"The word cult is simply a name for a religious group of people that is not a part of a widely known religious organization. If thee is any negative connotation to it, I would venture to say that it is the church giving it that, not the word itself, nor the connotations given by scholars.
So far as these worshipers, most of the groups that pay homage to the Twilight Dragon worship one aspect of him. Some worship chaos, some law. Some work for good, others for more evil or selfish designs. My informants have been able to gather very little information about the worshipers of this particular group. Though what they have observed is that they are too well organized and structured to be focused on the chaotic aspect of the Dragon. Beyond that, and perhaps partially because of that we have not yet been able to ascertain their goals."

"Well, tthe academics can define the word 'cult' however they wish, but when most people use the word they do not mean positive things. Probably that is because these groups are, by definition even, not their church. Still, it doesn't require an organized faith to make the label bad - it is the word most people use for a faith they view in a negative light."

"But I think we are wasting time with the meaning of the word - I don't think that is really an issue for any of us. For however we label them, our goal is apparently to get information from these groups. Since we obviously lack much information at this point, do you have any suggestions how this is to be done?"

"I had hoped that you might be able to solve at least a few of these questions on your own. If they will allow you to enter for a cordial conversation then so be it. If not, do whatever needs to be done, by stealth, brute force or any of the other methods at your disposal. I cannot hold your hand and give you step by step instructions, nor do I have the time to do so. There are many other variables that must be monitored and put in their place in order to ensure we succeed."

The Druid remained silent during the discussion in the morning as she had said what needed to be said. The first to support and old friend of hers, she had no questions to lay forward, she did trust his words and knew he would not lead them astray. In the past they had often researched things together to come to interesting results; it would be no different this time.


Ceridwen had listened as the rest of those who had joined Vorlace in his mansion home. Most harboured doubt to his words, his credibility and yet she could do nothing but hold her tongue. If she stepped in now, it would show she had too close of a relationship with their new boss. The elf listened in silence to the dispute as it happened, voicing many questions, thoughts, and even complaints.


When the first meal had finished the elf decided to go out into the Forests as she had been doing daily since she arrived a week before the rest of those who had taken part in this morning`s meeting. The Elf had known of the adventure before the rest of those involved in the discussion which is why she had kept quiet. It was not her place to make the decision for the others, and it would likely have caused her to make enemies if she had attempted to sway them to believe him. Ceridwen walked through the forest with ease, feeling at one in the wilderness surrounding her. The birds chirping, the wind whispering to the animals in the area and the serenity that was the forest. It was her domain, every forest in the world, were part of her safe zone. It did not take long for her to find a nice large oak to sit below and write into her journal for today`s events. Gracefully recording information that she had gathered about those of which she would be traveling with for the next part of her life.


The sound of a twig snapping beneath the weight of a large creature had caused her eyes to glance towards the direction of the sound. The druid`s hand quickly found its way to a concealed pouch at her side where she gently grasped the handle of a dirk. Hand relaxing as she realized it was simply one of Vorlace`s servants. He spoke respectfully as he had spoken to the elf during her stay here with Master Vorlace.


“Master Vorlace is requesting your presence in the dining hall for the mid-day meal. If you would please follow me, you could choose to clean up, or we can go directly to the hall. The decision is yours Mi Lady”


Ceridwen smiled to the man and started to follow him soundlessly as she put away her journal into her pack. As they made their way back towards the mansion the elf decided to stay the way she was and had informed the servant of her intentions of remaining in her current attire. They entered the dining room moments later, the elf bowing her head respectfully to the servant as he directed her to a seat at the table. The elf glanced towards Vorlace and she greeted him in the way of the elves.


“Mae govannen, Vorlace. Thaern tal thysaeri shoraes saes vyr shor jhaer ialor si cali vaes si ael”


A knowing smile crossed her lips as she read recognition in the man’s eyes. The Druid nodded and began to eat the mid-day meal as she again listened intensively to the words, and questions spoken by the other members of the council. Ceridwen would be mysterious to those in the group; unless they spoke with her directly she would keep to herself. She had spoken the words that she had decided upon during her visit to the forest this day.

Quarlin went to his room and packed for the mission, for he had no questions to ask, at least none he felt Vorlance would be willing and/or able to answer. He stripped himself of the fancy clothing Vorlance had provided and put on his exploration clothing. He packed up the rest of his few belongings, stopping only to open the jingling pouch to see the money and placed the gold back in the pouch. He donned his back pack and kept, for the time being, the pouch in hand as he met up with the others.

"I don't know of any small towns or settlements in the area that this gold can be spent in, and we won't be very welcome in Illuria or any of the Imperially controlled cities. Actually on the reverse end, we may be all too welcome if there is a price on our heads. Cults are small and slow moving groups, for their one and only strength is numbers not wealth. Something tells me that if all fails, we might be able to buy information from these cultists."

With that he jingles the coins twice with feigned tosses to punctuate his point, then puts the gold away in his pack. He then turns to Vorlance saying, "If things are as dire as you let on, we better get moving. I do, however remember you mentioning the offer of some historical reading material for those of us that are interested in that sort of thing. Well, I would like anything you have on the twilight dragon or historical texts written about or in that time period. That is all I ask."

