King's Pyre

Gully Travels

Janella visited Janus the next morning, to learn more of his story. He told her he was going on a trip for Sandine as soon as he was strong enough, and she decided to come along, for the sake of the story and to give him a helping hand.

Sandine took them north of the city a ways and pointed out a low ridge of hills, at the peak of which they could just make out the cave entrance. She told them that it would probably be easier to access the cave via the gullies on the north side. At Janus's request, she left them her bag of magical odds-and-ends to hold the bat guano, and returned to the city.

Janus made an expert survey of the countryside, and picked the best gully to walk through to get them the closest to the peak. Soon, however, the ground sloped up, and the air became thin. They decided to make a dash for the entrance, running most of the distance before collapsing and crawling the rest of the way to the cave.

Inside the cave, the two blinked as bats bit them on the head. The bats didn't seem particularly aggressive; just thirsty. And blood happened to be the only liquid nearby. Janus tried to calm them, but the stupid creatures kept attacking. Janella decided to throw them her waterskin. She did this; it hooked neatly onto a stalactite and tore just enough for the bats to get at it. A few bats fluttered over to it and began drinking. Janus threw his as well, and it landed on the floor, and soon the other bats ripped it open too.

With the bats satisfied, Janus looked around for the bat guano. It was piled pretty high in the back of the cave. While he was looking, he also noticed a skeleton half-buriend near the cave's entrance. Next to it were shreds of old leather armor and two bottles, one broken and one whole but empty. Janus took the bottle to scoop up the bat guano, but ended up pouring water out of it. He abandoned the bottle in suspicion and filled the bag with the guano instead.

Meanwhile, Janella took the bottle and added a little water to the waterskins. The bats seemed to suffer no immediate ill effects, so she kept the bottle.

The two dashed back to the gully, again collapsing - but this time Janella passed out. Janus crawled quickly to the lower ground, caught his breath, and hauled the gnome into the gully before she could permanently injure herself. As the two panted and recovered their breath, they heard a snuffling sound approaching them.

They were being sniffed out by a small silver dragon, who was so intent on following the trail that his eyes were closed. He came right up to Janella, and then opened his eyes in surprise.

"Hello!" he said, and the introductions began. Aldie Jr. was tracking his Daddy's letter. He begged Janus and Janella to come back with him, because his Dad would be so proud. Janella agreed, and Janus said that he had to go finish an errand first. Aldie said he'd come with him. Fortunately, Janella remembered that Aldie would probably be detained if he went into the city, because of his father's business with Baredo.

Aldie complained he was hungry, so Janella took him back to the bat cave, where he ate three of them, and helped Janella get to safety despite passing out again.

Meanwhile, Sandine took the bat guano, and, in exchange, determined the location of Oka: 20 miles north and 15 miles east. Janus didn't write it down immediately, but fortunately Sandine was able to recall the result of her divination again.

Janus purchased two more waterskins and left the city to meet up with Janella and Aldie.



Experience:

Joining Forces, Flashback-style: 50

The gullies: 100

The bats: 250

Befriending Aldie: 400

Oka's location from Sandine: 50
or
Aldie's Lunch: 50


Total Experience: 850

Callido's City

Janus the ranger woke up in the cheap inn, as he did most mornings, and set out to wander the streets of Callido City in search of information. He had discovered soon enough, on arriving here, that procuring a standard Divination spell at the Library would cost him eight hundred gold, far more than he could afford. Janus had been here for a few months now, and he was getting desperate. As he wandered around the central Entertainment District, he was approached by another elf, who introduced himself as Demminy and told him that he knew about a washed-up wizard in the Mages' District who might be willing to cast the spell for less. Janus agreed to follow.

Meanwhile, Janella the bagpiper was standing in the street, attempting to entertain the crowds. She met with some success, and at the end of one of her rousing numbers, was approached by another gnomish woman, who told her that she might want to join the Dancing Eye troop, if she could keep up the good work. Janella thanked her, but was soon distracted by the screams of a toddler. The little guy had grabbed a hold of one of the letters that routinely flew around the city streets delivering themselves, and he wouldn't let go, and the letter was starting to cut his hands.

Janus too noticed the commotion; the little gnome's mother didn't seem to know what to do. So, Janus jumped in. He tried snagging the letter himself. Recognizing a new deterrent to its purpose, the letter hit Janus in the face and scratched his hand as he tried to grab it out of the air. Janella, looking on, deemed grabbing the letter to be ineffectual, and drew her sword and sliced it in half. Lifeless, the letter fluttered to the ground in two pieces.

Janus picked up the letter and read the following:

Baredo Insidal: I have discovered the location of Viconte’s tomb. It is in the Wilds, unfortunately, but as we suspected. Please come to see me as soon as your duties allow, and we will begin planning the recovery. Enclosed is enough money for you to pay the rent on your house and your shop for a month so that you can leave and come help me.

Sincerely, Aldabrode

The signature was incorporated into an elaborate silver seal, out of which fell four platinum pieces. Janus was on the verge of pocketing all of them, when Janella insisted on taking half, since she had rescued him.

