In the Name of the Crown IC

[FlamingKobold]

It is dusk in Wroat and out the window you can the last tendrils of sunlight disappearing over the horizon, painting the dark grey towers of Brokenblade Castle a vibrant red. You have been led to a small meeting room on the eighth floor of the Citadel, a massive obsidian tower and compound located directly across from the grounds of the castle. The room is furnished with only a large circular table in the center surrounded by ten chairs. Five are already filled before your arrival, with three humans, a half-elf and a gnome, who are talking amongst themselves in low, serious tones. All five are dressed in stark contrast to the austerity of the room, with fine clothing or armor emblazoned with the Brelish coat of arms.

As you file in along with four others, the armored human in the center looks up and lets out a forced smile. "Welcome, welcome. Please take a seat," he says, gesturing to the five empty chairs. "I am Lor Kor ir'Wynarn, commander of the Citadel. With us are Captain Ellanar of the King's Swords, Captain Nebik of the King's Wands, Captain Sortan of the King's Shields and Lieutenant Zella, who has been working with our forces in Ardev to try to piece together what has been going on." As he says this, he gestures in term to a lightly armored half-elf woman with a sword at her hip, a bespectacled older gnome in a flowing robe, a large man with plate armor and a smaller woman who wears more standard Brelish attire. "I apologize for the lack of pleasantries, but we don't have much time to talk right now, so I'll let the Lieutenant get right to it."

Taking her cue, the woman immediately starts speaking in a more measured tone. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Located in the Graywall Mountains between Breland and Droaam, Katal Hazath is a githyanki enclave that sits atop a circuitous network of tunnels that lead down into the heart of Khyber itself. The crown has positive relations with the gith, who ensure that nothing from below can threaten Brelish lands. In fact, once a season, an army delegation from Galethspyre visits Katal Hazath to ensure the longevity of our relationship.

"This season, though, it didn’t go according to plan. A week and a half after the delegation was scheduled to return, 15 members of the 200 strong delegation returned to Ardev in varying stages of mental degradation. Parsing through the incoherent ramblings, my team has surmised a general idea of what transpired: when the delegation neared the gates of Katal Hazath, the company seemed to all experience extreme mental anguish and confusion, which culminated in the soldiers attacking one another with few survivors. We are attempting to learn more, but our sources of information have been quite, er, difficult to work with."

At this point, Captain Soltan cuts in and adds, "By 'difficult,' Lieutenant Vella means that the returning members have been intermittently taken by violent outbursts, unholy screeching, speaking gibberish and catatonic slumber."

The lieutenant nods. "Yes, exactly. So we have quite limited information to go on here, but given the nature of the gith and our limited knowledge of the situation, the Brelish army is unwilling to send further units to investigate, fearing that they will meet a similar fate."

"So we need to put together a smaller unit," adds Captain Nebik. "The Wands have hypothesized that the threat is based on some mind-affecting magic that could be resisted by a more experienced task force. Normally this would be a job for the King's Swords, but–"

"But we are unwilling to dispatch another unit of Swords without knowing what the hell we're up against," Captain Ellenar interrupts in a defensive tone.

In a more calming voice, Lord Kor adds, "We sent a smaller force of Swords in shortly after we hard about what had transpired, but we have not heard from them in over a week. So this is where you come in. While the Citadel has a number of highly qualified agents, they have little experience with threats of this nature. So we have reached out through various channels to attempt to put together a strike force of external agents who have been suggested to us as being particularly competent and prepared for the unusual challenges ahead. The goal here is twofold. There primary goal is normalization: attempting to resume normal relations with the githyanki of Katal Hazath. The second goal is fact-finding: attempting to determine what exactly occurred at those gates, why it happened, how it can be rectified, and whether it can be repeated."

He pauses for a moment. "This is not an easy mission, but at this point you're our last hope. We can arrange for any transportation that you may require and will reward you handsomely for assisting us in our time of need to the tune of three hundred platinum dragons each, honorary membership in the Citadel and the gratitude of King Boranel himself. I thank you all for coming so soon as I believe time is of the essence here — we would ideally like for you to depart first thing in the morning. We must go meet with the king yet this evening, so now would be the appropriate time should you have any further questions."