(OOC: Whatever reading material that is given to Quarlin, he will read 3 chapters each night the group stop and camp on their way the the mountain entrance of the cult.)

Once you have all gathered again after gathering your things and enjoying the last pleasures of civilized life you may enjoy in the near future, you find Vorlace waiting for you in his parlor.

"Thank you for doing this my friends."

Quarlin speaks up first.

"If things are as dire as you let on, we better get moving. I do, however remember you mentioning the offer of some historical reading material for those of us that are interested in that sort of thing. Well, I would like anything you have on the twilight dragon or historical texts written about or in that time period. That is all I ask."
"Indeed I did." He pulls a small volume from somewhere in his cloak and hands it to Quarlin. "Please be careful with that. It took me a long time to acquire it."

He looks to the rest of the group once again.

"Is there anything else you require before you depart?"

***It had been previously noted that Heironymus would ask for any materials that were available. he is asking again here in case that was missed. If there was simply nothing else to offer, and he would have had a response - ignore that part of the conversation.***

Every time their host opened his mouth he dropped further in Hieronymus' opinion. The latest foolishness was to offer only slightly veiled insults when the cleric had started to ask questions. Heironymus had assumed that once they had decided to join this mysterious adventure that the next step would be to sit down and discuss options. If Vorlance truly did not know the best way to approach the cult that was fine (Although it was a bit strange that he would have nothing to say on the matter - he seemed to be an expert at saying nothing.) - but to rudly suggest that it was up to them to figure it out was less than unhelpful. Would not such questions be natural at the planning stage of any expedition? But no, questions were apparently not allowed.

At this point it appeared that their host and employer was either manipulating them for some reason beyond his stated purposes, or he simply had no skill at organization and management. Money and power did not mean a person had the skills to get the most out of people and situations. And Vorlance certainly was offering nothing.

The cleric desired to simply ignore their host, but regardless of however foolishly Vorlance might react to them, some questions needed to be asked. "You mentioned some reading material? I would appreciate the chance to read anything you think might be of assistance."

Heironymus will gladly accept whatever is offered. (Are these books meant to be read here or taken with?) Once the group is alone he notes that "Once whatever material we have to read here has been consumed, we might as well hit the road."

As nice as these meals had been Gronz was ready to get things underway. He had only halfway listened to the conversation going on around him, not even entirely sure on the details that he had so blatantly chosen to ignore; besides, one of the bookworms was likely to have all the information they would need. The half-orc ate this meal quietly, and with no better manners than the previous meals, adding nothing new to the conversations going on around him. Words were not his strong point, smashing things was.

It was easy packing up her room, as she had not unpacked much at all. Raina was glad t be free of the dress and back into her familiar leather. Today’s conversations certainly had been interesting, especially when semantics started getting argued over. What does it matter? A group of people is a group of people no matter what they’re called.
Everyone gathered back into the parlor for some last minute instructions. She was eager to be away from the mansion; it had been pleasant being looked after for a few days, but she was anxious for the open road. Raina’s dark blue eyes followed the book as it disappeared into Quarlin’s lap. It appeared that she wasn’t the only one who was watching the tome’s progress. Heironymus looked suddenly interested, “You mentioned some reading material? I would appreciate the chance to read anything you think might be of assistance."

“What I’d like to know is if you’d like us to communicate with you,” she paused, looking around at Vorlance, “Would you like bi-monthly updates, something more frequent, or are you afraid of information being intercepted? Additionally, do you have any instructions for us if you need to contact the group with some vital information?”

Vorlace looks to Raina. "My Lady you won't need to get in touch with me. I have already told you that I will be watching over youa s best I am able. When the task is complete I will find you. Do not try to return to this house without my permission. If you do so its defenses may take you for enemies before I can intervene. And I apologize, but I have already leant out the books that I am able to spare from my library. I have much more research to do and many clues to puzzle through while you are away. I will need what resources I have kept ready and at my disposal."

The well-dressed man walks you out of his house and to the edge of his lands.

"Once you leave through that gate it will disappear. You will find it much as you did before I made it open to you. Head north to the mountains."

He proceeds to give you explicit directions, as well as a few landmarks to travel by. From the way he describes it, you should be traveling for only a few days, climbing for perhaps another one or two before reaching this temple.

He waves his goodbye and then returns to his home.

As the party heads out the front gate of Master Vorlace's estate it does indeed swing shut. But the whole area shimmers for a moment, like ripples in a pond before vanishing entirely, leaving nothing but forest in its wake.

Oddly, this is not the same part of the forest in which you first found Master Vorlace's mansion. To the north, through a bare spot in the trees you can see the soft glow of the volcanic Demonspine Mountains. It seems he has taken you part of the way already, the rest is up to you.

(OOC: I'll give you guys a few days to digest that and converse if you wish. I'll try to do another update later this week with further events.)

"I think that we should travel in a "T" formation, with Gronz and Heironymous on either side of the druid so she can track if necessary with some immediate protection. The rogue and I will hang back."

That was the most Quarilin spoke the entire day unless spoken to. He could not wait to rest and make camp for that book was burning a hole in his pack.

