothing transpiring. Then you're off for Har Thelen in Sithicus. There the boat stays two days. Again it is a quite two days and finally it takes another two weeks to Cortton. It is now near the supper hour.

Thankful to finally be on solid ground, you get lodgings in the only Inn of the town called the Howling Wolf. Once settled in, bathed and all the rest, it is near the hour of 7 p.m. The dining room is half full as you enter. Of course people glance at you, as you are foreigners. But nothing more.
You get a table and order your meals.

"It's nice not to be on the water anymore. I don't want to say too much here, as the last time we sort of stood out. I say we keep a low profile and perhaps look up Tarlyn's friend Pietro. Then we need to find this mother person. Any thoughts?"

[ewancummins]

''Yes- let me use my spells, and I'll see what I can uncover...''

Cornelius retrieves several objects from his bags and places these on the table before himself: a forked willow wand, a crystal pendant shaped like a teardrop and strung on a slender stand of flexible wire, some dried leaves, a brass compass case, and a piece of blank parchment.

''Now then, these should do. Hmmm, maybe a bit more privacy though.''

The dwarf begins to place the assorted items into a smaller satchel, humming as he packs it all away.

[steveflam]

"Yes, Cornleius. As I will in fact be taking new spells on the morrow, perhaps you could suggest some good ones for me to take so I can help with the search. A crystal ball would be nice, but I don't have one. I'm not a big diviner as a matter of fact."

Jacob appears to be embarassed about the last statement. Looking to Deari, he asks "Pardon me, but is there any signifigance to the scar on your forehead?" His eyes flash quickly to her ears, then back to her eyes, but the question remains unasked. There would be time enough to ask her about her ears, this wasn't the time.

[ewancummins]

Cornelius excuses himself and heads off to his room, carrying his bags with him.

''I'll see if I cannot find something useful....''

[A G Thing]

Deari, looks at Jacob with a somewhat distant and yet nervous look... She stutters slightly and her Falkovnian accent does come through though she tries to hide it somewhat...
"It... Well, it happened so long ago, and I don't remember what it was... I stumbled from the mists into a village by the name of Holtscord, and I was badly hurt with this scar and most battle gear I carry with me now... The people of that town took care of me for some time, and called me Deari... Then as I was hunting I found myself mist-led once more... I... I don't remember if anything before that day I came to Holtscord, and that was near three years ago..."
After answering, she fidgits distractedly while swilling the the dregs of her watered ale in the mug and looking around the crowd while waiting for a response...

[steveflam]

Jacob looks at Deari. He seems indifferent to the reaction of the crowd to her. "Well, Deari. I haven't run into someone with your predicament before. I am not of these lands and thus, you arriving through the mists from elsewhere in these lands seems plausible. You not having some memories is bothering me. I wonder,"

He looks to the others "Is this a normal occurence? I am new to these lands and thus don't know all that much. Is Deari's scar on her forehead significant in some way? I might be able to use some spells to help you, Deari."

[ewancummins]

Cornelius comes back into the room, looking excited.

''Friends! I have news.''

His voice drops to a cautious whisper as he relates the details of his scrying session.....

As Cornelius casts his spell, the items he uses for the spell begin spinning uncontrollably, and finally come to a halt. Except for the mirror which stays in one place in the air in front of the dwarf flipping over and over in front of his face. Luck is with Cornelius as the mirror stops flipping and twirling, the tip facing due south. For an instant Cornelius sees a clearing in a forest somewhere. He gets a glimpse from atop a large fir tree. The sun is setting. In the clearing he sees several large lupine forms, and one in particular stands out from the others. It is reclined lazily on a wooden throne, surveying the scene.

Cornelius gasps as he sees the items they're here to retrieve draped over the back of the throne. Then he can turn the scene a little, and again from atop the tree, in the distance you can see smoke and the city of Harmonia. You'd gather a guess it would be a very difficult trek out to the clearing you saw, from Harmonia, and not a very safe one at that.

After he finishes decribing waht he's seen, the dwarf produces his note paper- which is covered with hastily scrawled notes and simple sketches of the vision.

''This ought to help us. I think.''

[A G Thing]

Deari just smiles slightly as Cornileus comes in happily, and silently delivers the news to the others... She nods to Jacob trying to silently send the message that perhaps later they could discuss her memory problems afterward.

Whispering to the group Deari, more sternly then before meets eyes with all of them...