Spoiler: Jule

Show

Jule recognizes "Lieutenant Zella" as one of the many alter egos of Captain Vron, the changeling commander of the Dark Lanterns

[A.A.King]

"You were right to call in the Cavalry, my good sir!" a booming voice replies, coming from a man wearing silvery full plate that covers most everything but his face "There is no need to risk the lives of more innocent people! I must say, I am very glad that I happened to have been in the neighbourhood so that I was available for this mission. I, Sir Balduin of Buckwood" and he slaps himself on the chest to emphasis his name "happily accept this mission. It's my honour, no my duty, to assist you in this matter. Reward or no reward!" a small pauze follows before he quickly adds "though of course... seeing as a reward has already been offered it would be rude of me to reject your gift".

[adso]

Levini sits quietly through the presentation, her face betraying no emotions. This was troubling news to be sure — she had friends among the King's Swords and the Brelish military, though now did not seem to be an appropriate time to ask if they were among the missing soldiers. Despite her initially stoic demeanor, Levini struggles to stifle a smile at Balduin's outburst and adds, "This is grave news indeed. I am honored that you have offered me the opportunity to join this expedition. For both the honor of King Boranel and that of the Knights of Orien, I too will humbly accept this mission, though I have never faced a challenge quite like this in the past." Her brow furrows as she adds, "I am also unsure of the approach here. Are we to simply attempt to enter Katal Hazath and pray that our luck is better than those who went before? Or did you have something else in mind?"

[CozJa]

Kaelan greets his newfound companions, and follow them into the room, to listen the offer they were called to receive.

As the group of commanders end their explanation, the elf ponders their words, while one of the others, a full-plate clad odd looking man answers the offer with a peculiar choice of terms.
When Levini questions the Brelish officers on the logistic of this mission, Kaelan decides to add his considerations too.
"I, too, would like to know what is the goal of the mission, especially since I can't help but notice my presence and that of my esteemed colleague. Are we supposed to conduct a field research? Or should we consider ourselves part of a strike force? And were you able to collect some extra information employing divination means? I know for sure that house Medani still has close ties with the crown..."

[FlamingKobold]

Lord Kor nods at Levini and Kaelan's questions, as though they were expected. "I think the peculiar nature of this mission lends itself to a team of mixed experiences. While all of you were selected based on your ability to survive and thrive in dangerous situations, more important is that between the five of you there is a diverse array of magical expertise. We know not the nature of the threat here, so the primary criterion for the creation of a team was a wide range of magical ability. So you can certainly think of yourselves as members of a field research team since fact-finding is a primary goal here. But 'strike force' is certainly not too far off the mark either."

Lieutenant Zella cuts in. "We have indeed pursued several methods of reconnaissance, but all divinations have shown us a completely empty city, which suggests that there may be some magical protection that is preventing the Medani seers from seeing the inhabitants. Aerial reconnaissance has been similarly fruitless —*the town is built like a fortress and is partially set into the mountain, so it is difficult to see details from afar. One of our scouts attempted to get a closer look, but met a similar fate to the initial delegation."

"With that in mind," Captain Nebik adds, "My team has devised some suggestions for the approach but it is entirely up to you. I think an interesting first test would be to attempt to move towards the city with stealth to determine whether the effect is somehow automatic, or targeted by the inhabitants. We have also created five magical rings that should limit the effects of any enchantment magic that we will be imparting unto you as well. With these precautions as well as your wealth of experience, we hope that few if any of you are affected. Given that several members of the initial delegation seemed to be minimally affected, at least at first, you should have enough time to complete the mission and return to our team of specialists at Ardev to ensure that there are no lasting effects."

With a concerned look, Lord Kor says, "Look, we know this a bit of a shot in the dark. We will have medical teams as well as the Wands waiting in a temporary outpost a safe distance from Katal Hazath. We want to minimize the risk that you're taking here, but we cannot eliminate it."

[Ryuuk]

Jule dressed to present herself as the youngest ir'Tajar, wearing a fine military coat that held her family's heraldric shield subservient to brelish colors. She sat attently and listened, only occasionally nodding as the upper echelons of the King's Citadel explained the situation.