When it was finally time to make camp, he helped in doing so with gusto. When food was prepared, he almost didn't get up from his book reading, but hunger won out and he finally fed himself.

That night he didn't get to sleep until he had read through three chapters, hoping to glean as much information as he could before sleep finally took him.

His reading for the night covered the Ancients Beralyn and Tilantus, the mother and father of dragon-kind, and their relationship to the other First Gods. Much of which was enlightening, but not exactly the material he was hoping for. The liner and margin notes seemed a lot more interesting for they seemed to fill in the blanks a bit more than the actual texts.

(Quarilin will fill anyone in on the information he gets from the book, if interest is shown or asked about it.

OOC:Steelight if there is anything more I need to know in my readings, please pm me. thnx)

As comfortable as the accommodations had been Gronz was glad to be free of that mansion. He had been itching for some action, and they were bound to find some soon now that they were back on the road. As suggested he took a place toward the front, not because it was a good idea, not because he felt the need to protect his more fragile companions, but because the more of them that were behind him the less they'd be trying to chat his ears off.

As the hours passed Gronz kept a steady pace, always keeping his honed senses fully aware of his surrounding. He may have been a low life city thug, but that didn't mean he thought the wilds were without their own dangers as well.

Heironymus was willing to take a lead postion if that was what the others wanted. He wasn't really a weaponsmith, but he did have better armor than the others, for whatever that was worth. But he wasn't sure about marching in a T formation through a forest.

As they marched he attempted to ignore the details of the trip. There wasn't much to think about anyway. At this point they simply needed to put some miles behind them and see what they found. He did attempt to seek out the other book worm in the group to see what information could be gleaned from the book. He was so new to this world, he doubted if most of it would make much sense to him. He didn't try to share the book for now, as his companion seemed engrossed and anxious to read, but he did ask to be allowed to see the book whenever he had finished with it.

Information was one form of power, but it was a form they were very short on at the moment. Come to that, they were a bit short on all forms of power at the moment. Best not think about that right now. Keep marching.

The mansion stood majestically against the trees as the group left the grounds. Raina turned her head to catch one last glance as the gate slammed shut. Vorlance was striding back across the grounds, but it was getting increasingly difficult to see him. What seemed to be heat waves shimmered in front of the estate, and soon after the entire property disappeared. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. This was not where they picked her up.

The one who had introduced himself Quarlin was the first to speak up, "I think that we should travel in a "T" formation, with Gronz and Heironymous on either side of the druid so she can track if necessary with some immediate protection. The rogue and I will hang back."

“Raina. My names is Raina.” she flipped her dark braid behind a shoulder and continued to scan the landscape, “Did anyone else notice how far we’ve traveled in just a few steps?”

The day drug on as the little party continued through the trees in silence. Raina took the opportunity to contemplate her new companions. Everything felt rather awkward, especially since she had been thrown into the mix just the day before. Events were spiraling out of control, showing nothing but two paths that both had potentially bad endings. No one that she was now traveling with seemed to like the circumstances, but again, all had been silent since they left the mansion.

Once they reached a suitable place to camp for the night, she assisted Quarlin with setting up the area, and started on cooking something hot for dinner. After the meal was done, she loaded up two plates, brought one to the mage that was engrossed in his books and sat down with hers. Silent chewing dominated the area. She didn’t feel the need to break it, her mind worked best when there was little distraction. Or a tremendous amount of it. After finishing her meal, she quietly stripped off her armor and began to clean the leather. It was unnecessary; the armor had been cleaned multiple times while she was at Vorlance’s mansion, but it kept her occupied.

“So I haven’t had a chance to ask,” Raina said into the quiet, “how did you all end up at Master Vorlance’s estate?”

(OOC: This convo takes place during travel after Quarilin makes the formation suggestion, in response to Raina)

The rogue spoke up in obvious disdain for Quarilin's generic designation of the woman....

“Raina. My names is Raina.” she flipped her dark braid behind a shoulder and continued to scan the landscape.

"Forgive me, Raina. I am terrible with names. I am still sort of learning these peoples names. Weeks ago, I felt much like you are probably feeling now, just sort of thrown into this group. But, we seem to have been chosen for this mission and committed to the end, so might as well try and make the best of it."

Quarilin finished his book reading for the night and ate the food that was brought to him. As Raina polished her gear, she briefly broke the silence....

“So I haven’t had a chance to ask,” Raina said into the quiet, “how did you all end up at Master Vorlance’s estate?”
"First of all, you are a decent cook, I enjoyed the meal, but there is no need to serve me, I appreciate the thought and effort though. As for how we came to be a group, Gronz here I believe broke the others out of prison as a job for the same shadowy cloaked figure that hired me to wait for them and assist them in whatever missions they were sent on. So, Its been us in the dark almost the whole way. Well, my eyes are tired from all that reading so I think I'll turn in for the night."


“Did anyone else notice how far we’ve traveled in just a few steps?”
"Well I know this much...Where we exited is not were we entered Vorlance's estate. This seems much closer, see, the Demon spine mountains seem much closer than when we entered the estate."