As the party approached the village, Glim becomes more noticeably aware of his surroundings. He gives the gates, walls and guards a quick look and considers the village's chances of successfully defending itself. "Korg, d'ye think that yon lass in the fancy ironmongery could get in there even if they tried to keep her out?" Tanda (now clad in her leathers) hopped down from Midnight and walked up to the door. "Pardon us, sirs," she said, "but we have urgent business with the high priestess of the temple of Akanksha." "You pay too much attention to a random traveller," Segev remarked. "The goblins earlier, at least, were of some use - we now know our quarry to be an illithid. Perhaps we should rethink our travel route and seek to waylay it at Caer Ritaego, as Snarkle was indeed correct in that the victim has already been claimed from Caer Zithral." He eyes the village, considering. "But this could be a good place to stop for the evening. A good night's sleep would be nice after the unnatural hours of the festival." "Too much attention?" Korg asked. "Minding one's surroundings is a good way to avoid being surprised. Rest would be good though, I agree." Roland looks to Segev and nods in assent. "Perhaps though, Segev, we can learn more here of the lore or the item in which we evidently now seek." He had remained quiet for most of the way there, as he generally is unless he has something to say. Tanda turns around from trying (so far unsuccessfully) to get the guardhouse's attention. "Sleep is good, but it should be done in town. Preferably in the confines of the temple, after we warn the High Priestess." "Sleep?" Glim asked incredulously. "Who could sleep on a day like this?! The sun is shining, the air is fresh. Why, anyone who would think to sleep through so beatiful a da..." He pauses long enough to yawn, his mouth going wider than most people would expect from a gnome. He shakes his head at the end of the yawn. "... Ah, screw it. Lead on." The young woman at the gate tosses her head indignantly at the guard. "You're fining me before I can enter just because the animal you thought was target practice happened to actually have a mistress?" An equally indignant, short shreik comes from a golden hawk in the branches. "He hasn't poached a single chicken, and besides which, he's my familiar, not some pet. You should be ashamed." A flash of black rustles in the bushes, then disappears again. Tanda yawned. "Now I know I'm tired," she mumbled through it. "I keep thinking we're at Penticon already. And what's the deal with that hawk? Whatever their case is, it sounds a little circumstantial to me." Menaria gazes at the scenery as they continue on to the next town. Though only taking in the imagery with half the excitement she would normally show, her mind is a tumble of thoughts about the recent events. 'Goblins and a mind flayer--strange. What would the mind flayer want with the artifact? Then again what would anybody do with any artifact?' She sighs as she shakes her head. Hearing a slight commotion she looks toward the front and spies a woman at the gates arguing with a guard. Upon the mentioning of sleep, she realizes how weary she is. The whole day being full of stress and mental anguish. "Yes, a good night sleep might help us all...maybe." Her normal cheerfullness is lacking as her eyes lack the luster of life that usually caused the green to shimmer like new emeralds. The guard at the gate frowns upon hearing this, and starts to get a little nervous as the rest of the group approaches. To Katrina, he says, "Well, state your business in our village. But the animals stay out here." The woman looks even angrier, her black hair swept to one side as she pulls out a long ritual dagger covered in Undercommon runes with a florish, the blade still coated in dried blood. "I'm here to investigate whoever used this to murder Delundir Jadys'varion, head mage of the school at Caer Zitheral, former master of the hawk Paia, and my friend." She looks upset but defiant as the dagger is stowed back into her pack. "And I very much doubt you'll be able to make them stay outside. My horse is too valuable to be left unattended, and the others will probably find their own ways in. I wish only lodging, and then I will be out of your precious town on the morrow." Roland steps up quietly next to the woman who showed the dagger. "It would appear we're investigating similar circumstances." He looks to the guard denying the horse's entry to the village. "Why exactly are you refusing to let this woman bring her animals into the village?" Tanda's eyebrows shot up. "It appears our new friend has been *very* busy in Caer Zitheral." She turned back to the fuming woman. "I'm very sorry to have to ask you this, but when