In the Name of the Crown IC

[CozJa]

The elf nods gently as Levini explains her ability as an Orien fighter: he saw them in action during the war, and believes that their way of action meshes well with Valenar riding tactics.

Kaelan looks at the living thing attached to the druid's hand. Thanks to his mask, he is able to hide every reaction, whether it is displeasure or curiosity.

As Kaddik express his considerations about the group composition, he speaks again.

"Indeed, It looks like whoever assembled our group took care to cover for every possible problem. I imagine that your expertise in fighting Khyber's spawns means you know how to shield our mind from aberrant influences, right?"

[frogrunner]

Kaddik shakes his head. "While I find myself able to resist them without difficulty, I am quite used to working alone. The daelkyr are... confusing foes. It's hard to protect oneself against all of their tricks."

[adso]

"Well that is the purpose for which our benefactors will be providing us the rings of which we spoke, is it not?" Levini asks as she takes a sip of wine. "And with five of us,how likely can it possibly be that we are all susceptible to whatever lies in wait for us? Either way, it does little good for us to sully the night with such thoughts —*we will have plenty of opportunity on our journey ahead, I imagine. As Balduin said, this is a night for premature celebration of our impending success," she says with a wink. "So let us celebrate and be merry! Professors, I would love to know more about your research; Balduin, I am sure you have tales of the Faerie Court beyond our wildest dreams; and Kaddik, traveling through the Shadow Marches for years on behalf of the Gatekeepers must have left you with some thrilling stories!" Levini addresses to each of her party members in turn as she tries to lighten the mood.

[A.A.King]

"Yes!", Balduin slams the table "I like your attitude Levini! Let's drink and enjoy ourselves! For now though, I have no tales no tell, I mean, what would be the fun in that?" Balduin says, with that mischievous look in his eyes "right now we are at the first chapter of what I'm assured will be a great story indeed, so let's not ruin it by giving away spoilers. I wouldn't want to ruin any more surprises than I already have by talking about past exploits and my home is really something you've got to experience, no tale I could tell would do it really justice". Balduin is clearly enjoying the idea that are more unexpected things he has to show, after-all, the Fey are good-natured tricksters.

"But, if you would allow me to toot my own horn in an other way, so to speak" and Sir Balduin starts rummaging through his backpack "then I would like to play us a little tune" and he pulls out a Horn. However, once he is done snickering at his little pun he puts the horn back and takes out a lute instead "I think this is more appropiate for the setting". Then, without waiting for anyone to agree he starts playing it.

Spoiler: Perform

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Perform Check, in case you want to know how well he's playing: Perform (String Instrument) (1d20+16)[24]

[frogrunner]

Kaddik watches Balduin play the lute with some curiosity. He was certainly very talented, but it was definitely quite different from the music in Kaddik's homeland. Once he is finished, Kaddik gives him a nod of approval and says, "I have many stories. In one instance, my hunters and I attempted to rebind a weakening seal that was being assaulted from below. We were unsuccessful. The aberrations that burst through were fierce. We were eventually victorious, but six of my companions were slain that day. Another time my father and I led a group to investigate a village in the far west of the Marches. It was deserted. We were ambushed by a group of dols, but never found the village's inhabitants. Two weeks later, after we had returned to the Green Spire, I arrived home to discover my father was attacking my mother as if possessed. I was unable to restrain him with nonlethal means. We found dol-like tendrils coming out of a wound he had sustained in our fight that had wound their way into his brain." He looks around, realizing too late that this is perhaps not the right tone of story for the evening and quickly adds, "I have many other stories as well, but maybe this is not the night for them."

[FlamingKobold]

After an evening of exciting (and hopefully more uplifting) stories with ample musical accompaniment, the five of you arrive to the Wroat airship platform just before dawn the next morning. As promised, on the platform are three figures already engaged in conversation: a tall half-elf woman with a visible Mark of Storm on her shoulder, a young, unarmored male gnome with wavy long hair and a taller human man in chainmail with a longsword at his hip. Upon your arrival, they cease their conversation and turn towards you. "Excellent, ahead of schedule!" the gnome says, walking towards you and reaching up to shake each of your hands in turn. "My name is Greeken, Wand of the King. Gaspar is of the king's swords and Lorsanna will be our pilot today," he says, gesturing to his companions.

