"I will take the dark elf with me, then. You have always given wise counsel. It would be foolish to go alone even I recognize that." Kyara regards the female dark skinned elf. She was not sure about who or what she was but clearly she had been held as a prisoner,or had she Was that an illusion too.Arion was most definitely injured,but she showed no signs of wounds or bruising.

Kyara would have to be careful.

(OOC: Sorry this is late... traveling cross country this weekend.)

GM Note: The location you are currently in is about 4 days trek from where you were (as far as you can tell). If the two elves wish to return for the horse they should feel free, though it will be a long journey and Jocelyn may not have time for such a long side trip. Feel free to do what you like, but the GM is suggesting you forget the horse for now.


The flames ride high into the night as you all converse and make your plans. The group will split, it seems. Though it seems unwise to do so given the power of the group they just faced.

After a thorough examination, Heironymus is truly shocked that Airion stayed on his feet for so long. He finds evidence of broken ribs, severe bruising and several deep cuts that managed to bleed little enough so that he didn't die of blood loss. (I assumed a take 20 on a Heal skill check) Though the cleric has little experience with torture, it doesn't take a professional to imagine what this elf must have endured in the hands of his captors. Heironymus expends all of his healing spells repairing the wounds of the rogue and still has to bind his ribs to ensure that they set properly.

Too exhausted from the ordeal to make any firm plans tonight you each bed down and take some rest (setting a watch I would assume). The night passes without incident and all too soon the white moon breaks the horizon once again and the day begins anew. It is time to finalize your plans and decide where you are headed.

Airion awoke just before Selene, the white moon, broke the horizon. He tried to stretch as much as his wounds and bandages would allow. Heironymus had done an excellent job putting him back together. He still felt some pain which was probably to be expected, but at least he wasn't on the verge of passing out.

Speaking of passing out, Airion remembered that last night they were discussing splitting the group. Looking around he noticed that all four of them were still there. Perhaps the ladies were going to wait to leave this morning.

As the others started to stir, Airion felt the pangs of hunger creeping up on him. He went to his pack and began to rifle through it looking for something to eat. None of his things were where he had put them, but thankfully everything was still there. I suppose I am lucky they left me anything at all Airion found some jerky and pulled it out to snack on before they ate a more substantial breakfast. As he was rooting around in his pack he found another letter. This one written in elvish. He read it then quickly tucked it away in his shirt until the others were up and coherent. she is not going to be pleased by this
Soon the rest of the group was up and functioning without the haze of sleep surrounding them. Airion made his way over to Kyara. He removed the letter from his pack and held it out to her. "I found this in my pack this morning. I believe it is for you. I am sorry."

The letter, written in elvish, said simply "The horse will sell for a pretty penny. You have my thanks for the gift."

Airion didn't really know what else to say. He bowed his head to Kyara and walked away to go talk with Ele.

Morning arrive and with it unwelcome information in the form of a note Arion found in his pack. When he showed her the note Kyara cursed softly under her breathe in elven.

"One more thing I will lay on his account. It is growing long. Let us move on to the city, t The sooner the better. There is something going on that we need to discover the truth of. I do not like to have so many unanswered questions. or even more not knowing what questions need asking."

She quickly prepare to travel putting herself into this new direction with grim purpose.

Ele stood the last watch of the night. When the other began to stir she took time to eat one of her rations from her pack. A drink of water helped to wash it down.

She learned of the change of plans soon enough. and shrugged her shoulders. It really made no difference to her.

You reach the city just after mid day. For those who haven't yet seen the shining capital of Valin it truly is impressive. Stone walls carved with designs of humanoid figures hunting, fighting and mating cover sections of the walls. The quality of the artwark speaks of a skilled artisan, despite the seemingly tasteless depictions on some sections of the wall. On closer inspection the humanoid creatures seem to be half man, half beasts. Some resemble tigers, others look more like bears. Wolves, rats and several other animals seem to have a place as well. It is then that you notice the roots carved into the base of the wall.

Following the image of the ver growing root along the wall you find that more roots join it, intertwining in a natural dance. The roots come together at the city gates, rising from both sides into the form of an enormous tree... atleast that's what you can imagine the image would be if the gates were sealed shut.

As it stands the gates to the city are wide open, welcoming travelers and tradesmen alike. You approach the gates like anyone else, among a crowd of merchants leading carts of goods and farmers carrying their produce to the market. Out of the throng you here a loud voice.

"Hey! You there!" A pair of guards begins to move towards the group, the citizens quickly moving out of their way as they approach.

They look the group up and down, paying particular attention to Airion and Ele. Something about them seems to have set the guards on edge, as their hands never stray too far from their weapons.

"Who are you and what business do you have in the city?" One of the guards says, addressing the two dark skinned elves with suspicion dripping from his words. The soldier at his side has his hand resting on the hilt of his longsword as his feet slowly slide into a balanced position, more situated for fighting than conversation. His eyes never leave the two elves.

