Chapter XIII
in which the group manages to successfully not kill a human ally of the westerners...
Previously (06/05):
met up with Cadence.
started their mission to intercept centaur scouts.
got attacked by criminals and killed them. One escapes and is on the run.
The hunt
After drinking one of Tilly's potions to stay awake during the hunt for the last surviving bandit, the group finds themselves hovering over the landscape in their ride. As Glad spots the man running through the woods, he signals to the others. The target remains seen long enough to get a good idea about the direction he is heading before he disappears again in the brush. The team thinks up a plan to set up a trap in a path leading between heavy brush and the slope of a hill, guessing that the bandit will go for the fastest way out. Krom, Tova and Tilly fly Rimi over to set the trap after dropping off the rest of the group to lead the bandit to the spot.
Eierryn and Sly make sure he stays on the right path, while Glad and Haas drive him further towards the trap. Phrixus and Elias close behind. With some help of Tova (he seems very full of himself), Rimi blends into the shadow to wait. The bandit shows up, but seems to be hesitant to follow the path where the trap was laid. Never mind, Rimi goes in for the shot and strikes him in the shoulder with one of her daggers, equipped with a shadowchocker spell. The bandit decides to use his Quasith and teleports away. Elias and Phrixus storm by, searching.
As Haas speeds around the hill to block off his escape route, she notices the bandit, struggling in vain against the shadow enveloping him. She lets out a screech in victory as she charges the bandit, who is trying to brace himself against her assault. She manages to successfully capture the bandit. But unfortunately her success doesn't last long. As her net tightens around him, he does once again teleports away. Not far off, Elias calls out to Phrixus. "NOW!". The centaurs have managed to track and block his Quasith and, much to the dread of the bandit, undo his work. Seconds later he materializes again in Haas' net. She takes him in her claws and starts interrogating him. Unfortunately, he seems to be more occupied in the struggle to breathe then to answer questions. The rest of the group gathers and Rimi disables the trap.
When the bandit finally catches his breath the group finds out he is a follower of Shul. Shul has been dissatisfied with the weakness of his fellow dragons and his hunger for power has been driving him to expand his territory. After the destruction of Mercayen, Shul has taken over four pillars on the continent, one of them located in the Northern Badlands. Shul has targeted other pillars that have Silver as their color. The bandit, renamed Dirtbag by Krom, hints that the army of centaurs marching south has to do something with Shul. With a shot of poison Haas takes out the bandit. The group retrieves the original trap and takes off to deliver Dirtbag to Cadence.
With the bandit safely in custody, they rely the news to Cadence. She seems to be a bit agitated that the group has left their mission to bring her the criminal. The news however does seem to worry her.
The Serosan Lands
With the effects of the potion still present, the group heads back to the Serosan Lands to continue their scout mission. Though awake, the group seems to be getting more agitated and on edge. Glad has to be reminded about the danger of shooting arrows and retrieving them with his telekinetic powers. After Tilly starts singing and Tova enhances the volume of her voice, rather than silence it, the group agrees to travel further in silence, to avoid being detected. With the ride cloaked in one of Tova's invisibility spells, the party spots a griffin rider in the distance. Deciding that the consequences will be dire if they are detected sneaking through their lands, they decide to lift the spell and approach the Serosan griffin rider. Glad waves and shouts to attract his attention. As they approach, they see that the rider has an arrow ready, although the bow is not yet cocked.
After Haas generously pays the fee for free passage and protection for everyone in the group, the rider escorts the group further into his lands. His griffin lets out a loud shriek to signal his comrades, and in the distance more shrieks can be heard in answer. Haas explains to the rider that they are interested in learning more of their pillar and culture behind walls, while Glad says their group is interested in trading. During the travel north, Glad, Rimi and the rider have some more conversation about the differences in culture. Glad reveals an interest in sparring with one of the Serosan champions. This is already turning into a very interesting trip. A little later, the centaur army starts to appear in the distance. Colossal tents for as far as the eye can see pop up at the horizon. The rider explains that the centaurs only purchased passage, an army of that size certainly does not need any protection. If he is afraid they will attack Serosan? No, they might be outnumbered, but they know the land, every hill, every plain, every brush. And they have the sky. But the army is definitely preparing for battle. You do not move such an army just for show. Where they are going is not clear. South.
When the evening is getting near, they land in a village at the outskirts of the wall. Business has not been going well lately, so the shopkeepers will not open up shop until later the next day. If they will at all. But the rider can direct them to an inn where they can rest. But there will be no alcoholic beverages and certainly no brothels. Serosan treats their women better than that. It seems like Glad and Krom will have to do with the alcohol they have taken with them. The request for a spar will be relayed. At the question if there is anything else that he can do Rimi asks some more questions about the griffin. The opportunity to touch a tamed griffin seems interesting, as it would not be possible in the wild. The rider invites her to come closer. Haas follows behind. When Rimi hesitates to touch the griffin, Haas comes up close and stares it straight in the eyes. They smell each other and feel each other's scales and feathers. Rimi comes up next to the impressive beast, who also touches her scales. The strength of the creature is impressive and Rimi scratches it behind the feathers and pets it. The griffin seems indifferent and flexes her wings. Rimi thanks the rider and the group heads off towards the inn.
Disappointed that there is no alcohol available, Glad improvises and asks Haas for some intoxicating saliva, which she spits in his flask. It is very strong indeed. The group decides to call it a night and go to their rooms. Despite being tired, they feel that it's hard to fall asleep. The potion's effect seems to wear off only slowly. When they finally start to fall into a slumber they are awakened by a ruckus outside. The innkeeper seems to be in trouble with a centaur scout. Catching only bits of the conversation, they can make out that it is the groups arrival in the village that has the scout's interest.
Post Game Summary
The group:
traps the bandit, interrogate him and deliver him to Cadence.
pays for passage and protection to the people of Serosan. They go under the disguise of having interest in the traders' goods and pillar.
gets a good look of the colossal army from a distance.
Important information learned:
Shul has more than 1 pillar, 4 of them are on this continent. One of them is supposedly in the Northern Badlands.
Shul destroyed Mercayen because he thought he was weak. He targets all Silver pillars and plans to take over other pillars.
It is hinted that the centaur army has something to do with this.