Gaspar gives a slight nod of acknowledgement but Lorsanna gives the group a big grin and a wave. "Hope you all like flying fast!" she says with a wink. "And if any of your are susceptible to flight sickness, you had better let me know now — I just cleaned this thing!" she adds in a somewhat joking manner, gesturing at the air skiff beside her.

Greeken gives a slight smile before turning back, "Well, time is certainly of the essence. Before I forget, here are the rings that were promised to you." He pulls out five rings and hands them to you — they each have a purple gemstone inset that has a constant pulsating glow. "These should help you to resist, well, whatever it is that's going on in Katal Hazath," he adds. "Any other questions or concerns before we set out? We'll have plenty of time to talk on the way."

[adso]

"Nice to meet you, Greeken," Levini replies, also nodding towards Gaspar and Lorsanna as they are introduced. She gives a light laugh at the half-elf's quip and then gets a bit more serious as she takes a ring from the gnome. "I agree, time is short and I think the lot of us are ready to embark," she says as she slips the ring onto her finger. Then she turns it a few times and adds, "Is there anything we need to do to activate it? Or just keep it on at all times?"

[A.A.King]

"Greetings! Greetings!" Sir Balduin gives the gnome a firm handshake "The name is Sir Balduin of Buckwood. It's good to have you with us my friend, though if I understand it correctly we will only benefit from your company on the flight there, correct?" and while he is still shaking the Gnome's hand he address the other two, using his other hand to enthusiastically wave at them "Nice to meet you two too btw, lets all do our best to get along!" he then lets go so that Greeken can move on this companions.

"Milday, I have NO idea if I'm susceptible to flight sickness, I didn't even know that that was a thing! You know, I've never flown before in my life. I'm so EXCITED!!!"

[FlamingKobold]

Lorsanna grins at Balduin. "Well then, my knight, this will certainly be a ride to remember!

Greeken nods in affirmation at Levini's question and says, "Yes, just wear them and they should help protect your minds." Looking around and hearing no other questions, he gestures to Lorsanna and adds, "Well then, let us be on our way!"

Waving for everyone to follow her, Lorsanna walks backwards up the gangplank that extends between the Wroat skydocks and the small craft, explaining the safety procedures. Once everyone is seated and she has retracted the gangplank, she moves to the front of the craft and brings the ship to life. It begins to move slowly away from the docks, with no sound but the wind generated by the wind that streams from the elemental ring. Lorsanna then yells back, "Hold on!" and the craft surges forward with a rush of air. After ascending for several minutes the craft levels out and settles on a constant speed, with views of the Brelish countryside as the sun rises from behind.

Spoiler: OOC

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Anyone want to do something on the ship? If not we can skip to the landing

[A.A.King]

"Well, if we only need to wear these rings then I shall put mine on immediatly, lest I forget" Sir Balduin removes his left gauntlet, puts on purple ring and then puts back the gauntlet "Safe and secure, now let them do their worst!"

During the Flight

"Grandiose! Exquisite! Absolutetly Magnificent! To be able to fly through these endless skies on a craft such as this, not even in my wildest dreams had I believed us to be capable of such a feat. When Knights can fly, that my friends is when you know the world shall be safe! I will NEVER forget this feeling, this feeling of freedom! Thank you, lady Lorsanna, for providing us with wonderful magical way of transportation!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Balduin is pretty happy about the whole experiance but there is nothing he really wants to do other than enjoy his time in the sky

[CozJa]

As the knight seems over-eager to express his appreciation of... well, almost everything that he sees, Kaelan can't help but smile and, for the first time since years, stops to consider the advantages of wearing a mask when you travel with such 'original' companions. Curious about the rings, the elven arcanist looks at it, trying to ascertain what kind of magical energy powers it.

Spoiler: Spellcraft on the Ring

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(1d20+15)[24]

Spoiler: OOC

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Kaelan has nothing important to add, he'll meditate quietly during travel time.

[adso]

Levini smiles at Balduin's reaction and simply sits back to enjoy the ride, spending most of her time gazing at the landscape beneath them in wonderment of modern transportation technology.

Spoiler: OOC

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Also nothing much to add.

[FlamingKobold]

Lorsanna takes Balduin's enthusiasm in stride and spends much of the flight talking to him about Lyrandar flight school, elemental binding and they types of aircraft that are available. The rest of the journey is fairly uneventful and by the late afternoon, Lorsanna halts the craft at what looks to be a makeshift wooden dock on the edge of a small encampment. "Well, we're here," she says fairly redundantly as she extends the gangplank. She then waves goodbye as Greeken leads you off the ship and into the encampment.

