Prince Tarley of Karne

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The road away from the Village of Chupak where he left some of his forces to help with the defence of the city while one of his spies, C’tik, led the adventurers deeper into the jungle. It wasn’t that he doubted his men’s re solve at defending the farming village or in the parties ability to keep their word. No the reports that he had heard had indicated that the force that was approaching Chupak were much smaller than what was initially reported.

He pondered while Steve, his faithful riding horse kept pace with his guard as they head back to the capital. He didn’t like brooding, he hated that archetype of being a broody prince and would fight against it if he could but he found himself dwelling on the situation in silence.

‘Sire,’ a tentative voice from Pious, one of the spies that attended his escort as a guard. ‘You’re brooding…’ the man teased with a knowing smirk.

‘Something doesn’t add up. C’tik has never been wrong before and yet the other reports of the force marching on Chupak indicate that he was. I don’t doubt our men, or my men that I sent into the heart of the jungle but something feels off.’ he said as he looked behind him at the wall of green indicating the edge of the jungle and beyond.

‘We can send in Toby if you’d like. To trail those adventurers to make sure that they keep up their end of the bargain. He is likely the only one who can remain concealed from C’tik.’ Pious offered.

Nodding in agreement he gave the order to send in Toby, one of his most skilled spies and scouts. ‘It’s not them I am doubtful about.’ the prince mused as he turned back to the road and continued on the road back home.

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C’tik moved nimbly over the logs as he led the adventurers deeper into the woods stopping only to ensure that their passage was not discovered by the denizens of the swamp, yet. As he waited for the too noisy, too clumsy and too slow people the prince had trusted he waited and watched. He could see the signs of life all around them, drag marks from a crocodile taking something into the pond, tracks of monkeys and deer, birds and poisonous plants that littered the area.

This was his home, his place which he had been exiled from a very long time ago when he was deemed not strong enough to be with the other lizardfolk. He had tried to prove his worth by attacking a heavily guarded caravan with his other clutch-mates but he ended up captured and they, dead. He still remembers the ultimatum that he had been offered, be bound to the man they referred to as “Sire” or die after they had gotten the information out of him.

He still felt shame from how easily the location, numbers and methods of his tribe fell from his lips, clumsily, as the sorcerer that travelled with this “Sire” had understood what he had said, to some degree at least. But with execution and feeding the other warriors with his flesh being the alternative he chose life and bonded with the man called “Sire”.

He had lived a good life working for the man, using his skills and knowledge of the jungle to find bandits, armies, places or things for the man and it wasn’t until he met Her that things changed. Now he had a chance to get back what he had, a second chance at redemption, a regeneration of his reptilian nature that he could not pass up.

Crouching he felt the presence of the people behind him and he held back from lashing out with his tainted blades. Soon, he told himself as he looked back at them with his practiced human expression of a smile. ‘We will be there soon and then orders are over.’ he said as he pointed deeper into the jungle towards the great ziggurat where she waited. One so powerful as to remove the compulsion of blind loyalty to “Sire” and to fill it with hope and a sense of home instead.

Soon his orders would be over.

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Lillia And Laurence

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The room was dimly lit with several candles and a single thick-paned window where the cold morning light was able to come in. Lillia was relatively comfortable and despite the roughness of the gag and bag that was shoved over her head she had been looked after rather well by her abductors. She had regular meals, had her privacy respected and wasn’t beaten despite the looks of pure distain on the faces of her captors.

It had been a few days since she had rushed to confront the aggressors at her home and since then they had made it clear that they did not want money, power or to blackmail her father. Now she had been born into nobility and Lillia had been taught the part her family played from an early age and she believed it was clear to what these people wanted. They wanted her father to act out and to use his somewhat new condition to seek revenge and get the vengeance that he desired against those that had captured her.

If her father acted rashly and released the monster that they all thought he was then it would be the end of him, his situation and his family. They would be hunted and destroyed by every hunter, adventurer cleric and paladin a like. They had tolerated his affliction since he kept it in check and was a model citizen, however, the moment that he slipped it would be the end of him.