Balduin's answer made her raise an eyebrow, but she shakes it off as quickly as she can. She listens to the questions, smiling at Kaelan in acknowledgment.

"It would be an honor to answer the call, Lord Kor. The risk is understandable, expected, under the circumstances." Her voice is collected, with outmost respect. "What protection you can grant will be put to good use, I assure you, and may the medical teams only have to treat the missing delegation."

[A.A.King]

"Yes, Yes, milady, good sir! These are some EXCELLENT questions, yes! I can already sense that I'm fortunate to be on the same team as you!" and then, with the same level of enthusiasm he turns to the lady in the military uniform "You too milady, I like your attitude. Honour indeed!"

Then, Balduin turns to address the Lord Kor's officers and Captain Nebik in particular "Now, obviously I like your suggestion for a first test and it makes a lot of sense, finding out if this accursed affliction depends on the city's awareness of our presence is great tactical information. I just have one slight worry. I doubt anyone will be really surprised to find out that stealth isn't exactly one of my specialties" with his voice getting increasingly louder as he's approaching the end of that sentences, as if to emphasis the fact that going un-noticed isn't something he's succeeded at for quite some time.
"Surely if we try, and subsequently fail, to come at them from a stealth position and the Githyanki do have malicious intent than we'd be at risk of getting counter-ambushed. In fact, to get the best result of such a test you'd want to send in Stealth-Experts to make sure that, if they do experience the same thing as your first 200 did, it's because the effect genuinely is automatic rather than something that happened because they got spotted without their knowledge. Now, I'm sure there are stealth experts among us here, and we could of course send them in first while the less stealth-inclined among us stay back as to increase their chances but I can't say I like the risk of splitting up an already small strike force. If anything were to happen I would like us all to be together."

"Now, I'm of course eager to hear what you all think!" and he gestures to the other four of this yet-to-be named strike force "but my initial reaction is that we shouldn't approach a potential enemy through narrow and unfamiliar mountain paths and risk being spotted and out-flanked. I much prefer an open and clear approach, you pretty much guarantee being noticed but the terrain is probably more favourable and just as we would be easy to spot it would also be easier to spot an approaching enemy."

Finally, Balduin adds with a smile: "That being said of course, if you disagree with me I'm more than willing to try the stealthy approach!" Clearly, the thought of the challenge brings him joy

[frogrunner]

Kaddik sat silently throughout the initial explanation: he already knew most of this and had heard of similar tales that had occurred near weakening dimensional seals. This had the daelkyr written all over it. What he was most interested in was the reactions of his newfound colleagues. He had rarely worked with non-Gatekeepers and never in a party so... diverse. Finally speaking up, he adds in a quiet, measured voice, "I am in agreement with the knight. If the city is indeed a fortress, it seems inevitable that we are found eventually. I think it is preferable that whatever risks we take to our mental well-being are taken outside of the walls of the city rather than within it." Plus, Kaddik was not entirely convinced that this heavily armored, thunderous knight would be capable of stealth to any degree and found himself agreeing about not splitting up when the mind-affecting magic of the daelkyr was in play. He had seen such plans go awry more than once. "That said, I agree that this mission is of the utmost importance and am ready to leave at once." He was most intrigued by the undetectability of the githyanki from clairvoyant means: this was something that he had not yet encountered, but Kaddik was always willing to learn more about the magical protections of entities from Khyber.

[adso]

Levini nods, agreeing with Kaddik and Balduin. "Indeed. Whatever we find inside the city will likely require us to be sound of mind." Then, turning back to the Citadel Captains she adds, "Though I like the sounds of these rings — you can never be too safe. How and when are we to depart in the morning?"

[Ryuuk]

Jule continues to listen. Her stealth expert was waiting outside, he would relish the challenge, surely. Still, what kind of weapon could do that to near 200 soldiers, and a group of King's Swords? More questions, but answering most would fall on them. There was one though.

"If I may, is there any person of interest amongst the gith? Some liason that could be trusted? What happened to the delegation was either the githyanki's doing or the work of a third party. I'm afraid I do not know their organization, but if they haven't suffered the same fate it might be wise to seek out whoever would be most aware of what happens in the enclave once we enter Katal Hazath."

