Chapter 5: Through the Moon Pass Gorge

Kardalis is keeping a quiet commentary a few yards behind them.
"Oh criticism and personal attack, nice"
"Heresy and challenge, classic combination"
"Cheerful jeer and death threat, feisty!"

Avis looks over her shoulder at Kardalis. "Enjoying yourself, I see," she says. "That was quick thinking, entangling the beast with a spell. You'll have to show me how you do that, some time."

"Oh you noticed. I don't think teaching is something I can quite do...
I don't think I can teach you throw astral ectoplasm any easier than you can 'teach' me to shoot force out of my fingers"

Glancing over to the two bickering girls Imarra tries to focus on Cyrus. "Oh, thank you." she says as she places the meat onto the tiger to accept the Necklace and inspects it for a moment. With a smile she shifts her attention to the slain beast in accordance to his words. Softly running the fingers of the hand that holds the dagger over the muscular shoulders of the creature Imarra can't help but agree "Yes, it is magnificent how swift and strong some creatures are. Shame it attacked you, ehm, us. Our group.".
Somewhat flushed and eager to change the subject Imarra cleans her blade and wraps the meat into a piece of cloth to carry. Putting the necklace on Imarra suggested "If you are looking for tracks I would like to help. I am likely not as good as you, but, well, I might learn a thing or two.".

"I suppose you're right," Avis says to Kardalis. "I'm not a wizard, after all. Of course, that doesn't ease my curiosity. Where does your magic come from? You cast differently than Imarra or I do."

"Just the way it is," Rhenwald shrugs and stretches his mouth into a thin line. "It marked its new grounds, we intruded it and got attacked. Nature is a tough mistress."

He pauses for a moment, considering Imarra's words, and nods.
"Alright. I imagine you'd need that. We all started somewhere."

Cyrus then proceeds to collect the arrows stuck in the tiger's body, clears them hastily and puts three of them back into the quiver. Last one, the arrow that dealt the killing blow, he simply leaves there. Imarra can notice that shafts of his arrows are considerably thicker compared to those that Nerea carries, and with longer fletchings. Taking the bow into hand again, Rhenwald freezes for a short while, taking in the surroundings. He looks up, somewhere off into the distance, where the sky is seen between the trees, and after a moment starts walking after the rest of the group.

"No wind. Fir branches are looking up. Rain's coming", he says out loud. He gives the bracers stripped from the dead orc for his hound to smell and utters a couple of words to her. Soon, getting ahead of the rest, the ranger starts looking for any traces of orcs or any other potential threat that could pass this way not long ago...

Kardalis briefly wonders at how to answer Avis' question. After a time, he responds, somewhat brief in his explanation. "I'm somewhat... unique on the surface. My powers come from... my mind."

Avis furrows her brow. "Your mind? Then...some sort of psionic power?" She rubs her chin. "I see...if your ancestors are from the Underdark, I suppose that makes sense. Fascinating. As for me, I'm actually not entirely certain where my power comes from. Perhaps it's my celestial heritage, or perhaps one of my ancestors fucked a dragon. It can be surprisingly difficult to trace such things, for sorcerers."

Amra Braegen: "I take it you hail from House Oblodra in Menzoberranzan then, Kardalis?" the moon elf inquires, clearly interested in learning more about the mysterious half-drow from Luskan, while simultaneously keeping her keen eyes on the road in front of them, and on the dense line of trees and bushes on either side of the road, doing her best to remain prepared for whatever beast or monster that might suddenly lunge at them from the gloomy Moon Pass woods...

Following Cyrus and trying to trace where his eyes focused on, Imarra glanced around. She follows his stare off between the treetops into the sky and sees the familiar discolored clouds that are usually a sign for her to head for a roof or another solid cover.
Glancing over to Nerea's quiver and back to Cyrus's the wizard notices the difference in arrows. His were almost as thick as her bolts. They must be sturdier, but the weight must have a negative effect too, else every arrow would be that thick.

Kardalis narrows his eyes slightly at Amra's probe. "You're familiar with the dark elves of that dread city?"

Amra Braegen: "Somewhat at least. I have dealings with many different souls in my role as a Kelemvorite priestess, and even before I became such I was a wizard and a scholar. I'm still quite the avid reader and you might even go as far as calling me an aspiring loremaster," the moon elf replies in a mirthful tone. "Did you grow up there?"