The door opening at the end of the room startled her and she turned to see who she had assumed was the leader of the people that held her captive. “Now let’s not pretend to overlook that you’re an educated young lady and that you’d be well aware of what our objective is.” the man said as he walked in. “You can call me Father Laurence and I am the head of this little endeavour to call out your father.”

“You want him to come and get me.” she replied straigthening out her dress.

“Yes, that is the plan and he is proving to be remarkably resilient.” Laurence replied as he grabbed a tray of food and a tankard of water and brought it in to put down on the table in front of her. The food was hot but not lavish but she was still sceptical that it wasn’t poisoned or tainted.

“You want us run out, to be no longer influential.” she continued looking at the man, a cleric of some kind. “And I suppose that the food is tainted as a fail safe so when I am rescued by my father that it wont matter?”

“Not quite. I have no reason to harm you, you are pure and human. I care not for your families noble status and I hope that you can continue to make the right decisions and a positive influence in this city. However,” he paused as he looked back towards her as he left the room. “I do hope that your father appears soon so we can get rid of that abomination and in the name of our lord see his evil kind removed from our midst.” his eyes nearly glowed with the conviction of his words as he closed the door behind him.

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Called by the Morning Light

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The morning light trickled into the small chamber that the Rustlestone estate had constructed for holy ceremonies and events of particular significant. Kathryn sat in the morning light that trickled through the window and waited for the news that she had hoped for. She had given the adventurers the night to consider the proposal as it was incredibly dangerous considering that they anticipated that their lives would be targeted the moment it came known that they had taken the job.

‘My Lady,’ one of her house guards said as she entered the room as she took off her helmet, ‘they, the adventurers, have accepted your conditions and have left this morning for Narrowbreath. If all goes well they should be back just after the sixth dawn.’

It hadn’t occurred to Kathryn until now just how much she was depending on these strangers to cure her husband. It wasn’t something that the clerics or healers of this city could cure and only one who had devoted their life to the healing craft would succeed. And so when the relief of that weight, that held breath that wasn’t aware she was holding washed over her it brought tears to her eyes and a quick short sob. ‘Thanks Gen. Now we must pray to any god, the morning lord of the one that oversees the night, any who will hear us that they return successful and with the cleric with them.’

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As soon as she had left the temple she knew she was being watched and followed. Clarice normally did not carry such an array of weaponry unless on a quest but she had found need of it on her last few ventures out of the temple where she resided. Even before she had sent the message, via the head of her order of clerics, to the city of Jostaire to request passage to heal one of the prominent leaders of the city, she had people following her and even several tried to attack her.

Luckily the morning lord watched her even while he was resting and she made short work of those thugs. However she had learnt from them that there was a bounty on her head. Not just her head but on any healer that was experienced and according to one of the thugs that she had handed over to the authorities, it was any healer within a weeks travel of Jostaire.

As she watched a group of travellers watching her she continued on her way to the tavern, the Mindful Badger, where she had waited for a few nights now in case Lady Rustlestone had sent for her. As she sat down at the table that she had frequented the last few days and sipped the water from the tankard she watched as the same adventurers entered the tavern and came to stand near her booth.

‘I must warn you, that I have had a rough week and am a bit jumpy,’ she offered as they went to sit down. ‘Have you been sent by Lord Rockenworth?” she offered trying to catch would be assassins in their own trap. When they corrected her and offered a letter from Lady Rustlestone she breathed a sigh of relive. ‘Please forgive my deception. I have had numerous attempts on my life which ended poorly for those foolish to strike at the sun. However they are growing in desperation and I must admit, they are getting closer.’ she paused to sip her water again. ‘So tell me, when can we leave to cure the lord?’

Clarice wasn’t an impatient person, oh no. But helping the Lord and Lady Rustleworth of Jostaire would fulfill a goal of her order. To have a temple of Lathander established within the major city where his light can ensure that this level of unchecked darkness won’t happen again.

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Jovi of the Dusk Scouts

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The valley was quiet yet covered in smoke as the party walked a small game path down into the valley. Their guide, Jovi, was a member of the kings elite scouts and confidently walked through the trees, bushes and logs. Stopping only to check a track or broken fern as they pushed deeper into the valley.