The outpost itself is a collection of a few dozen military tents arranged in an oval on the planes in the shadow of the Graywall mountains about a mile away. They have clearly been expecting you — a number of members of the Brelish military are watching your arrival and Greeken leads you to a tent with dinner waiting and a separate room with five beds. "Since you didn't want to go at night, we figured it would be best for you to stay the night here and set out in the morning. Everything you need is just behind the tent — rations, water, and horses for the ride in, if you'd like. I'll be here and in constant communication with the Citadel back in Wroat. If you need anything else, let me know and we'll do our best. I'll be in that tent over there," he says, pointing across the open central plaza to a larger tent on the other side.

Spoiler: OOC

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The rings give a +2 resistance bonus to will saves against mind-affecting abilities.

[Ryuuk]

Graciously accepting the ring, examining it, and putting it on, Jule enjoys the flight as she can. She stays to herself, but eavesdrops on Lorsanna and Balduin's conversation, briefly joining in at times. Her raven is never too far off, surveying the skiff and its crew during the trip.

On landing, she follows. "Thank you, Grekken. From what I gather, Katal Hazath must be silent, but if the camp's scouts have learned anything new, it might be worthwhile to check before setting out. Once we do, well, I trust Agni here can ferry messegaes between our group and yours, unless you have access to a quicker... more trustworthy method." On hearing its name, the raven turns to her and caws.

[frogrunner]

Kaddik spends most of the trip in silence, gazing out at the landscape and thankful to be leaving the city. He nods in agreement with Jule. "Yes, we should make sure we have all the available information tonight. We want to go in with as few surprises as possible. Although," he adds with a wry grin, "I expect that no matter how well we prepare, there will be something that we don't expect."

[A.A.King]

"You are right of course, Kaddik, my friend, we are almost guaranteed to run into something unexpected. However, you must remain positive! Look at yourself, me, our fellow companions. I think that we can be fairly certain of one other thing; they will not be expecting us either! No, sir no, our opponents are not the only ones who can use the element of surprise, and I very much plan on surprising them!" Sir Balduin then turns to the man who has brought them here
"Sir Greeken, I thank you for the commendations and the food and I hope you don't mind that I'll tuck in right away, I've build up quite the appetite during the flight here! As for tomorrow, while much appreciated I must personally decline your offer for a horse, though of course I can't speak for my comrades." Balduin sits down and takes a big bite out of his dinner before continuing "We should also settle on a departure time. Personally I see much advantage in leaving at the crack of dawn. I'm quite the early riser myself and while I was opposed to trying to sneak in I also don't think that we have the obligation to make sure a potential enemy is nice and rested. Of course, this too depends on the group. An early start might be a small advantage but only if everyone thinks they can a 100% that early." after having said that, Sir Balduin digs in further into his dinner.

[CozJa]

As he leaves the airskiff, Kaelan bows to Lorsanna, thanking her for the quiet voyage.

As the group discuss their preparations with Greeken, the elven arcanist concurs with Jule opinion.
"Yes, assembling all the informations before we depart is a very good idea. I'll need some time before morning to meditate on my residual arcane energies and study my books, but I have no problems staying up late if some tidying up is needed.
Speaking of which, I should organize my spellbook to choose the right spells energies for tomorrow; does some of you have access to any means of telekinesis? possibly on a radius of around 600 feets."

As Kaddik ponders the possibility of them being surprised, Kaelan confirms approvingly: "We have a sayingin Valenar: always expect trouble, and if you don't find it, become the trouble."

Kaeldan is somewhat conflicted on Sir Balduin refusal of horses: on the one hand, as a Valenar warrior, he feels more at ease on a saddle, but on the other, he understands that the terrain is not apt to galloping.

[FlamingKobold]

Greeken shakes his head at Jule's question. "Unfortunately our scouts have been able to glean little beyond that which we have already discussed. We have had scouts in the air and on the ground constantly since we got the encampment set up, but none have observed any movement in the city. Of course, they are all under explicit instructions to not approach too close to the city, so our reconnaissance options are limited." Turning to Kaelan, he answers, "Unfortunately, my own arcane talents are more limited than that — I can assist but at much shorter range. Either way," he adds, addressing the entire group, "The timing is entirely up to you. Dawn seems appropriate to me given that time is very much of the essence. Speaking of which, feel free to tuck in!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Greeken can cast mage hand, but only at CL 3 which is a 40 foot range. Why do you need the telekinesis?

