On the morning of October 14th, freshly washed and spruced for another triumphant departure from Gaul's gate with her pinnons blowing in the wind,
Foxy O'Hare meets Tocen and Brielle on their mounts at the gate and wait for their charge to arrive.
It is ugly and cold, so overcast that the sun doesn't really rise and a chily 42 degrees. There's no wind, at least. It poured overnight which leaves the ground slocking and muddy beneath your hooves and, while it has blessedly taken a pause, the dark sky promises to rain on you again before this day is out.
Sir Ludwig arrives in bright robes and a heavy cloak, looking displeased by the impending rain. He is clearly soft, born noble, and unoccustomed to the rigors of hard travel. He rides a fine throughbred mare and has a pack-horse behind, laden with chests and crates of personal effects he'll need in his station among the dwarves. Conversation is short but polite enough - he's not terribly interested in Foxy and her common friends - and you set out.
It does in fact rain on you throughout mid-day and you're pretty soaked by the time you approach the
Meetinghouse in Beith's Watch, the weather never appreciably warming as your clothes got more and more sodden. Foxy calls upon her old companion, the talking badger who runs the Meetinghouse, and the group is given leave to stay the night and dry off, eating warm bowls of mushroom soup by the fireplace.
As they sit by the fireplace, late in the night,
Clay the badger speaks in low tones to Foxy and those gathered nearby.
"I know the Monoc mages have long been on your mind, Foxy. Ever since we stopped the first one - it seems like forever ago. I am sorry I cannot come with you, but my last adventure was taxing and the Goddess still has much in store or me, unstoppering the Well of Life. " He pauses, struggling with some thought, but the facial expressions of a badger remain inscrutable.
"Remember that you need to ride due west to find the Red Stone Effigy, that's the landmark the wizard told us. Also, I've seen the location. When I died, I saw this world as my Goddess does, and I recognized the place you seek. It is built at the convergence of ley lines. Where the north-south line that passes through the Warden's Tower and the Well of Life touches the southern mountain chain, that's where the old wizards built the edifice that the Monoc Mages seek to unlock. For you, that means it is much further than I think you suspect - about 40 miles west from the dwarf halls and straight beyond the blighted lands of the Demon Circle which you encountered on your last foray. I advise you, Foxy, stay at the mountain's foot and skirt that place. If you wish to reach the mages, don't ride into the blight, for evil will surely find you and you'll once again fail your destination."
Sir Ludwig remains quiet. His discomfort at sleeping in a bedroll on a floor, listening to a talking badger, and the complacent talk of dangers he has never heard spoken of in the first person leave him no space to chime in.
On the morning of 15 October, you rise to find the first hard frost of the winter. It has dropped below freezing overnight and you find ice awaits you as you begin your journey in the early morning. It begins to warm quickly and you are grateful that the day passes without rain, even though it never breaks 45 degrees. You trot the now well-worn trail from Beith's Watch to the Dwarf Halls, your horses keeping pace on the hard-packed road. The bright fires of the dwarven palisade greet you as you arrive, dusk coming early at the mountain's foot. Grateful to deliver
Sir Ludwig, you enjoy the hospitality of the dwarves while you make final preparations for striving into the unknown.
You arrive at
The Dwarrodelf Tavern and Inn and stay there while making preparations. Make sure you roleplay recruiting, then invite people to continue in this thread when you declare departure.
You should request an audience at
The Throne Room of King Drunil and present your Emissary.
(Zhym will DM this in that thread.)