Airion is impressed by the carvings of the walls of the city. They are very different from what he is used to seeing. He travels along the wall toward the gate along with the rest of the group, keeping his eyes fixed on the carvings. Upon nearing the gates Airion hears someone call out "Hey! You there!"
Airion looked around but did not catch where the voice had come from. He continues walking with Ele, following Kyara and Heironimus as he notices the crowd of farmers and merchants making a clear path. Suddenly ahead of them he sees two guards coming straight for the small group. The group comes to a stop just as the gaurds arrive before them. The guards are on edge and are ready to draw their weapons. this does not bode well for us
One of the guards speaks to Airion and Ele directly. "Who are you and what business do you have in the city?"
Airion notices these guards are more than ready for a fight. He opts not to reach for his weapons and instead folds his hands over each other and offers a slight bow to the guard addressing them. "I am Airion and this is Elemmire, we are messengers from Bevaris representing House I'sorin. We are delivering trade documents to a merchant here in the city. The ranger and cleric here met us half way to escort us into the city and to the merchant we are to meet with. We simply ask for safe passage into the city so we may conclude our assignment."

The guard inspects you carefully for a moment, looking back and forth across the entirety of the group.

"Let me see the documents." The guard in front orders in a gruff voice, extending a mailed hand in expectation.

"I'll need to get into my pack to get them." Airion states as he slowly removes his pack and sets it on the ground. Carefully removing the letter for the merchant, he shows it to the guards.

"I am afraid I can not show you anymore than the envelope. The package is warded and can only be opened by the merchant whose name is written there."

Airion holds the letter in his palms face up with the merchant's name where they can see it. "I am sorry I cannot provide anymore information, but I am just a messenger. I was told the contents are not my business."

As the guard takes the letter and examines it, you see the wax seal shift into the symbol of crossed swords. He doesn't seem to notice the shifting, only the result.

"A message for the weapons guild eh?" He turns to Heironymus and Kyara. "Will you to vouch for the dark skins?"

Kyara moved quickly to insert herself between the gate guards and the dark-skinned elves and draws herself up to confront the gate guards, "This messages is the merchants business and not yours. I daresay he would not be well please to find his private communications. Of course I will vouch for them. Ve were hired by the merchants to take care of his goods and this matter is part of it."

"If you don't believe us send some of your men with us while we take these good people directly to his house."

Ele stopped when the gates Guard called. She turned at they approached hand resting lightly o her sword tough she did not either draw it or look like she was going to use. Are you addressing us? She gestures to Arion and then herself. We are fuly appointed messengers and as Arion has said we carried a sealed envelope with a message that only can be opened by the merchant we were to contact.

Each of Ele's statements was the truth, well at least true in as much as she reveal--if not the whole truth. .

The guard looks at you all suspiciously, but after a few more questions he lets you pass into the city.

Maruk is a city like many others. It's people live day to day in fear of criminals, but it is not by any means lawless. Patrols of 6 guards walk the streets frequently, and the main streets are lit by burning street lamps.

Th palace of the city is incredible, with four enormous blue-bark trees forming its towers and an outer wall that seems to be grown of solid wood rather than constructed. The gigantic leaves of the bluebarks form many of the roofs over both the towers and interior buildings.

Today seems to be a bit busier than usual with people pushing through the crows going this way and that, but nothing out of the ordinary in a city as large as Maruk. Now, you have to figure out where this merchant lives. When Kyara and Heironymus got the job it was through the merchant's guild, so you might try there. It was in the government district by the palace if memory serves. You could also likely assume he resides in the merchant district, so searching there would not be out of the question either. In the meantime, you are in a large city, with all of the amenities and dangers included.

(Congratulations, you've gotten in. Now you have to find the merchant and deliver the message.)

Ele enters with the others and pays careful attention to the direction and distances she is traveling. If for some reason that she had to leave quickly she would know how to do it, Of course there was always going over the nearest wall, That would work most of the time.

She leans over to Arion. Keep track of where w are going and any possible avenues of escape in case we need them. I did not like the attitude of the guards and we may face some problems in this city just by being here. Let us hope our new companions will not leave us to the questionable mercies of their citizenry.

Heironymus did not like the attitude of the guards. It seemed to make the evil elfs comments about a war take on new life. With attitudes like that it wouldn't take much of a spark to turn hostility into open conflict. But who would gain from such a thing? Certainly not the common folk who would do the dying.

He watched as his new companions dealt with the hostile guard. He was pleased and impressed as they did not allow themselves to react to his attitude. Being able to stay calm in harsh circumstances was a very useful skill, especially for a diplomat, which it appeared might be their destiny. Who knew?

In the meantime, it was time to find a merchant. "The merchants guild seems like the logical choice as that is where we were hired. Certainly people there would know him. Plus, (Assuming here) the guild is logically in the merchants quarter, so it should take us in the right direction anyway. I would suggest we go to the guild and start asking around, although I wouldn't mention the nature of the message to anyone but the recipient. I begin to wonder if even he is not what he seemed at first."

So saying, the cleric waited to hear if his companions agreed. It was time to start moving through the city. Heironymus looked around his eyes automatically drawn to those who seemed to be least able to enjoy the fruits of the city.