exactly was your friend murdered?" "Perhaps this is best discussed inside. In private." Segev's cold gaze moves to the new young lady. "It seems our goals may be entwined, but further discourse over such matters is not for the consumption of those who are uninvolved." He glances meaningfully at the guard. "Having uninformed meddlers can be...trying." Turning to said guard, he indicates the party's mounts et al with a vague wave of his left hand (which coincidentally has a small, softly clinking coin- purse dangling from between its fingers), saying, "I am sure the tavern or innkeeper within would be rather irate were he to hear you attempted to deny him his stabling fee. I suggest we come to a mutual agreement as to a fair entrance price." "It is not the horse that I am denying entrance to," the guard at the gate replies. "It is her other, wild animals." He seems to emphasize the word 'wild'. "I have to ask," Glim mentions with a chuckle. "How many wild animals d'ye manage to keep from dropping their leavings in your town square?" The guard ignores him. Dunnstacht snorts as he lashes out in a futile snap at the nearest creature. Lannstucht just chuckles at the guard. "Somehow I think her bird is less 'wild' than some 'domestic' animals," she says to no one in particular. "Just note it down as a chicken and let us enter and find shelter. We're weary travellers long on a dusty road and you *know* how *cranky* people can be when they are tired. For that matter, I'm sure you're just as exhausted. The sooner you let us through, the sooner you can get back to your nap... I mean, guard duty." The woman twitches, looking even angrier. "Familars are NOT wild animals!" She looks at the guard as if he has just said something incredibly stupid. Korg grumbles and shifts his weight on Grithak's saddle, finally getting irritated enough at the delay to speak up. "Girly, that's fascinating, but could you stop bothering the guards long enough that the rest of us can get past?" he almost growls. "It's been a long day, and you're making it longer still." "And since when does a spellslinger have two familiars?" the guard asks. "I can allow the hawk, but not the fox." Segev steps forward, irritation clear in his uncharacteristically quick motions as he tosses the coinpurse at the guard. "Then consider the fox my familiar, and take the entrance fee out of that. I no longer have the patience to wait for you to count it out. I grow weary of standing out here after a long day of travel. Open the gates." The woman silently fumes as the purse is tossed. "Ananzi, show yourself." She looks at the man who just tossed the coinpurse, ignoring the remarks. The hawk ruffles its feathers, then looks directly at Segev, speaking into his mind. The only other one that can appear to hear the bird is Glim. 'Thank you,' comes the bird's reply. 'We, too, have had a long day of travel, and the past few hours of arguing over the fee has not helped. She is not my mistress, though I travel with her from neccesity. Her temper always did prevent her from focusing overmuch on magic.' The woman casts an annoyed look at the bird, then takes her horse by the bridle again as a small black fox appears from the bushes and sits by Segev, wearing a distinct smirk. Paia lands on the woman's arm, who looks at the group with some ligering irritation at having been "rescued." "I was refusing to pay on principle, seeing how they appear to be ignorant. If we share a common purpose, however, it is all for the better. As I refuse to leave debts unpaid, even though this one was unasked for one, I will pay for your night's stabling fee, good sir." Glim uses his gmonish ability to speak With animals. "Greetings, brother fox and sister raptor. What have you to tell of events that bring you to this place?" Ananzi acts as if he has heard nothing, while Paia nods, settling down near the woman's shoulder. 'That is a tale for Katrina to tell, for neither of us saw anything. My master was killed while I was hunting.' Roland calmly stands before the guard. "Sir, unless you think the lot of us incapable of taking care of a small animal enough to not let the thing get loose, I cannot see how a problem has arisen from this situation." he speaks without any hint of sarcasm in his voice, seeming almost naiive, despite his weighty words. "And if you do not welcome our animals, then we ourselves will just pass through, finding no welcome here, spending no coin on your town's inns, at your town's tavern, or at any place that we might buy goods from." He smiles. "Not very good for your economy to cause such a large ruckus over such a small animal." The guard silently fumes, thoughts running through his head at a very slow pace. He starts to say something several