Starting, still at the mines the party began to travel back towards the city. However their journey was interrupted beneath the trees by the thunder of hooves. Tearing around the corner Arlette, Luca, and two more spell-blade knights came to a screeching stop; Arlette breaking out into a bellowing laugh at meeting the party one more in this type of situation.
Dismounting her horse, Arlette explained that she, and her compatriots, had been called out by the arrival of the mine's workers, the tale of the elemental's attack on their lips. She intuits as well, given the current company, that the party had taken care of it.
Sending Luca and one knight forward, to investigate the mine, Arlette listened to the parties story, enhanced by Tolfdir's illusions. The tail of the elemental attack passes with little surprise but, the fiends wer of great interest to the spell-blade.
Finally, snorting at a joke about rewards in gems, Arlette's companion removed his helmet and introduced himself. The blue armoured knight revealed as Jules Haskette, the youngest son of the Duke and a member of the Malachite Spears.
After some further conversation the noble scion asked if the party would like to accompany him back to town and give their opinion on something. Jules was cagey on exactly what. Agreeing, the group continued on to the city.
Arriving back at lillendale, Jules led the party into the inner walls, and directly to Castle Haskette. Leading them into the inner courtyard beyond the outer castle walls.
There inside, Jules asked the party to take a look around and tell him their observations, holding back the intent of his request. The party, agreeing once more, inspected the keep and the outer walls.
After making their rounds they joined Jules back in the keep. The Audience chamber of the court was being re-arranged and decorated for the ball. There they spoke of their findings, of blind-spots in the castle defenses and similar observations.
Jules was pleased and they chatted for a bit more; including among, other things, asking about books on gem crafting. Jules said that if any existed in the city they were either in private collections or in the halls of the House of the Zaffre Eye. Eventually a challenge was purposed. The party would try and sneak into the keep's kitchen, that very evening, to test further the defenses.
After a brief pit stop, back at the manor to rest, and a bet the game was afoot.
Each party member took a different approach. Tolfdir conjured an illusion of a kitchen servant, and used illusionary script to create orders from Jules, only to be turned away by the guards at the front gate when they could not verify the orders. Changing tactics Tolfdir manipulated his illusion to become Jules himself, with an angry scowl fixed on his face, and was able to gain entry.
Jaeme also leveraged magic. Invisibility, a dimension door spell and a mage hand ti distract allowed them to gain entry.
No-one would notice another spider and so with the power of wild shape Silke was also able to easily scuttle in and gain access.
Orne took a more physical approach, scaling the wall in the blind spot they had noticed earlier that day, and they were able to, narrowly avoiding a pair of patrolling guards, scale the inner keep and misty step inside.
Uthar, well... the cleric had other plans that evening.
The contestants all arrived at the kitchen, Silke first, followed by Tolfdir, then Orne and Jaeme together. The pair having run into other on their final approach. The quartet helped themselves to some of the next day's bread in celebration of their shared success.
Uther, had another query in mind, with the manor to himself he fell into deep communion with his deity. Learning that the Grey Viper was in the city, as was the Earl Debois and that the Earl was being influenced to some degree by magic. With a locate person spell on his lips, Uthar set out to search.
Having returned to the city the prior evening the party began their day by reaching out to Arlette.
The following morning Silke awoke having had a broken night of strange dreams. Indistinct and strange landscapes, all lit by a silver moon, and a person's face. They asked the rest of the party if any had a similar experience but no-one else reported having had dreams out of the ordinary.
With some time to spend before they all planed to head out Silke once more took to the skies, a locate person on the beak, to search for the individual they say in their dream. Surprisingly, they got a ping. Running a food stall on the streets Silke found a halfling woman; a dead ringer for the face in their dream.
Landing on a nearby roof to observe further, Silke met eyes with the halfling, who surprisingly seemed to recognize the druid as well. She took a moment from serving customers, withdrew a fine piece of parchment, placed it between two pieces of waxed paper, and set it aside with another knowing glance at Silke.
Intrigued, Silke swooped down and snatched up the papers retreating to a nearby rooftop. Inspecting them they proved to be a purchase order stating that one "Silke Agent of the Blue River Trading Company" was to pick up a 200 units of copper from a local mine: "Timbervale Mine".