Janella was about to return to her performance when everyone in the street was distracted by a prison-cart rolling past. It contained a bruised but proud-looking elf, chained to the bars. A crier followed the cart, saying: "Baredo Insidal, traitor to His Majesty Callido the Copper. Baredo Insidal, arrested for paying homage to foreign gods."

Janus figured Baredo wouldn't be needing the letter now, so he kept it. Demminy, who'd been standing and spectating the whole time, asked if Janus wasn't ready to come with him. Janus continued walking with Demminy through almost the whole city as they made their way toward the outer Mages' District.

Janella decided that since she'd met with so much success that morning (making a few silvers) she'd try to look up the Dancing Eye. On arriving at the reasonably well-known building, she found the gnomish woman again. Her name was Janelle, and so the two decided they would probably hit it off. Janelle took Janella to the back, where a group of small musicians was practicing. They were all wearing purple shirts and gray belts, and one of them, Kantz, introduced himself. They asked Janella to play along with them to get ready for the evening's show. She did pretty well at first, but wasn't able to keep up with the more experienced troupe. They politely told her that she was welcome to hang around and help draw a crowd before the show, but that she should get a little more practice. Janella seemed willing to do this, so Janelle sent her to buy some clothes to match the Dancing Eyes.

As Janella was looking through the clothes in a shop in on the outskirts of the Merchants' District, she heard a scream. Running out of the shop and up the wall to investigate, she saw an elf glancing around the street and starting to run away from a dark house. He appeared to be stuffing some coins into his pocket and simultaneously wiping off his dagger on his boot. Janella raised her crossbow and fired at the apparent thief. She shot him squarely in the back of the head, and he blacked out for a moment before stumbling forward again. She was able to catch up with him. Meanwhile, another elf - Janus - peeked his head around the corner of the house and yelled Stop! Thief!. So Janella accosted Deminny, and he handed her his money pouched and begged her to let him go, to which she agreed. She came over to Janus and restored his two platinum pieces, but kept all the gold to herself. She suddenly realized that the performance was about to start, and rushed back to the Entertainment District just in time to help open the show.

A woman came down from the upper levels of the house. She thought she had heard something going on, but she had been in the middle of researching something. Janus explained to her how he had been led there in the hopes of meeting a wizard named Sandine, but that his guide had turned on him, stabbed him, and robbed him. The wizard apologized for her absentmindedness, and said that she was indeed Sandine, and that she was willing to cast spells for a significantly lower price than most. She seemed a bit more hesitant when Janus said that he didn't have any money at all, even though he was going to use the spell to find his family's village, from which he had been separated for some years. She did think this was an interesting story, however, and listened to him tell it more fully as they took a walk through the city. Finally, Sandine agreed to help him if could get her a good quantity of bat guano, a necessary ingredient for the popular Fireball spell.

As the two were walking, they found themselves in the Entertainment District again, and Janella noticed that black-haired, red-eyed elf she kept seeing all over the place today. She walked close enough to them that she heard his story as well, and became intrigued with its comic and artistic merit. After the show, Janelle of the Dancing Eyes encouraged her to go with Janus and write his story; perhaps that would give her a musical edge so she could come back and make her way in the entertainment world of Callido City.

Experience:

Looking for Family 20
or
Bagpipes on the Street 20

The Letter 75

Following Demminy 20
or
Joining the Dancing Eye 40

Demminy the Thief 150

Convincing Sandine 40
or
Finding a Story 20

Total Experience Points: 305

Tournament

Erannar, Dreneil, Eltana, and Starq attended the Culding Tournaments. The first competition was archery, which Eltana and Erannar entered. Eltana shot valiently with her shortbow, but was soon eliminated. Erannar won third place squarely and won a new longbow to go with it. Next was the axe-throwing competition. After some fierce competition, Dreneil walked away with third prize and a new throwing axe. Meanwhile, Starq tried to find a magical competition, but succeeded only in finding a shady wizard, whom he decided to avoid. He spent the morning imitating dragon roars to the amusement of the young boys in the crowd. Next, Eltana entered the small-contestants-only Wrestling competition. She was bested by her first opponent, a handsome halfling male, whom she later invited out to see the Hatchers (the group's favorite Vaudeville troupe). Both Starq and Dreneil entered the "official" tournament, imported as a sport from human lands. Starq was given a tourney lance, and managed to knock his first opponent, a pretty female elf, right off her horse. In the next round he was dropped soundly, but the elf, Malia, healed him up a little and started flirting with him. Together they watched Dreneil tumble off a raggedly-clothed young man on a magnificent horse. The final round was tense and close, but the opposing Paladin finally won the day. It was no small victory for Dreneil, however, as she won a magical sword and the admiration of the young noble in disguise she had just bested. The final competition, the favorite Halfling Slingshot contest, was entered by Eltana, Erannar, and Starq. Starq and Erannar lacked the Halfling touch, and were soon disqualified, but Eltana lasted for a while. This was the most popular event, so Eltana didn't place; first prize went to a peasant in a brown robe who had won last year. Erannar was then convinced to invite the friendly dwarven axe-tossing merchant woman to the show, and the quadruple date commenced, to the enjoyment of all. The day ended with a bit more cash, equipment, friendship, and prestige.

Experience will be individually awarded.