[FlamingKobold]

Captain Nebik nods thoughtfully at the rejection of his idea to use stealth. "An excellent point, perhaps it would be best to approach the city in a more direct fashion."


Lord Kor turns to Levini and replies, "As for travel, we have commissioned a Lyrandar air skiff to bring you directly to the temporary encampment that will serve as your staging ground for this operation. We currently have plans for the skiff to depart from the Wroat airship station at dawn tomorrow. One Wand and one Sword will accompany you on the skiff, and the Wand will have the rings in question."

In response to Jule's inquiry, Captain Sortan speaks up. "We of course have a number of contacts among the gith, but at this point I would not feel comfortable recommending any of them as being a trustworthy liaison. Up until a few weeks ago we considered them all to be friendly, loyal citizens of Breland. Our primary contact for the planning of the delegation was a bureaucrat named Zazoth, and the mayor — err, chieftain? — was a woman called Lar'il. I have communicated with both in the past but I wouldn't bet my life on either in the current circumstances."

[A.A.King]

"Excellent, Excellent!" Sir Balduin slaps the table twice to emphasise his elation "I'm glad we could all so easily agree. You've really picked the right people here chief! And we get to fly there too! Brilliant! You know I've been wanting to fly in of those flying ships ever since I saw one for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Just amazing that people out there managed to invent such a thing" his voices gets a lot quieter as he nears the end of his sentence, clearly he is zoning out, thinking about flying on an Air Ship.

"ANYWAY" he slaps the table again, this time to snap himself out of it "you've explained your situation well Lord Kor and personally I'm honoured that you believe me to be one of the people to help you here. I'm sure the same goes for the others and I'm also sure that they, like me, are eager to go out and proof that this trust is more than justified as well to go out and help make Breland a safer place for all those people out there who hopefully will never even know of the potential danger it could be facing right now. That being said however, tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today, and as we aren't leaving until tomorrow may I suggest that tonight we go out and have a drink to celebrate the start of a succesfull mission?!" As he says that last bit he stands up with a raised arm, as if he expected everyone else to rise up with him and shout in approval.

[CozJa]

Kaelan listens to the back and forth between the others, considering the best course of action. He approaches Jule, his colleague, and speaks to her in low voice, only minimally distorted by his mask: "This noisy 'knight' is not wrong. A stealthy approach works only if the enemy is not expecting you. And after what happened to the delegation, we can be sure that whoever... or whatever, caused it, will be expecting us. I hope you have at least some experience in fighting, this will be different than listening to my chronicles."

As Sir Balduin finish his encouraging speech, the elven scholar looks at him, his eyes the only noticeable part of his covered face, as if he was studying a newfound relic, then answers in an appropriate tone. His voice resounds with a metallic tone:
"You are right, proud warrior, it could be useful to spend some time to know each other better. But before this, I have to tell you that an air skiff, sadly, is not an airship. It's more like entering in a farmer's house instead of a prince's castle. But I'm sure we'll manage."

[Ryuuk]

Jule's eyes widen with Balduin's display. She expected such a sight in a noisy tavern, quite a few rounds into the night. Seeing it instead in front of some of the most influential people in Wroat, before being given an audience with his majesty, she was taken aback. She hides it as best she can though.

She listens to Kaelan's whispers. Nodding, giving him a sly smile. "It may only be a fraction of your experience, professor Liadon, but it has served me well before. I, for one, look forward to being a character in one of your future tales. Quite a cast so far."

[frogrunner]

Kaddik was somewhat taken aback by Sir Balduin's speech. He had rarely worked with those outside of the Gatekeepers in the past and Balduin was, well, something else entirely. Is this life outside of the Shadow Marches? He thinks, wondering what on Eberron he had gotten himself into. Snapping back to attention, he stands up as well, saying, "I too am ready to begin." While something like this could certainly be said and done with comfort and confidence, Kaddik's execution unfortunately lacks both of those characteristics. It is as though the motion had been performed and the words spoken by someone who had only heard secondhand stories about interpersonal relations but had never experienced them for himself. He then glances around slightly, hoping that others might rise as well for confirmation that he had not woefully mishandled a social cue.