[adso]

Levini nods at Greeken's description. They'd be going in blind — not too surprising given the general synopsis of the situation. But thankfully a position she had found herself in countless times. It somehow comforted her to not have the weight of a plan on her shoulders. Putting these thoughts aside, Levini forced a smile and said, "Thank you Greeken, we appreciate your support and will do everything we can for the Citadel and the King. I will take you up on the offer of a horse for the morning; the quicker we can travel the better. But Balduin is right, that was a long flight and we will certainly have need of our strength in the morning." With that, she joins Balduin at the table and begins to eat, savoring it since she knows that this will likely be their last warm meal in awhile.

[A.A.King]

"You're certainly right Levini, the faster we can travel the better. Don't let my personal refusal for a horse stop anyone else, if on horseback is the fastest you can travel then I'd certainly suggest taking one. Like Knights we could ride." Balduin says while finishing the last of his meal. "I too need some time in the morning for my own magical abilities, Kaelan. And I'm sure I'm not the only one" while he says that last line he looks at Kaddik, his fellow druid would surely too need time to convey with Nature. "these are minor abilities though, so I can't help you with anything as big as Telekenis. However, to ensure a good night's rest, as well time to prepare in the morning while still being able to leave at our earliest convenience I shall retreat for the night." as Sir Balduin enters his tent, he stops, and turns back for just one moment:
"Btw, I hope nobody minds the snoring. Goodnight everyone!"

[FlamingKobold]

The night is rather uneventful. The beds are passable and the food, while not excellent, is at least warm and edible. An hour before dawn, Greeken is outside of your tent, overseeing two of the camp's Swords working in torchlight to prepare four horses for your departure. As you emerge, Greeken glances over and says, "Good morning, I hope the accommodations were acceptable. These horses are well trained — once you get close to Katal Hazath, simply tell them to 'go home' and they will be able to find their way back here. As far as we know, whatever attacked our compatriots' minds applies to animals as well, and you certainly don't need the added risk of crazed horses."

While the spellcasters prepare, Greeken brings some of the Citadel's scouts over to brief the group, but they provide little new information. As the sun becomes visible on the horizon, Greeken gets the whole group together. "I must thank you again for your assistance in the face of this unknown threat. Just know that you wouldn't be here if the Citadel and the King did not have the utmost confidence in your abilities and you have our support. Your primary objective is to discover what has happened and take any steps that you deem necessary to prevent it from happening again. From here on, there is little that we can do to assist you, but we are counting on you."

[Ryuuk]

The night had been pleasent, a good start. Jule listens to Greeken's last words while fiddling with the ring on her finger. Understand and stop it, prevent this from harming Breland any further, that was her goal since she was called.

"Thank you Greeken, we'll stay in touch as we can." She goes to one of the horses and mounts. She turns to her raven, who was watching from a nearby tree. Adjusting her haversack, she opens it up and calls it over. It seemed reluctant, but flies inside regardless.

"Ready when you are."

[A.A.King]

After a wonderful night of sleep Sir Balduin awakes early to do his morning routine, a hearty breakfast, a good workout and a little prayer. Once he's fully prepared he joins the rest and listens to Greeken. "Those are some very smart horses, I'm sure we'll do everything we can to keep them safe. We certainly wouldn't want to get hurt by our own horses, nor would we want to have to hurt them instead. Though while crazed horses would constitute a hazzard to our mission, I do have what you might consider a crazy horse that I think will be a worthwhile addition to our small group" After he says that he puts his hand to his mouth and makes a calling noise which is swiftly followed by the houses of hooves galloping in the distance coming ever closer until, in front of Sir Balduin an Unicorn appears out of nowhere "Let me introduce you to my valiant steed, Sunny, a friend I met in Thelanis. He's here to brighten up our day!" as he says that the Unicorn turns his head and looks at Sir Balduin, and with the most exasperated voice you could possibly imagine he says:
"Really....? Do you have to make that joke EVERY time you need my help? You do know it wasn't even funny the first time you made it, right...?"

[adso]

Levini chuckles at Balduin's antics and is thoroughly unsurprised with Sunny's response. "It's wonderful to meet you, Sunny," she says to the unicorn. With that she mounts up as well, looking much less prepared that the rest of the party as she carries only her spear. Levini then nods at Jule and announces, "I am prepared as well, shall we?"