When they were finished reading the paper Silke was overcome by the sensation of a greater power turning their attention on them; time almost seemed to stand still, stretched into an anticipatory moment, a soundless question bubbling forth "do you accept this task?". Silke accepted.
Returning to the party at the manor and telling them of the strange morning, there was some concern from Silke friends. A detect magic spell from Tolfdir revealed that some form of enchantment lay upon the moth-kin; but daylight was burning and they were to travel to Miliks hill today.
Doing so was easier then their trip to the city, at the large tree on the estate Silke cast a new spell from their repertoire opening a tunnel in the tree which they and the party climbed into and through, arriving at the outskirts of Milik's Hill.
The party spend two days in the village, working on gems, tending to the townsfolk, and generally taking it easy after the intensity of the past several days. However not all was well, Silke was unable to find rest spending two more sleepless nights with indirect and strange dreams during those few hours when they were able to fall asleep. Finally, concerned the party cast a dispell magic spell on the druid, life and vitality returned to them and they felt much restored.
One more calling on their newfound ability to travel through plants the party returned to Lillendale on the evening of there second day back in the hill.
Having rescued Jarin and left the town of Tavin behind, the party traveled south back towards the city. During their trek Jarin inquired as to how they had even learned of his situation so the party told the tale. From being contacted by Anala's compatriot to their adventures in the city and finally their finding him in Tavin.
Arriving back in the city of Lillendale in the late afternoon (3:30pm - 4:00pm), the party went to Jaime's manor, and there, settled Jarin into one of the guest room to rest. They then turned their attention to that night's meeting.
However, with the meeting itself being some hours away at midnight they decided to speak with Arlette about current developments. That conversation, once the spell-blade knight was brought up to date on Jarin's rescue, turned to the situation in Milik's Hill. Arlette suggested that the party make a position to the Duke during the next open court date. At this suggestion Jaime remarked that court was sometimes 'a spectator sport' recalling times in their youth when they had been brought along to attend and watch.
Returning to the manor the party began to make their preparations. Silk, wildshaping once more, set out into the skys of the city; searching for the "the dwelling near where two of three lanterns fail to burn" written in the note.
...
The next morning after their return from helping Spell-blade Luca with his personal undead matter the party set out for the town of Tavin; a mining town located in the foothills of the mountains north of Lillendale and the location where Uthar's communion with the goddess Frey’Lenn had revealed Jarin was located. It was an uneventful trek of six hours that had the party arriving in the town in the early evening. However, upon their arrival they almost run afoul of the local town guard, what they would eventually learn was the local lieutenant of the force: Jarome, and several of his guards interrupted Silk, and the rest of the party, but mostly Silke in the midst of the spell craft. Awkwardly the party was able to convince and play of the magic as nothing more then telling the weather, with Silke actually doing so in turn.
Jarome lead the party to the local inn, The Cracked Chalice, and wished them a good evening. There the party met the proprietress of the inn an older elf woman named Irathibus. They took advantage of the low cost of the lodgings, booking five rooms and taking advance of the food, drink, and local hot springs that were available. Further conversation with Irathibus lead to the discovery of some interesting nuggets of information, not about their current venture but the past. It seems that over 80 years ago Irathibus had been working in Lillendale proper and had met the mysterious moth-kin mentioned in the sorrow-sworn pages: Cotton and Jutte. It had been a passing acquaintance, the moth-kin having purchases some materials from the elf woman's place of work at the time.
As the evening grew later, Orn retired to the hot springs, Silke to their room, Jaeme and Tolfdir engaged in a great textile pun contest, and Uthar watched the crowd as they filled in after a day of hard labour. One individual in particular stuck out to Uthar, a human man with the carriage and the watchful eyes of the soldier entered the inn later on in the evening, orders several meals and then promptly left.
This same individual was also seen by Silke for the druid had not retired to sleep but instead had used the privacy of the inn room to both cast a locate creature spell and transform into an owl; slipping out into the night to once more search for Jarin. The search was fruitful, close to the inn in a nondescript house Silke picked up Jarin's presence, however it seems the merchant was being held in the attic of the structure with no easy egress.
