Tairn

1532.7.16
Back in a rocky area with clumps of grass sprouting from patches of dirt and low scrub dotting the hillside, Del jumps off Keddick’s shoulder and flaps skyward. Del soars away slowly climbing. Within several minutes he is impossible to see against the blue sky above, a tiny spec in the autumn sky. Keddick feels a faint determination from Del as he flaps higher and higher, but his form is no longer visible. Half an hour passes as Del climbs higher and higher towards the level of the surrounding peaks. Time passes and after another 30 minutes or so, Keddick feels mild alarm from Del. Ten minutes later Del swoops across the hillside to alight on Keddick’s shoulder. He starts speaking immediately “Caw! Beware! Brutes to the west! Caw! Caw! Great brutes with clubs like the ones at the ancient city. Ogres marching! Ogres! Many of them. I counted eight of the giants, but there might have been more. All spread out. Marching. Marching. There were some trees around them. I was scared. I swear one looked right at me as I flew overhead.”

Banic says “Let’s find that river.”  Del says “There is a river flowing east of here. It flows south and east I think, crooked as an old man. I could not see the plains for the peaks.”

Banic leads on an after a couple of hours the river is located and followed mostly east. Varende comments that the direction of travel is towards the ocean and away from Lake Catherine. Banic leads on. A troll rushes the group, but is quickly dispatched. Malperder hacks at it with his axe as it lies dead on the ground severely burned by Kordis’ fire. The group moves towards the river, but after just a few minutes, a troll comes rushing up from behind. It appears to be the same troll. It is quickly put down and then Kordis burns it further with two arncs of flames, and Keddick joins in with some scorching rays. A rope trick is created and the night passes.

1532.7.17
After three hours of traveling roughly along the river’s course, an ogre is spotted cresting a rise about two hundred feet away. Keddick casts some protective spells, and Kordis calls Euravo and Euravenne. The lions run forward to engage at Kordis’ command and Varende follows. More ogres crest the hill, and the lions engage. Euravo falls quickly and disappears. Kordis summons foul black tentacles to grab three ogres, but two break free and Euravenne slays the other. Keddick throws a fireball and catches an area of the trees and brush on fire. Kordis follows it with a hail of ice that extinguishes the flames. As the ice falls, all save Keddick who is well behind the group feel an icy cold in their bones. Varende’s blood freezes as he is caught completely unaware. He pulls a potion, quaffs it and disappears. Keddick spots a flying ogre sixty feet above his friends’ heads. A fireball explodes around the creature. Banic throws a bolt of sound that the creature ignores (spell resistance), and Kordis hurls a ball of pure force at the creature dropping it from the sky. The three remaining ogres are routed and retreat the way they came. Keddick rushes to chase them with an enbiggened Malperder and Kordis, but then realizes the large dwarf and Kordis cannot both be teleported with him. Some rush to the top of the small rise, but none save Malperder even glimpsed and ogre. Varende searches the felled flying ogre and finds a sack of gold (about 30 pounds) and a wand that Banic declares magical. Keddick examines it and says it has a Moderate Conjuration aura. Someone searches the ogres and finds each carries some dried meat. Eighty some pounds of the stuff is found, and many people take the much needed food. The remainder of the day passes uneventfully as does the night.

1532.7.18
Some time after lunch, a lake can be seen that the river flows into. A small town is on the opposite bank. After getting closer, Keddick realizes this is Lynx, a town near his family’s lands. He leads the group confidently through West Lynx, across a bridge over the river and south out of town to the Tzabel estate. He announces himself to the estate guards, and a guard goes to speak to his uncle, Prend Tzabel. The guard returns and speaks to Keddick. As they chat the man asks if Keddick has come about the dragon. A red dragon has been spotted three times; it has killed two men and carried away some livestock. A man in mean clothing whispers something in the ear of the guard, and then the guard leads everyone to the house. The group is led upstairs to some rooms and encouraged to bath the dust of the road away and leave their clothing to be cleaned. Everyone gets cleaned up including Malperder who first spends some time cleaning his armor. All are led down to a dining room set for seven. The table is laden with food, ale and wine, and the steward encourages everyone to eat. A short while later, an older man enters and greets Keddick. Keddick introduces the group to his uncle who sits to eat. Keddick relays the events of the past month. Prend says he was hoping his father Malkir would have asked him to come. They were hoping Keddick would have some influence with the Wizards’ Isles in asking for help to deal with the dragon. The attacks first occured two and a half weeks ago. Keddick asks to speak to someone who has seen the dragon, and Prend says a man can be sent to fetch the shepherd, but it might take some time for him to return – a day or two. Prend mentions a scale of the beast was found in one of the livestock pastures. The dragon has been described as thirty feet long. Eventually, the party retires for the evening. Malperder pointedly mentions the impending giant attack. He says that he has been given a second chance at life to destroy these giants, and he is fearful of wasting that chance on a dragon. Kordis and Varende argue against the dragon as well.

1532.7.19
The next day passes largely uneventfully. Keddick fails to scry Mage Dallen, his mentor.

1532.7.20
At noon on the 20th, the shepherd arrives. Keddick questions him to learn that the dragon swooped down on the shepherd’s flock of sheep. It gulped one of the animals directly, snatched another in its mouth and two in its talons before flying off again. The shepherd ran in fear from the forty foot long beast. Keddick presses the man about the size of the beast asking him to compare it to other objects. The man says he was scared, and he couldn’t be sure, but that it was probably fifty feet long with teeth like swords and talons like spears. It was terrifying. Keddick asked him if his fear was natural; the man replied that it most assuredly was very natural to be frightened by such a beast. Keddick releases the man, and asks his uncle if he may take the scale. Prend turns the scale over to Keddick. Keddick says he will attempt to scry Mage Dallen again as well as some others. He asks Varende if he would like him to attempt to scry on his brother Amelanril. Varende says “Yes, if you can do it today.” Prend offers his boat for the travelers to make the first part of the journey to Lake Catherine down the river to Culdail by the Monolith. He says with the bright moon, his ship will sail by night as well as day. It can be readied at any time people wish to leave. Keddick retires to his room to scry.

Prend offers his private river boat to Culdail and says his captain can help you make arrangements from there to Thandor. His captain can sail whenever you are ready and make the journey to Culdail in less than a day. The moon is bright in the sky, and he can easily sail even into the night.

Prend supposes the trip to Thandor will take most of a day to get from Culdail to Thandor, but there is plenty of trade between the two cities, so it shouldn’t be hard to find passage.

All save Kordis recall the trip from Thandor to Lake Catherine as a little over 2 days on a swift ship. You were charged 25 crowns for five people for the Journey on The West Wind.

I’ll have to check my notes, but that could put you back in Lake Catherine in 4 days (best would be arriving late on the 2nd).

You could ride Phantom Steeds in two days going via Caertan.

You could leave as early as 3:30-4pm on the 20th.