2/24/2007

Players: Kathi, JC, Chris
Characters: DM, Elendil & Jolley, Billi

After his morning training session and a quick lunch Jolley heads off to find Mira Longshanks, an aquaintance of colorful character and a woman Jolley knows to be street smart and street savvy. It is an unsuccessful trip however as she knows nothing of Arzhul. By the time Jolley gets to the Bright Blade Brandished tavern for a pint it is nearly 16 bells. Sitting back on the stool, mug in hand he turns to survey the patrons and spots a buddy, Dorren James a seargant in the Silver Knights, reading a book by the fire. Jolley catches his friends eye and points at his mug. Dorren picks it up and nods, motioning for Jolley to come on over. Dorren sets his book down and the two talk for a while in the common room but when Jolley quietly asks about Arzhul, Dorren stops him and gets them both another ale and a private booth to speak in.

Dorren tells him that Arzhul is from Westgate, a member of an organization called Night Mask, and he is believed to have been operating in Silverymoon for more than a year and a half. He is an accomplished thief, assassin, and complete master of disguize. The word is that his current contract is on behalf of the Fire Knives and may indicate a possible alignment between the two evil orginazations, something that is very troubling to the Silver Knights.

"Anyone asking should be careful and Jolley, let me know if you hear anything specific."

Jolley holds the mans gaze and nods. "I will, thanks."

Meanwhile, the rest of the group spends the afternoon relaxing. Billi has taken a wand and a ring to the Magical Toad to be identified but it will be a day or two before he learns anything, and Elendil spends the afternoon in quiet communion and prayer for Lady Luck to be with Teal, wherever she is.

The group comes together at the Dragonfly Cave for the evening as usual and Elendil and Billi are nibbling at a vegetable tray when Arondar arrives with Shannon Hightower, the woman that has rekindled his heart. Elendil is very pleased to meet her and can see in her eyes, and hear in her voice, the same genuine affection for his father that Arondar obviously has for her. She's a tall woman and seems no stranger to high society, something confirmed when he learns she is several years widowed from a prominent diplomat.

The group chat with each other, and with Billi's grandparents, as they wait for Jolley to arrive and we learn that Bethalon and Meliamia have decided that they are going to adopt one of the orpans, the little red haired girl named Cari. The mood is somewhat soured though as the musical quality (or specifically the lack thereof) of the gnomish musicians Bethalon has hired for the evening beings to annoy everyone. He gives them the benefit of a couple more songs but then asks them to stop and leave when it doesn't get any better. They're insulted until he pays them the full nights wage anyway and then leave nearly running into Jolley who's just arriving.

After another round of introductions we sit to a quiet dinner, at least until Billi and Jolley decide they're going to have an eating contest. Somehow, long after Elendil and anyone else with good common sense have finished, Billi throws in the towel yeilding victory to Jolley. Elendil shakes his head at the two of them as Jolley pushes himself away from the table, suppresses a burp, and takes a slow draft of his ale.

"Oh, I've got some news for you about that deal we were talking about earlier." Jolley tells Elendil as the cleric takes a draw from his pipe.

"That can wait." Elendil says casting a discrete glance at Arondar and Shannon. "I'll come find you tomorrow morning."

As the evening winds down Jolley excuses himself to sleep off dinner and Elendil and Billi walk Arondar and Shannon back to Arondar's house where Shannon has brought some gifts for the two adventurers.

"This was my husbands." She says to Elendil handing him a sturdy and well maintained Mighty Composite Long Bow. "He would have wanted someone like you to have it."

Elendil accepts and examines the weapon, knowing the gift is freely and genuinely given. "Thank you." He says quietly.

"And for you Billi, as someone who will know how best to use them, the scroll case he used to carry the secrets of his job. While it no longer contains secrets I hope the contents serve you well."