Deciding to watch for a time, it was some minutes later when Silke observe the same soldierly individual as Uther leave the house and return some minutes later with a crate full of meals. With nothing further to be done alone Silke returned to the inn. The party all found their rooms and the night passed.
The next morning Tolfdir, the first awake made the acquaintance of a boisterous merchant who was also staying at the inn Reginald. An outgoing and gregarious individual Reginald was quite willing to talk off Tolfdir's ear and eventually the rest of the party as they rose for breakfast. He also confirmed that a writ is required to purchase Viraxin and that although he was a file purveyor of "Metals and Fuels" the mystic material was not something he personally had access too. After saying goodbye to their new friend, the information gather so far was shared and the party discussed their plan of attack.
Ultimately the decided on a straightforward tactic, traveling to the guardhouse in the center of town they spoke with Lt. Jarome. Laying out everything they had discovered, the party asked for the assistance of the guard. A little unsure, but willing to place some trust in a Ceric of Abakesh, Jarome was convinced but cautious, not willing to risk any of his men. He instead deputized Uthar with the authority to pursue this matter. Jarome was also able to inform the party that the house where Jarin was being held had belonged to an older widower, a miner who had recently passed away from the black-lung.
Returning to the house, the party make a brief attempt at conversation, before breaking down both the front door and the door to the attic. There within they discovered Jarin, who was very happy to see the party, unharmed and curiously unguarded. Jarin had an odd tale of recent events, apparently he ad been visited by a masked individual who asked may question about the party. Ultimately, passing on a letter to Jarin as if expecting him to be rescued, Jarin passed over the same letter.
It proved to be an invitation to a meeting back in Lillendale from an individual who identified themself only as "D"; not wasting any time Uthar broke the seal accepting the meeting and the party raced away. Only stopping to give a brief report to Lt. Jarome and return his emblem before leaving Tavin behind.
July 20th, 2025: ---
July 13th, 2025: ---
The next morning, after their fight with the devilish entities in the warehouse, the party traveled back to the market square to get more information on the house they had discovered along with the warehouse of the prior days incident.
At town hall they spoke once more with Rollan and Silke, rather poorly, attempted to convince the clerk that they were in the market to purchase property. With a great deal more finesse Rollan indicated that a little bit of coin could open doors the information they were seeking. The party gave over a single golden crown and received information on scales 17432 and 24190.
The warehouse was owned by a merchant interest: "The Blue River Trading Company"; and the house by a minor noble: "The Lord Isaac Vastel", a vassal of the the Earl Remonet Dubois. Finally, the party inquired about Viraxen and was informed that typically one is required to possess a writ of trade in order to purchase the material.
Deciding to follow up on the house once more that party traveled back to the eastern district of Lillendale. There they spoke with members of the city guard, explaining that they had reason to believe that their friend was being held in the house and asking for assistance.
Their plea proved sufficiently convincing and the guards performed an inspection of the house, however the found no site nor sound of Jarin.
Not willing to give up and, after a detour involving a polymorph spell and some time for Jaeme as a moth, the party hatched a real plan. Under the disguise of a seeming spell, everyone but Silke would distract the residents of the house while the druid snuck in and searched for their friend.
... find the gem with ruby fluid inside
... go back to manor
After their conflict with the elementals in the quarry the party followed Arlette to one of the spell-blade dorms. There the knight served them tea and pastries while, politely, interrogating them about their purpose in the city.
The party decided to lay some of their cards on the table, telling Arlette about their search for Jarin Ashgalde. They also spoke further about the individuals that they fought the prior day in the ally and Arlette showed them the emblem carried by the attacker that was in custody: an emblem of a silver eye with a trio of red or bloody tears with a curved dagger siting below they eye.
Arlette revealed that the spell-blade knights were being pushed hard by the many demands of their services and asked if the party would be willing to assist if tasks arose that she felt that could assist with. Agreeing the party was gifted a broach in the form of an amaranth blade that would magically facilitate communicating if and when necessary.