[FlamingKobold]

Lord Kor and the captains of the Citadel seem somewhat taken aback by Balduin's speech and exchange a quick glance amongst themselves after Kaddik's awkward addition while Lieutenant Zella seems rather amused. After a pregnant pause, Lord Kor breaks the silence. "Well we certainly appreciate your confidence. If you do not have further questions, we will be on our way." Giving another look up and down the line of the "dream team" on which Breland now relied, he stifles a sigh as he stands up and adds, "Just remember to be at the Wroat platform prepared for departure at dawn tomorrow." With that, the captains and Lieutenant Zella bid their goodbyes to the group and file out the door, discussing their upcoming meeting with the king.

[Ryuuk]

"Understood, we will." Once their hosts depart, Jule takes her time to stand, thinking, before breathing deep. "Sir Balduin, Professor Liadon, you raise a good point. I think there's a few taverns on the south side of the river with good selections." As she speaks, her clothing changes from the regal military outfit to much more comfortable traveller's clothes. She pads her sleeves down and nods when satisfied. "It would be good to know who we are trusting our minds to." She offers Sir Balduin a smile and an outstretched hand, "Jule ir'Tajar, a pleasure."

[A.A.King]

"Yes, Good Man!", Balduin says as he points to Kaddik enthusiastically, happy to see someone join. He's a little dissapointed that the rest didn't agree with the same kind of spirit as he listens to Lord Kor saying his goodbyes.

Then he's being told by someone that she knows were the taverns are and he lights up again. He firmly grabs her outstretched and hand shakes it vividly. "Yes, yes, of course. Let me introduce myself again, the name is Sir Balduin of Buckwood, Knight of the realm! and he makes a little bow "Now please, do lead the way to these taverns you know so we may continue to get to know each other while drink eat and make merry!

[adso]

Levini rises as well. "My name is Levini d'Orien, Knight of Orien of Breland and Aundair," she says with the air of having given this same introduction countless times before. In a much more casual tone, she adds, "I wouldn't mind grabbing a few drinks tonight. From the sound of it, this might be our last chance for quite some time." Levini appreciated this relaxed atmosphere to the more rigid hierarchy to which she had become accustomed in her House and service to the Brelish crown.

[frogrunner]

"I am Kaddik'aakrash of the Gatekeepers," Kaddik says matter-of-factly. It had been many years since he had had Brelish wine so he is quite pleased by Balduin's suggestion. Rather than vocalizing this he simply nods and starts towards the door.

[FlamingKobold]

You make your way to a nearby gnomish tavern called the Trolanport Troll. Given the time of day, the place is pretty packed, with the vast majority of the patrons being humans and gnomes who appear to be middle or upper class. The barkeep is an older gnome man who greets you with an easy smile, though he doesn't have much time to chat with how busy it is. The place has a number of gnomish specialty brews in addition to the standard Brelish fair and a number of imported wines from Eastern Khorvaire and Aerenal. Despite the crowd, you are able to find a table with little difficulty after ordering drinks.

[CozJa]

Making his way for their table, Kaelan waits for his order. "A fine wine from Aerenal, where tastes ar as ancient as the elves who taste them."
Taking a seat, the masked elf observes his companions, the eyes the only distinguishable feature of his hidden face.
"We haven't received that many informations, and I don't like to charge blindly against unknown perils, but if we cannot know what awaits us in the darkness, at least we can get to know each other a little better. Considering the tasks awaiting for us, I think we should compare our strong points and our weaknesses, so that we'll be able to balance them out and cover each other. As you already heard, I'm a teacher at Morgrave university, my fields of expertise are ancient history, with particular expertise on the Storm Sea cultures; I'm a reknown exper in arcane manipulation fields and the philosophical teaching of many elemental schools, and I have a vast working experience in the field of practical archaeology. Honestly, I don't know what of my knowledges will be more useful in this mission, but I have a strong feeling that the answer will hit us as fast as we'll reach our goal."

The elf stops for a moment when the drinks are served, taking his time to smell the wine without drinking it.

"As for you? What can you offer to our newfounded group? I see that at least two of you don't seem quite versed with 'city life'." As he says it, his eyes dart from Sir Balduin to Kaddik.