"Wow, thanks!" Billi says opening the case and seeing several magical scrolls. "I'm sure I'll find just the right time and place to use them." The scrolls are Magic Weapon (1), Feather Fall (3), Invisibility to Undead (2), and Unseen Servant (3).

When Arondar brings Shannon a small brandy, Elendil and Billi take the opportunity to depart and Elendil walks his friend across the bridge for safety before returning home. He smiles as he crawls under the think blanket on his bed, happy that his father is happy, and asks Tymora to watch over them both. Just as he fades into sleep he hears, at the back of his awareness, that friendly voice that is always just beyond the reach of memory the next morning.

[Bundle up folks because today, the 22th of Eliant, is going to be a cold one with temperatures not reaching above the high 20's all day. Expect snow, sometimes heavy, throughout the morning and afternoon hours, hopefully tapering off by 20 bells. Heavy cloak weather continues so bundle up out there and keep the hearth fire burning. This forecast is provided as a public service by the AD&D Network Weather Team.]

Just before eleven bells Elendil meets Jolley at the Bronze Pegasus to find out what he's learned of Arzhul. When Jolley finishes Elendil nods grimly and takes a deep breath.

"I think my sister is in some kind of danger from this person." He tells Jolley honestly. "She contacted me for the first time in twenty years asking for my help. I know I have to help her if I can but... I guess I'm aprehensive about what I'll find, who she'll turn out to be."

"Look. El," Jolley says forcefully. "If she's family then you got no choice in the matter, you have to do everything you can and hey man, I'm with you on that. But when you meet her you'll know if she's a good person, or if there's anything left of the sister you remember, even if you haven't seen her in all that time. You're a smart guy, maybe this is your lucky day. You know my sister was a pain in the ass."

Elendil chuckles. "You're right, I..."

"Of course I'm right." Jolley interjects. "Just cause you're a cleric don't make you right all the time you know. Hell, I got families and I know how to keep them together. Oh, uh, don't ever say that to Alicia. Okay?"

"What I was going to say," Elendil says with a bit of an odd look as Jolley's statement starts to sink in, "was that I haven't seen her since I was a kid. She's older and hung with a rough crowd and she blasted my dad for not being her dad until the day she just left. When she contacted me she asked that I not let him know, and I haven't told him, but it'll be hard for me to keep it from him for long if she does somehow come back into my life."

"Look, you'll do the right thing. Do you want me to let Dorren know? He did ask if I heard any specifics."

"No." Elendil replies. "I'm not ready to involve the Silver Knights yet. Besides I don't really have any specifics at this point. Hopefully she'll get my reply and we can go from there. Thanks!"

"Hey, no problem!" Jolley says. "You can thank me later. I'm sure I'll think of something. In fact, let's start with lunch."

As Jolley dashes off for "challenge training" Elendil pays the tab and then heads home, only to find a note on his door that says he has a letter waiting at the Dragonfly Cave. With a sigh he goes in for a moment to change out his his cold wet boots (into warm dry boots that will be cold and wet before too long) and then heads off for the Dragonfly Cave wondering why he Bethalon would leave him a message saying he had a message, rather than just sending the message itself in the first place.

When he gets there Billi is happily having an early afternoon snack and when the halfling spots him he jumps out of his seat waving his arms.

"Elendil, Elendil, we got letters from Salaisee! There were some travelers she passed on the road and she asked them if they would take letters back to us and they were nice people, well you know the Legionaires are usually nice people, so they did and so we got letters! Look, she sent me this beautiful eagle feather. I'm gonna get it enchanted with a fly spell. Don't ya think that'll be fun? Later I'm gonna go to the Invokatorium and learn how to Feather Fall too and... whoops, I gotta run that class is almost starting. See ya at dinner."

And with that Billi is gone before Elendil can get a word in edgewise.

"Here's your letter." Bethalon says walking over and chuckling at the exhuberance of his grandson. "She really means a lot to him you know."

Elendil nods and smiles. "To me as well, thank you."

