SESSION 5: Ticking Clock, Hidden Past

The governor is cordial enough, he is named Berryn Harthariel, and Jotun and Sali are successful in explaining their plight. The governor agrees that Droyva should be protected. However, with the involved politics, he will not be able to dispatch troops there for at least two weeks. He does mention that he could dispatch 15-30 troops to Droyva on foot, which would take about a day or so.

Godrus

Jotun and Sali mention possibly taking crew members onto the Windwaker and sailing said forces to Droyva; however, the governor does not know or fully trust them. He turns down this offer. He does mention that he will consider other options. Sali and Jotun are escorted from the chamber while Godrus and Lucan have their audience with the governor.

Sali and Jotun are told to stay close by as the governor will speak to them in about an hour and a half. Jotun notices a records room and encourages Sali to come with him to seek out information. Sali agrees; however, he bumps into a large suit of armor and sends it clattering to the ground of the hallway. The noise attracts two guards who approach Sali suspiciously. Jotun uses this opportunity to hide around the corner in the shadows, and then he picks his way into the records room. Here Jotun finds several high-value bounties including one for the half-dragon mercenary Belroth, as well as any information regarding the captain of The Gilded Skull.

As Jotun is about to leave, he notices a file on the noble houses in Wulrise; he sees one file in particular on the Prakian family. Jeison Prakian is well known as a man with many mistresses. It is rumored that he has many bastards, and also and far more troubling, there have been accusations that he is guilty of murder and other corrupt business. None of these claims have substantiated, however. Jotun was born a bastard, and his mother never spoke of his father; before Jotun fled his home, his mother was dragged away, and Jotun never understood why. But now he is being hunted. Could it be that he was one of the bastard children belonging to this Jeison Prakian?

Jotun silently exits the records room and finds Sali has captured the attention of these guards by challenging them to an impromptu pushup contest. The guards eventually lose their patience with the pair as they are acting strangely, and they tell them to move on.

Kai walks through the higher end district in search of a magic shop where he meets a very old fellow who runs a shop in the city. The man goes by the name Lor, and after a brief discussion, it is determined that maybe the man could inspect the cannons. Kai and the man begin making their way downtown to meet with Erik. Kai, however, realizes that this man walks incredibly slow because of his old age.

After over an hour has passed, Sali and Jotun spot Godrus and Lucan exiting from the courtroom, both of them looking slightly frustrated. They inform Sali and Jotun that negotiations did not go well and that they are still in the same position as before. Sali invites Godrus to join the crew; however, Godrus is unsure for the time being. He tells Sali that he will help them sort out the business with The Gilded Skull at the very least. They exit the capitol palace and head back towards the harbor at Bottom South. Kai and Jotun’s wolf companion, Boda, arrive to meet them.

The older man named Lor arrives at the Windwaker and is led below to investigate the cannons. He determines that they require the charge of a well-practiced arcane caster. Lor informs Erik that he regretfully cannot charge the artillery; however, he knows that a well-practiced caster could assist them in charging them for battle. He tells Erik that Kai promised him to pay for his trouble of appraising the cannons. Erik refuses to pay Lor, so the man flies off of the ship and in search of Kai to pay up for his services. After locating Kai and the rest of CS walking back through Ugend, Kai negotiates with Lor and sends him on his merry way. Finally, the party reunites, meets the new crew member, and asks Godrus to investigate the arcane cannons. Godrus does so and shows his arcane practice by successfully charging up one cannon.

He mentions to Erik that he will need a little more time to discover if it is possible to charge all of them at once. The party then discusses their next course of action. They have to defend Droyva if The Gilded Skull returns soon, and if they cannot get troops from Ugend there in time, how will they protect it? Eventually, after some deliberation, Godrus mentions that his mother has some pull in Maywell where he hails from. He tells them that there is a teleportation circle here in Ugend that will take them straight to Maywell. Godrus can also draw out a teleportation circle on the Windwaker if they need to make a quick getaway back to the ship.

It is agreed that Godrus will draw out the circle below deck where there is less foot traffic, and the party decides to leave the Windwaker in Harshali’s capable hands and leaves the Bottom South district towards the capitol once again. Just then, Kai glances back through the crowd and notices that a very tall man with long red hair seems to be following them, his focus is unwavering, and it remains upon the party regardless of where they go. He encourages the CS to pick up the pace.

As they cross the emerald bridge to the emerald capital, Kai does not see their pursuer any longer. They step onto the circle and are instantly transported to the province of Maywell. They split from Godrus, who encourages them to go to the Twin Lily inn, an upper-class hotel in Maywell, and also to explore the city while he speaks with his mother regarding Droyva’s problem.

The party splits here, Jotun and Kai do some shopping while Erik and Sali have a quick sparring match as Erik wants to learn how to become a more talented fighter. Sali beats him in hand to hand combat, and they make their way to the Twin Lily. Erik and Jotun complete their browsing of the marketplace, and they also return to the Twin Lily to meet the rest of the group. Godrus is already waiting for them there; he says that regretfully it would take even longer for the governor of Maywell to dispatch troops to Droyva. However, if they could teleport forces on a massive scale, it might be possible. But as it stands, their current teleportation station would not accomplish this goal. They can speak with the local transit wizard in Maywell or possibly charter an airship to travel to Droyva.

Erik is distraught by these choices. He feels as though neither option is ideal; he even considers that they just leave Droyva to its own devices. At this very moment, Sali receives a long-distance message from mayor Garvin Addams regarding a message from a member of The Gilded Skull who has defected from the organization to warn the people of Droyva. The party now struggles with what choice to make in regards to Droyva’s protection.

Note: Image was created by Anna Helme (not affiliated with D2tD).