--- more -> the warehouse attack.
The party's encounter with the alleyway assailants did not appear to go unnoticed. Not long after the fight concluded they party once more faced off with Arlette. With the spell casting of the battle having dropped Tolfdir's illusion the spell-blade knight got her first, real, look at the party in truth.
However, although Arlette appeared to recognize Jaeme and seemed a little taken aback that nothing had changed about Silke except for missing a fine feathered top-hat, there were more pressing matters.
The party gave a run down of what they had seen, leading up to the fight in the ally. Arlette took the party's prisoner into custody stating that this was a matter that the spell-blades had been investigating. She told the party, not 100% seriously, that she hoped not to see them again soon.
The day had grown long and the party turned their attention on finding somewhere to rest for the evening. Jaime, with some trepidation, volunteered the their family owned a manor in the city; and that the party should be able to stay there.
The party agreed and traveled westward through the city street arriving at the manor. However, the house appeared dark and abandoned at their arrival. Calling out did not bring anyone to the door nor did knocking.
--- more goes here ---
The next morning whatever plans the party might have were disrupted by a significant shaking of the earth and a disturbance in the city, a rather large one. Investigating the commotion the party found themselves in the query filled lands east of the city where more members of the spell-blade knights were evacuating miners and masons as well as keeping back the crowd of onlookers at some distance.
Inquiring as-to the situation the party learned that there had been an outbreak of stone elementals in the query and that the spell-blades were in the process of dealing with the incursion.
Convincing the sentry that they could help the party entered the battlefield, and not one moment too soon. As the final few workers were being evacuated an enormous lava-elemental exploded onto the material plain; spewing flame and burning rocks at all that it could see.
The battle was hard-won but with the party's help they were able to dispatch the threat with no serious casualties and evacuate all the remaining civilians in the area. Reinforcements soon arrived, including a familiar face Arlette. The senior spell-blade knight seemed torn between frustration and amusement but ultimately invited the party back to the city to have a deeper and more quite conversation about recent events.
After saying their goodbyes to Luca, his young charge in tow, the next morning the party set out from the inn westward towards Lillendale. They arrived at the city in the later afternoon that same day.
Before charging forward the party took some time within eyesight of the east gate of the city to plan their approach. Uthar drew upon his memories for knowledge of the legal system of Lillendale and the Dukes domain at large. If Jarin had be swept up by normal means the party should find their friend at town hall awaiting a magistrate.
Jaime also revealed that there was, potentially, some issue with their presence being recognized in the city. It appears that they had not left under the best circumstances and wished to remain under the radar. To this end Tolfdir employed a powerful new illusion spell to disguise the party, changing Jaeme's appearance and gifting Silke a top-hat with an August Rooster feather among other things.
With their appearances sorted, the party entered the city. The city watch guarding that gate did seem to take in their appearance, especially Silke's, but the party had no problem gaining entry.
Once inside the party made their way to the heart of the city, to the market square where they town hall building also stood. Inside, they met a local clerk Rollen: an old human man possessing a sharp widows peak, short stocky build, who was also missing a front tooth. Rollen gave the party poor news: there was not currently any individuals in the cities stocks and there was no record of Jarin being in jail in the recent records.
Leaving town hall, the party decided to see if they could speak to anyone from the spell-blade houses; having just they day prior assisted one of it's members. There the party met Arlette, a beautiful middle aged human woman with a buzz-cut and a short muscular build. Arlette was guarding the wrought iron gate of the spell-blade house's complex and after exchanging some pleasantries with the party revealed that she knew that they were using an illusion to hid their true forms.
Awkwardly, the party said a rushed farewell and withdrew.
Not long later the party observed several cloaked individuals following a pair of locals. Their interest peaked, having heard stories of violent assaults, robberies, and even killings in the past several months the party followed. In a nearby alleyway knives were drawn and the party intervened, driving off or dispatching several of the assailants and capturing one alive.
After their encounter and battle with the elemental frost salamander in the middle of the lake the party spend the night back at the castle with their kobold friends. The next morning, after saying their goodbyes, the party began their journey westwards back towards Miliks Hill.