The old halfling watches him as Elendil carefully opens the letter, studies it for a moment, and smiles again. "What does she say?" Bethalon asks. "If it's not too personal of course."

Elendil reads part of the letter aloud. Salaisee has again been visited by her spirit guide who has emphasized how important this mission is for Dawn Dancer Hall, and that on the journey itself she will find what her heart desires.

For the better part of the next couple of hours Elendil "relaxes" at the Dragonfly Cave slowly sipping a deep red port that Meliamia herself recommended. He reads Salaisee's letter a couple more times, happy for his friend at the promise of finding her hearts desire, but sad for himself at the thought she might be somehow more distant when she returns. In truth he loses all track of time as his mind confronts and tries to process the complex tangle his feelings for Salaisee have started to become, and he isn't too that sure that allowing some of them to continue in a seemingly logical progression is at all appropriate. There are no easy answers and finally he shuts his eyes in a silent prayer for guidance. His reverie is broken and he is brought back to the present rather abruptly when Muriel comes racing in with another message, this one from Teal asking to meet at the Dancing Goat tomorrow at noon, and all thoughts of Salaisee are, for the moment, forgotten.

When Billi gets out of the Feather Fall class one of the pages hands him a note from the proprietor of the Dancing Toad saying that his items are ready to be picked up. On the way he takes the feather to be enchanted.

"Well now doesn't that just figure." Billi says to himself upon hearing that the ring he had identified is one of Feather Fall. "At least the wand (Bulls Strength with 10 charges remaining) is a spell I can't already do."

By the time Billi gets back to the Dragonfly Cave Elendil and Bethalon are halfway through a game of Dragon Chess and Elendil is very surprised when he actually wins having assumed he'd get beaten badly because of his lack of experience.

"Humph!" Bethalon says in mild irritation. "I should have known you'd play as methodically as your father does."

Dinner is bread, cheese soup, and sweet & sour cabbage with a delightfully tangy mustard sause, followed by capon topped with egg for the main course. Desert (there's always desert at the Dragonfly Cave) is pears and cream.

Muriel arrives just as we are finishing up so naturally Billi has to demonstrate his new found Feather Fall abilities, first by himself and then with her in his arms. Shortly thereafter the two of them decide to go to Billi's for some more feather falling practice. On the way he asks her about Iggy's aquaintances hoping to get some information about Elendil's sister. He also gives her as much of a description of Teal as he can and asks if she can discretely ask about anyone new to the area that might fit the description.

Shortly after the two of them leave, Elendil also heads for home. As his thoughts jump from apprehension at the possible outcome of his upcoming meeting with Teal, to the excitement and joy at the possibility of seeing her again, he completely misses an odd softly glowing sign in a deserted store window that reads...

[Expect continued frigid temperatures with snow continuing throughout the late night and morning hours. By lunchtime tomorrow, the 23rd of Eliant, it should begin to taper off but don't put those heavy cloaks away yet folks because more is on the way. This forecast is brought to you by your local Dungeon Masters Guild and is presented by the AD&D Network Weather Team.]

In the morning Elendil heads off to find Jolley and asks him to be at the Dancing Goat before noon so he can keep an eye on the meeting between Elendil and Teal without letting on that he's there for that reason.

"So you heard back from her huh." Jolley says nodding. "That's good right?"

"I want to meet her alone the first time to put her as much at ease as I can." Elendil replies. "Keep an eye on the crowd and be on the lookout for anyone that seems to be paying too much attention to the two of us." The cleric takes a deep breath and startes into the distance for a moment. "I hope it's a good thing."

"Hey, don't worry. I'll be there." Jolley promises.

At noon Elendil walks into the Dancing Goat and casually surveys the patrons. He sits at the bar long enough for the barkeep to let him know his letter was picked up a few days ago. He palms the man a gold piece and then moves to a table in a quiet dark corner and orders a bottle of good red from the serving wench. Looking around he sees Jolley at a table near the wall, not too far away.