times, but shuts up. "Keep your coin," he mutters as he unlocks the gate. "But don't get into any trouble tonight." After the group enters the village, he closes the gate again, and starts muttering to himself. "Goddamn adventurers. Why do they always think that they are the center of the universe? Don't they realize how animals that are normally wild running around the town will affect the peasants? And when the baron hears of his peasants in an uproar, whose head is it gonna be on his platter? Not the adventurers', no. It'll be mine." Roland smiles, walking past the guard and heading to the village's only inn. Once at the inn, he asks for the costs of housing the party for the night, as well as the use of a private back room to discuss matters. The village appears to consist of a blacksmith, a small temple which appears to double as a meeting hall, and a number of houses. At the far end of the village sits a small keep; two guards are present at the gate of the keep. The inn consists of a main dining/drinking area, a common guest room for travelers to lay out their bedrolls on, a kitchen area, and stabling. Two serving girls bring food and drinks to the patrons, and the bartender is an older woman who runs the place like a well-heeled machine. There is a sign inside over the bar that reads "NO SPELCASTING!"[sic] A small shrine to Barsus (the god of merchants, theives, travelers, roads, and commerce) and Nyssan (goddess of the hearth) sits in one corner of the inn. A surly young man is in charge of the stables, and nearly gets his hand bit off by Dunnstacht. There is no private back room. The tables in here are laid end to end in three rows, with long benches on either side of them. There are gaps in the middle in order for the waitresses to get through them. As the party enters the inn, heads turn to look at you. Several of them scowl, and more than one person says something unkind about adventurers in general. Because of the normal noise of a tavern, it's very difficult to determine who said what. There is only one section of table large enough for the party, located near the middle of the room. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mythology Lesson #5: The Elf-Dwarf War It didn't happen. There is no inherent mistrust between elves and dwarves. Kaimana's Nature and Deeds Kaimana is the god of the seas, and his very nature reflects this. He can be as calm as the calm sea, or as dangerous as the strongest hurricane. He is generally worshipped by those who live on, near, or under the sea. It was Kaimana who created the aquatic races: Kuo-Toa, Locathah, Merfolk, Sahuagin, and Shalarin. He dwells on the elemental plane of water, where he is rumored to have created the Tojanida and Tritons. Kaimana is known for teaching the mortal races how to harvest the sea. He taught them to fish using the hook-and-line and the net. He inspired the elves to create the first boats. He is also known for his fierce rage. Many a storm has been caused by the slightest displeasure. Those who take more from the sea than they need and those who needlessly dump their garbage into the sea displease him. When it comes to disputes involving the mortals, Kaimana rarely takes sides unless one or more of his races is involved. He is annoyed at the nation of Redwater, however, for their slaughter of non-humans, and has been accused of subtly encouraging the Northern Raider Clans to attack the nation. Part of his anger stems from the fact that the city was founded on the site of his greatest battle. Millenia ago, before the Fall of Vy, Kaimana came ashore at what is now the city of Redwater in order to do battle with the pit fiend Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. During the battle, which spread up and down the entire Red River and lasted an entire month, both Kaimana and Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka were mortally wounded, turning the river blood red. Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka died just off the coastline, giving the bay the same reddish tint as the river and creating the island that sits just a mile off the river's mouth. On the eastern coastline of the Settled Lands, past the area controlled by the nation of Gohiong, sits a chain of islands formed by Kaimana when the world was young, a private retreat before he left for the elemental plane of water. At the time, he was worshipped by a number of primitive peoples, and had a temple dedicated to him on every island. Unfortunately, one of these islands fell to Vy's corrupting influence, and its people declared war on the others. In one of his infamous rages, he sunk the island; the temple is rumored to still exist, with several rare and priceless artifacts still waiting to be plundered.