(Fire Season 1615)
The group stayed in the village for the night, participating in the festivities. Each was comforted by the familiarity of the rituals, and confounded by the little variations that existed in this Tarshite Orlanthi culture. The Varantaros were a rough and warlike people, and the culmination of the evening'sinitiations were a series of fights between locals and, it transpired, between members of the party. Firstly Aransar responded to Orstanor's open challenge. Aransar used the 'first-blood' nature of the fight to his advantage, and powered through Orstanor's twin blades, giving him victory over the Amadi, who most considered the more deadly. Following on, Branduan attempted to wow the locals with his own brand of swift melee, and was beaten by a local farmer who couldn't believe his luck - Branduan does look, after all, like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. Then one of the more experienced Tarshites stepped forth with his greataxe, gesturing toward Kulbrast. The Dragonslayer hefted his spear and attacked, only to find himself swiftly disarmed by the laughing tribesman. Swift to recover, Kulbrast drew his sword and placed it expertly past the guard of his foe, who, in order to save face, welcomed Kulbrast to his table, toasting him with mead and saluting his martial prowess.
Kenstral had held discourse with the local priest of Alakoring, and each had exchanged news of the world. The priest had advised Kenstral to stay away from the lands to the west, around Kordros Island, since that had become the stagig area for the Lunar invasion of the Grazelands, but that if they wanted a legitimate reason to go to Furthest, and from there to Tarshford and Balazar, then their best bet would be to travel to Copper Town and sign on as caravan guards for a shipment of metal. This would be what the party would eventually decide.
Aransar had met a man who had agreed to guide the party to Copper Town for a huge sum of money, one Alcor by name, and he led the party as far as the woods to the south of Copper Town, lying in the perilous foothills of the Hydra Mountains to the west. The journey was to have taken four days, but one the evening of the third, Branduan had been daydreaming that the rocks strewn on the floor between the trees had faces and were staring at him. Starting from his reverie, he realised that some of the rocks around this part of the forest seemed to be the remains of impossibly detailed statues, each with looks of pain and fear in their eyes. This was enough to ensure that the party stepped more warily into the evening's campdown.
The creature was a Gorgon, a chaos monstosity from the Hydra Mountains. The party had suspected it, but none had voiced their concerns, lest naming the horror would draw it nigh. But still it came, screaming its song of hate and pain. Realising that they were in its hunting ground, Aransar, in spite of his professed desire to step back from the leadership of the party, led the group out of their campsite to take the fight to the beast. Orstanor was gritting his teeth against the flames of pain that were creeping at his back as his attuned senses detected the inherent chaos in the foul creature.
The party were able to resist the fell nature of the Gorgon, but Alcor would never spend the money he had made from the venture. His lifeless stone eyes surveyed the fight from the middle of a clearing. The Gorgon raked with her claws and injured a few of the party, but they were unable to pierce her scaled hide, until, eventually, through multiple wounds to her legs, they forced her to retreat. She flew above them for a while, and aransar unleashed his sylph on the creature, but it was slain out of hand. The Gorgon landed several feet away and engaged the party with bowfire, but eventually it was a mass charge that brought her down, and a wicked thrust from Orstanor's sword that ended her life. Prayers were said at the statue of Alcor, and the party continued north, discovering the remarkably large city, for one so isolated, lying atop a hill to the north of the Quintus river...