[A.A.King]

While Kaelan takes his time to smell his wine, Sir Balduin doesn't hesitate one bit. He takes his order, the house ale, and done's it in one go and by the time that the elf has asked his simple question Balduin has already finished is. He slams his empty jug on the table and gestures to the barkeep to bring him another before answering: "Well spotted my friend! It's certainly true that I am not overly familiar with city live. You see, I grew up in a very small village and after that spend most of my time... well, elsewhere" when he says that last word, for a very brief moment, a mischievous smile appears on his face before continueing in the same jovial tone he started with "I spend my life on adventure, surviving in the wilderness and tracking done those who wished harm upon my patron. In between adventures I was at the most rowdy court you could possibly imagine. That being said however, while I may be accustomed to the less formal approach to life you'd do well not to underestimate's a Knight education. When it comes to court, diplomacy and politics I do know how to dance the dance, though I prefer the tune for a different jig."

At this moment Sir Balduin pauses, as if to give everyone a brief moment to come to grips with the idea that the loud mouth from the meeting thinks he can be diplomatic, before continuing:

"When it comes to strengths however, I like to think that's obvious!" and he grasps his sword, clearly he wants to wave it around, if only the situation didn't prevent him. With clear pride in his voice he continues: "I'm a warrior! A Knight! I will bring a significant contribution to our group's front line whenever the situation demands it. More importantly though" and with the biggest smile you've seen yet he adds: "I'm in charge of morale! Many was the time that I lead a party such as this one into battle!!" He pauses again, this time it's clear he is simply thinking though. He makes a quick gesture with his hands as if he's counting on his fingers before continuing "Wait, how many constitutes 'many'? It was usually just the two of us... you know what, doesn't matter. Just trust me on this one: when we are unlucky enough to encounter hostilities, which for now I can only assume will be inevitable, you'll feel a lot stronger having me on your side!"

[Ryuuk]

On leaving Brokenblade Castle, a small raven flies to Jule's shoulder. Wordlessly, Jule opens her palm and lets it hop on, placing it in one of her cloak's inner pockets. She gives it little acknowledgement after that. Once at the Trolanport Troll, she orders a sweet Aundairian vintage while settleing in.

She listens to Kaelan proposition, takes a sip, and nods. As she places the glass down, the raven hops onto the table and moves towards it, appearently much more interested in its content than she is. "My guess, your knowledge in arcane manipulation fields might be useful in understanding what happened to the delegation. Still, you're right, we'll see soon enough Professor." She smiles as the raven plunges its beak into the glass.

Sir Balduin's speech is interesting, to say the least. She finds herself leaning back, crossing her arms, thinking for a moment, wondering what music would play in a court that dances to his jig. Maybe with the Lhazaar Principalities? Some strange Karrnathi warlord? She breaths deep and leans forward. "I would love to hear more about that court, Sir Balduin, I'm having a hard time imagining in. That may be on me though, I've spent my life trying to work with Brelish courts."

"As for me, I'm a Lecturer alongside Kaelan, though foused on Breland's history and the Last War. I served during the war, part of a unit of scouts and rangers. Reconnaissance, quick skirmishes against key targets. I was my group's Wand, though I'm not at my colleague's level in arcane power."

She turns to Kaddik, almost apologetically. "Kaddik, I think I've seen you before, but I'm sorry, I can't quite place you. Have we met before?"

[A.A.King]

"Wonderful tales are told of the court that I serve, milady. A professor such as yourself might have even heard some already, though I understand why you were having trouble imagining it. The place that I call home is more than a little foreign to that of your own, and foreign still to any court you may have interacted with before. It is not just a mere border away, not a place you can reach with one of those wonderful Air Ships(?)... Skiffs (??) ... Flying machines!!! For you see, I am a Greensinger..." at this point he looks at Kaddik. Although Balduin wasn't too familiar with the Gatekeepers, he knew of them and so, when Kaddik mentioned he was one, he had realised immediately that the two of them would have things in common. They may belong to different organizations, to different worlds in fact, but each had at their core a reference for the natural world and surely that would transcend planar boundaries. So, if anyone would know of the Greensingers, and so far nobody else he encountered had, it would be a Gatekeeper. "...and the realm I call home and the court that I serve is Thelanis, the Faeri Court"