A few minutes later a man comes up and sits down at the table. Elendil starts to protest but the man interrupts him.

"I trust you understand the significance of this." He says while putting a gold tooth with an embedded red stone on the table.

Elendil stiffens and seriously considers coming across the table at the man. He knows the tooth to be Teal's from the description the urchin had given him and it takes much self control to only reach across the table and pick up the tooth.

"Your sister is safe and will continue to be so assuming we can reach an agreement regarding a certain item that was stolen from my employer. Get it from that damn witch Gwen's relic shop and return it to me and I shall return her to you."

"I want to see her." Elendil says in as level a tone as he can muster.

"She's safely detained, tied up rather uncomfortably I assure you. You'll see her when you return the item to me. Do we have an agreement?"

"I'm not in possesion of whatever it is." Elendil tells him evenly. "And I do not know if I will be able to gain possession of it." Elendil studies the mans face looking for any sign of reaction. "However, despite our long separation I find that she is dear to me. How do I contact you for the exchange?"

"Don't worry," the man says rising, "I'll know when you have it." And with that he departs.

Elendil waits until he reaches the door before following, Jolley a step behind. Looking out he sees the fresh set of footprints in the snow. Following them to the corner of the building he cautiously peers around. There is no sign of the man ahead but the tracks lead around another corner and then simply stop in the middle of an alley. The two men look around carefully, including up to see if a stairway or wire is somewhere near, but there is nothing.

"Damn!" Inwardly fuming at himself Elendil turns to Jolley and relays the meat of the conversation. "I'm gonna go back in and leave a message with the barkeep. Then I need to speak with my advisor and get ready for Casino Night. Keep your eyes open and look around. There probably won't be an opportunity tonight for us to discuss it so I'll find you in the morning."

"Right!" Jolley says.

"Hey, thanks again." Elendil says. "You are coming to Casino Night tonight right? I'm at the gold table near the fire."

"I'll be there. Hey, watch your back brother! If that guys serious this could be real trouble."

Jolley continues down the alley as Elendil walks back to the Dancing Goat where he finds his table has been cleared and so heads back to the bar. Given that he had sat at one of the back tables, the bartender didn't get a chance to focus on the man who came to sit with him and therefore can't offer any assistance in identifying him. Elendil pens a quick note to Teal and leaves it, and another gold piece, with the bartender. The note says simply, "Teal - Am considering offer. Please contact me. - El."

"I am very interested in who picks it up." Elendil says quietly.

"Understood sir." The barkeep says palming the note and the gold piece as he wipes off the bar. "I'll be here as always."

After getting directions Elendil departs and heads for Gwen's Relics, a shop just down the street from the Dancing Goat. The door to the shop is closed and locked and there is a note tacked to the door that says the shop is temporarily closed and that Gwen herself will be back by the High Harvest tide at the latest. As he's reading the note he gets the feeling of being watched and turns slowly from the door surveying the street and surroundings, but again nothing.

Heading back to the Palace District Elendil goes first to Fortune Hall to consult with his mentor Sister Morgalyn. He tells her the entire circumstances of the days events after which she advises him to involve the Silver Knights through Jolley's friend thus keeping it an indirect contact should he be being followed or watched.

"Good luck tonight at the tables." Morgalyn smiles at him. "You deserve it."

Elendil returns home to dress and get ready and then makes his way back to Fortune Hall for his duties at the Dragon Dice table. For the majority of the evening the participants at his table are Elendil himself, Jolley, Billi, an elderly halfling gentlemen who seems a bit of a fop, a young moon elf who to Elendil's tastes is way over dressed, and a young woman who is pretty, pretty annoying and very lucky who ends up as the big winner.

When the table finally breaks up Elendil holds Jolley and Billi for just a moment thanking them in particular for their patronage and promises to see them in the morning.

End of session.

Next Session 3/31/2007