It has been two months since the declaration, by a group of barbarians led by Durham of the Ringing Anvil, of a kind of alliance with the Wasago Tribe of renyu in the Ocean's Throat sea-caves. Shortly after that declaration, Durham is known to have run supplies to the renyu to ensure their security against the Sakkra and pirates said to also haunt those caves; now he has heard reports from his loyal companion Pako and from Finbar, that the Wasago are in need of further supplies, and so he proceeded to attempt to gather a company to himself for just such an expedition.
Only Persephone (another signatory to the alliance) and Bartholomew Pettibone answered the call, but it was deemed sufficient that they only hire a few extra hands, and then depart for the caves, as this was not meant to be any great foray against a serudla or some other horror of the Underworld. No indeed, though Durham did hope to engage in some diplomacy, perhaps to make common cause with the Sakkra--and so Ly Mantok and Slith Sly were both hired, while Durham also engaged with some of the Sakkra at the Kantor Kabljauhof in hopes of finding additional help.
Two Sakkra presented themselves: Kalon, a follower of the prophet Zh'kar the Blind; and Sslaan, a seafaring warrior of the Shen-tribe.
Kalon was impressed with Bart's recollection of the legends of Zh'kar, who was enlightened while imprisoned in an ancient castle in a distant land that had been a meeting place of many kingdoms and peoples. Imprisoned and tortured, Zh'kar's eyes were gouged out, but losing mere physical sight granted him even greater spiritual sight, and thus was he enlightened. Or so the legends go.
"Perhaps not all humans are such ignorant apes ..." Kalon was heard to murmur over a mug of ale. (Durham, meanwhile, had only heard of a quite different human prophet, Saint Siskos the Messenger, who had also been castellan of a great fortress meeting-place ... strange sometimes, how so many legends come to resemble each other ...)
Because Sslaan was of a rather more martial character, and the group was hoping for diplomacy, they elected to also hire Kalon, who harbored his own hopes of enlightening the Sakkra of the sea-caves--the Hsi-Hsiya, as they are apparently called.
So:
- Durham (fighting-man)
accompanied by Pako (renyu) - Bartholomew Pettibone (magic-user)
accompanied by Slith Sly (Sakkra 1) and Ly Mantok (Sakkra 1) - Persephone (fighting-woman)
accompanied by Finbar (renyu) - Kalon (Sakkra holy-man)
They had departed by way of the Fishermen's Gate with Durham's cart loaded with wrapped stockfish, jerkey, rounds of cheese, hardtack, and other foodstuffs; they returned by the same way, but with an empty cart and missing Kalon, the servant of Zh'kar.
No jingling sacks were in their hands, but Durham did carry an ornately scrimshawed javelin--clearly some kind of ceremonial, rather than effectual, weapon.
At the Kantor, fears of Kalon's demise were quieted--no indeed, he was not lost, but chose to remain amongst the Hsi-Hsiya, to work toward their enlightenment. And the javelin was a token, granted by the Kaa of the Hsi-Hsiya, who arrogated to himself the imperial title of the ancient Viis dominions.
But there was also talk of a strange episode, almost out of place in the otherwise simple adventure--Pako talked of a strange "Palace in the Mists" that had taken on a legendary quality amongst the Wasago-renyu:
They regard it as a kind of "Jabal al Tiyn al Tawila", or "Bilad al Chumetl wa Ghee" (the Mountain of Tall Figs, or the Country of Yogurt and Butter). They hunt and take from it only certain things--Alkari are hunted there, and a number of medicinal and psychoactive roots, leaves, or flowers. They claim there is some kind of ru'un amongst the gardens of the palace that always drives them off whenever it sees them.
They knew about it before, but have only turned to it recently, as Yramrag (when he was still alive and mastering them) had commanded them to avoid the place until he could better understand it--its secrets and its risks ...
The Lucre
- Durham's javelin from the Kaa
- 964 xp from Sakkra-guards x9 (100 + hp ea.)
- 300 xp to ea. player-character for discovering the "Palace in the Mists"
- 621 xp to Durham, Bart, and Persephone
311 xp to Slith and Mantok - the javelin-token
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