"As I have gleemed from this and the other discussions, we are here to retrieve some sort of items but it seems there was mention of some people as well! Now that we have arrived however, I do need this explained further because I am a part of this and it seems by your behavior to be more substancial than just going to collect the items or these 'people'! I have heard of the Werecreatures now, and understand your need for silver from before though now I emplore you, please, if I am to go any further with you, I must know more, if not all!"

[ewancummins]

Cornelius nods and says-

''I think Lucius or perhaps Van would be best equipped to answer your questions....''

[A G Thing]

"Thank you Master Cornileus!"

With a nod of thankful acknowledgement to her, still curious to her Dwarven companion, Deari then looks over at both Lucius and Van, waiting for a reply with a slightly insistant look on her face...

[VAN]

Van listens carefully Deari's story. He was up to to tell her about Darkon's memory loss problem, but Cornelius bumped in really happy and eager to talk so the darkonese wizard just says:

"I can tell you something about this memory loss problem Deari, but later. Lets focus on that first."

Looking at the dwarf he says with a big smile:

"Your news are great Cornelius and I think you deserve an ale on us for getting these information! I always believed that magic can do anything and this is another proof!"

All of you can see how excited is the evoker but not as much about the news as about the find the items with magic.

He leans closer to the ranger and says with low voice:

"Now I'll be glad to fill you in Deari since you are part of our group now. A year ago a man was sent from Darkon to Kartakass to retrieve 2 items that can help curing lycanthropy. The man never returned, so the Temple decides to send another one to find him and if possible get the items. He has mysteriously disappeared too... We are here for both of them, to find what has happened and of course try to get these precious items back to Darkon. It's the second time we get to Kartakass actually, the first time we didn't have any luck at all, something happened and we find ourselves in another plane, Toril, if you might have heard it. We hope we manage to accomplish our task this time."

After his narration Van's look passes to all his companions and rests to the ranger.

"Have I forgotten anything? and do you have any questions Deari?"

[BigBadQDaddy]

William grimly replies, "That's about the meat of it anyways."

[A G Thing]

Deari looks oddly at the others, after having stalled for a moment... Hesitently she begins speaking...

"I am, now other than the description of the 3 items and the 2 men, suitably to my mind, informed on the mission at hand I believe, but I am concerned on one point of your words..."

This time looking at Van alone..."You said, another, 'Plane'?" She blanches a bit at the statement from her own lips...
"Surely there are other lands, lost to the misty boarder, but you say it was another plane! I am, while accepting of, not the most studious of matters Arcane or Temporal, and while I have just met, what I am trying to accept as one of fey of the shade, and our dwarven friend, I don't know if I can truly believe that there are other worlds entirely... At least just yet... Are you sure that such is so!!!" She seems somewhat more troubled by this as she falls silent. Deari seems to be sorting back and forth in her mind while waiting to hear the words from Van's own lips to confirm or deny her thoughts...

[VAN]

Van smiles and getting a sip of ale he says:

"I was thinking the same thing, I have studied about other planes but top be honest I wasn't sure about their existence. But I can assure you, all of us have been transferred there! Despite I'm a wizard I don't know how that happened, a spell went wrong and...we just appeared there! We can try to do it many times but I'm sure that we will not be able to repeat it! It was a great experience actually and I'd love to go there again, but doubt that will happen again. I'm forced to believe that we went there for some reason and then we just returned here...well not exactly here. We reappeared to another domain actually, Sri Raji if you have ever heard it."

[A G Thing]

Deari seems somewhat relaxed but still looks around somewhat animatedly at the subject. As the server comes by she offers to buy a round for everyone and begins to compose herself...

"I have traveled on this great continent, since coming from the mists out of Holtscord... I have heard minor tales of these distant lands, including this Sri Raji, drifting in the mists, while trying to ask of Holtscords location but I have seen only the lands of Nova Vasa, Barovia, Borca, Richemulot, Mordent, and Dementlieu, and arrived and traveled them as such in that order. I know that I speak two languages beyond those used in some of these lands and I speak them fluently enough. Many remarking on my accent seem to believe that I hale from Falkovnia, but by its description I feel only slight want to go there and discover if I have been known there, or if it is my true native home from before... I also speak Darkonise but have no recollection of ever being in the land of Darkon before..."

She looks at Van and the others as well... "Have any of you heard of Holtscord in any of your travels? I know they tend to speak Vaasi, but none in Nova Vaasa have heard of the small town and in a misted wood with one road to it. I wish to assure my caretakers that I am alive and well, and see them, as they are all I remember!"