It had been a few days of travel by foot after they had left the horses. The king had pushed to make the expedition as stealthy as possible to try and ensure that their presence was unknown. The scout detachment had moved ahead of them to prepare for the parties arrival but to also begin checking for what ever was causing the mass damage in the valley.

Jovi waited for the party at a particular broken plant that he had stopped by. “This wasn’t broken by a creature of the valley. Evidence that there are people here. Best be on your toes as we move towards the rendezvous site.” he said as he pointed at a boot print that had crushed a fern into the soil. His confidence in pointing out the little things on the path told tales of the amount of time he had spent in these woods.

As they continued deeper along the path the party grew more aware of the changes. A thicker smoke was pushing through the tress now and the smell of singed soil and burning leaf matter was stronger. Eventually the camp ahead of them appeared with a small group moving around and moving branches to conceal the last few tents that had been constructed around a low smokeless fire.

As Jovi approached several men and women rushed forward and a shimmering cylinder appeared that concealed the passage of the party and Jovi towards the camp. “Welcome back captain. The camp has been set up and we have spotted the first of the rekuldor have been seen on the other side of the pass. However, we have seen evidence of others in the valley so I believe it’s safe to say that we are not alone.” a young woman in the same scouts outfit reported.

“Well, we have support now. These are the adventurers that the emperor has deemed suitable to help us with this endeavour. They have proven themselves useful so far but until we know what we are dealing with we are dealing with too many variables that could interrupt the migration.” Jovi responded, a pointed look to the party indicated that he expected them to provide some input.

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Cloaks and Cudgels

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The party left his office and he stood and paced nervously. He had tried to win them over with the kings reward but he was not quite sure if it had convinced them to take him to the location where they had found the statues. He had another plan up his sleeve though, one that he was sure would work.

Opening the window shutter in his office he waited and watched as the party got to the front door. Just as the messenger nearly collided with them. “Captain Claud!” the messenger called out urgently. “The dark wizards are making a move on Magnifico’s vault!”

Claud suppressed his mirth, the messenger was a middle man, one that had to believe what he had been told. “Speak up man. Someone get this man a drink!” he bellowed as he rushed over, making sure to catch the eye of the party as he knelt next to the man and offered him a drink.

“I heard from my contact via the sending stone that they had seen the Dark Arcane, that group that have been causing trouble in the city heading off to the south. He believes that he has reason to believe that they are after Magnifico’s vault not that its been uncovered.” the man paused to drink from the cup of water. “He said that they were on the way there now, something about knowing the location from tracing one of the statues.”

Claud knew that his plant in the group would pay off. But he always had another plan up his sleeve and this meant that he may be able to convince the adventurers to take some of the city guard with them to the vault. “Where are they now? Can we track them and stop them before they get to the vault?” he asked the messenger.

“I don’t know. The sending went quiet and I haven’t heard anything since.” the messenger replied.

“They may have found him. If we can rescue Steve in the process of stopping them we will, he is a valuable asset to the cities watch.” he turned to the party, “I implore you, can you lead us to the vault. If what the messenger is saying is true, what Steve told him, then we may not have much time to follow them. I hope you can take us to the vault to stop these arcanists from getting access to the magical artefacts and weapons within the vault. If not, a map or anything will suffice if we can get there before or just after they do.”

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Captain Claud wasn’t the only one with spies and Steve played an exceedingly dangerous double game. After initialising the contact with the messenger Steve reached out to his second employer, the Crimson hunter.

Jessica Fridea listened to the report from Steve, the double informant, and she grinned. It wasn’t every day that one of her hunches would pay off and now she had a massive score to settle. The Vault of Magnifico was something that people had been searching for for decades, and now an adventuring party may be the ones to take her to it. If she could tail them she could prevent the king or any secondary, tertiary or other parties in getting involved. As she stood at the outskirts of the city she waited for the next move.

It wouldn’t be long until either the guards or the party themselves would make their way out, this was the main gate in and out of the city and she had watchers posted on the other gates. If they left the city she would know and then her order would be able to finally get their hands on the treasures of Magnifico.

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