[frogrunner]

Kaddik wakes up early and walks away from the camp to pray for his spells for the day. Upon returning to camp and finding everyone else packed up and ready to go, he hurriedly prepares his belongings and mounts one of the horses, quite pleased to be back in the natural world. Even the shoddy camp that the Citadel had set up was still a but too civilized and social for his liking. "Me as well. Let's be off," he says, eager to begin their journey.

[Ryuuk]

He'd found a way to grate on a noble steed of children's stories. A bit far from what she pictured when they were read to her, but still, she finds herself smiling. The raven peaks out from the haversack, and seems amused, making noise as if laughing. When she notices, she pushes the cover down and casts it into its roomy darkness. "A pleasure, Sunny. Thank you for coming to Breland's aid."

[A.A.King]

Sir Balduin climbs on the back of Sunny while the unicorn replies to the rest of the group: "A pleasure to meet you too, it's not often that others are involved with this one's antics."

Sir Balduin, when he sees everyone is ready for departure, marks the start of their mission with a single shout of "Onwards!" to which Sunny replies "Or you know, you could just say 'Let's go' to everyone" before he starts to walk towards Katal Hazath.

[CozJa]

Kaelan passes the night meditating and trancing. then, when morning comes, he takes some time to review his spells and memorize those he believes may be more useful, considering the scarce intel aviable for the group.
As Greekin presents them the horses and thanks them for their effort, the elven arcanist bows slightly: "Thank you for your assistance, and for your trust in us. We will do our best to leave up to your hopes."

Kaelan approaches a horse and whispers something in elven to the animal before mounting it; while sir Balduin calls for his unicorn, Kaelan looks with interest; indeed this man may have some extraordinary connection with the feywild, if even an amazing creature like the so called Sunny is eager to help him. Well, maybe 'eager' is saying too much...
"It is surely a pleasure to meet the worthy mount of such a noble warrior. May our ride be swift and steady."

Having said that, he starts riding with the rest of the group

[FlamingKobold]

The ride to Katal Hazath is along a somewhat well-traveled road that winds through the foothills of the Graywall mountains. You pass through several villages, but all appear to have been evacuated and throughout the journey you do not see any other travelers. By mid-morning, you round a bend and see Katal Hazath. Perched halfway up the mountain, the city appears to be more like a fortress — a massive grey block that stands in stark contrast to the wooded mountainside. Even from a distance, you can tell that the architecture does not look Brelish in origin and like little else that you have seen in the realms of the common races of Khorvaire. As the hills give way to the forest the grade of the path increases substantially and you begin the the climb.

Spoiler: OOC

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Just need to know how you want to approach the city, when to send back the horses and if you're doing anything else in preparation.

[A.A.King]

At the foot of the climb Sir Balduin stops Sunny and turns to the group:

"As some of you may know, Unicorns are such freedom loving creatures that they are pretty much immune to mind-affecting shenaginas, so, even though he doesn't have a ring, I'm not worried about Sunny being affected by whatever it was that devastated our predecessors. Of course, our regular horses enjoy no such benefit so I think we should discuss for how much further we want to take them. Magic isn't exactly my expertise, so my personal idea would be to take the safest option and leave them here, seeing as this slope doesn't look like a good place for a quick dismount if we were to accidentally end up going too far. However, if someone with more expertise with regards to mind-affecting phenomena can tell me it's safe to take them a little while further I'd be open to that too".

At this point, Sir Balduin pauzes for a minute as he does little incantation of his own and for a brief moment both Balduin's and Sunny's eyes turn an identical colour green before they return to normal, though the two appear to be more in-sync now.

"Either way, from this moment on we should be completely on our guard! Assume the best but expect the worst. We don't approach with your weapon drawn, or the githyanki will have no choice but to assume it's an assault but we make sure that you can reach then if it does turn out we're walking into an ambush. If we are to loose our minds it will be before we reach the castle gates, so if there is still something you want to say before that happens, or something you want to do that might protect you further; this is your chance! "

Spoiler: OOC

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The spell I cast was "One Mind, Lesser" which lasts for 7 hours or until I am more than 10 feet away from Sunny. It gives me a +4 insight bonus to both Spot and Listen as well as the Scent ability. These heightened senses should help Balduin sniff out any githyanki trying to ambush us before we reach the castle gate