[frogrunner]

Kaddik remains characteristically silent throughout the walk to the Trolanport Troll and sits quietly through Balduin's exposition while nursing a cheap Brelish wine. When Balduin mentions the Greensingers, Kaddik raises his eyebrows. "Interesting that our paths should cross in Wroat of all places. It is comforting to be in the presence of another druid, though I know little of your sect's customs," he says before turning to Jule. "It is not often that I find myself in a city. I visited Sharn once several years ago, but I have spent most of my life in the Shadow Marches so it is unlikely that we have met in the past."

"I'm here because I have helped with Citadel with matters like this in the past. My sect is dedicated to the continued imprisonment of the daelkyr in Khyber and the crusade against their incursions into Khorvaire. Based on the location of Katal Hazath and the presence of the Gith, I suspect that they may be involved." He pauses, realizing that he hadn't really answered the question. "As for what I can do... You should know that I have more skin the game against the daelkyr than most," he adds, inwardly pleased about his pun. Kaddik then pulls up his left sleeve slightly, revealing a brown and purple carapace that looks like a large clenched claw. He opens his hand, revealing six glowing eyes and a mass of tentacles where his palm should have been. He keeps it out in the open only briefly, then pulls back his sleeve. "I have been infected with their symbionts since my birth and rely on them in combat to protect me and enhance my druidic powers. In places such as this I must hide, but I do not want my appearance to alarm you."

[adso]

Levini is somewhat shocked by Kaddik's hand, but does not allow it to show on her face. She simply nods at him, appreciating his disclosure. "Well, I'm just glad that at least one of us has experience fighting whatever it is that we're about to find there," she says encouragingly. "As for me, I'm a Knight as well, of a different sort. I doubt that I can take a punch like Balduin, but my specialty is in using my dragonmark to get around a battlefield quickly using hit-and-run tactics. Or, well, stab-and-teleport, I suppose."

[Ryuuk]

"Thelanis?" Jule looks at Balduin, arms crossed, and leans back. She knew of Thelanis, but beyond that it, was not some place she had ever given much thought. It was the setting for children's stories featuring shining knights, beautiful maidens and pristine forests. These were the stories she had dropped when growing up, to show that she understood that they were not... realistic. Yet, here sat a jolly knight acting as if he'd just walked out of one's pages. She looks at her raven, who turns and seems to meet her with a shrug, before going back to the glass. "There may be much I to learn from you, Sir Balduin."

As the druid from the Shadow Marches speaks, she listens. "Ah, my mistake then, Kaddik." She watches his arm and hand, clenching her teeth at its reveal. This, sadly, was realistic. Threats could always be crueler and more disturbing. "I... can see why you cover up."

She nods as Levini finishes. "I have not had the fortune to work with a d'Orien before, but it sounds like we could get along well if we coordinate. You're right though, if it was something escaped from Khyber, well, may we understand what can be understood quickly."

[A.A.King]

"Great Scott! That's quite the arm you've got there my friend!" Sir Balduin exclaims, making no attempt to hide his reactions like others had "Clearly this job was just made for you. Good to have you on board!" Balduin says with a big smile and he gives Kaddik a well meaning slap on the back. "Do not be mistaken though, I'm not exactly your typical member. I've always put less emphasis on the magical side of things and focused more on being the kind of warrior who is capable of protecting his princess! I am a Knight after all! Fighting, that's what we do!" he then turns to Levine "like our fellow Knight over here! Stab-And-Teleport, now THAT is something I've got to see! Always happy to work with another Knight. And don't worry, if we all co-ordinate our effort well than none of us should be taking any punches!"

[frogrunner]

Kaddik is somewhat taken aback by how quickly the group seemed to have accepted him — he was used to far worse than grimaces. He nods to Balduin and says, "I see. It appears that out druidic training is complementary in more ways than one. When I was an aspirant I lead small groups of hunters through the Shadow Marches so I'm familiar with more mundane combat, but it's not my specialty. I'm thankful that we seem to have several members with more combat expertise than I possess."