"Not so much, as you may know half-breeds are not so kindly looked upon in that society" He says spitefully "And neither are the ones who would stoop so low as to conceive a child with a surface creature"

Amra Braegen: "I reckoned as much... The drow surely don't hold us surface dwellers in a very favorable view, especially not when it comes to non-elves. Which makes me wonder exactly how you came to be, Saer Vasque. I'll have to bore deeper into your past, if you'll indulge me, once we get some time for leisure and lengthy conversation again... For now, we'd do wiser in minding the road and our surroundings. We are in dangerous territory after all..."

Amra Braegen: "Be prepared for an ambush," the moon elf whispers to the others before cautiously approaching the man. "Alae stranger. How come you're camped out here in this dangerous wilderness all alone?

Amra relaxes a bit when she recognizes the symbol of The Harpers on Myrdin's cloak brooch. She mirrors the two finger greeting.

Amra Braegen: "I am sorry to hear that. We were planning on stopping by the Towing Station for a bit of rest. I guess that is out of the question now... Pray tell, what was it you lost, good Saer?"

Amra Braegen: "That does sound like quite a predicament, and a lucrative proposition, Saer Doedance. Excuse me while I confer with my companions..."

Amra pulls the others aside, far enough away from Myrdin Doedance that the elven Moonstar shouldn't be able to hear their conversation...

Amra Braegen: "If we help him and succeed, we'll not only have earned ourselves a handsome reward, we'll also have a means of instantaneous travel between here and Jalanthar... What do you think? Shall we?"

"Sounds good enough to me," the ranger replies. "Just gotta make sure we know what we're up against. Might be a roaming band of orcs, might be a vanguard of something bigger. I'll go ask if you don't mind."

He steps forward, addressing the elf, and nods in his direction.
"You the errand boy of Dragonspur's then? You sure got lucky out there. How many orcs guarding the captives at the Station? We stumbled upon a dead one south of here, assumed he was a stray scout. Just how heavy is their presence around here? Any notable chieftains?"

Myrdin Doedance: "I am an agent of the Harpers, or of the Moonstars that is, an offshoot of the larger organization which has grown large enough in recent years to merit, if not independency, then a form of." The moon elf warrior takes a small break to let his affiliation sink in before continuing. The Harpers, and the Moonstars in extension, were after all regarded as heroes and liberators, if not downright saviors, by many people throughout northwestern Faerûn, from Sembia by the Sea of Fallen Stars all the way to the Sword Coast North. "A considerable orc force inhabits the immediate area. They are known as the Urgruem tribe and are a part of the larger Thousand Fists tribe ruled by the ogrillon Thaugrul Heartripper. The Urgruem chief is known as Orgashram the Cave Father and it is believed that he leads somewhere around forty orcish warriors residing in the Urgruem Caverns near the southern Towing Station, a network of caverns connected to the Underdark, allowing for the Urgruems to quickly evacuate whenever a sufficiently large force is sent to deal with them."

"A portal could cut away sinificantly at out travel time. Having it would be helpeful of course, but I don't have experience with 'moon's, so I am not sure how difficult to judge a task worth that much." Imarra replies to Amra, keeping her voice low. Once Cyrus questions about the numbers on the orc's side, a cold sweat runs down Imarra's neck. Defeating 40 orcs is a tall order. The some orcs might be still injured from their raid and if they have a spellcaster some of his magic could still be spent, but still.
A thought about his retelling of the raid runs through her head and the wizard comes forth to the elf, asking "You said undead were coming from one side and the orcs from the other, do you recall how they reacted to each other? And were there any spellcasters on either side?".

Amra Braegen: "A moon is a shining golden crescent minted in Silverymoon. It is worth 2 regular gold pieces and is quite common here in the Silver Marches. That means the reward amounts to 2,000 gold pieces on top of what loot we find. And yes, the portal would allow us to move swiftly between here and Jalanthar, should we require additional support and supplies for completing our primary task."

Myrdin smiles warmly to the young Rashemi approaching him, and gives her inquiry some careful consideration before answering:



Myrdin Doedance: "The undead siege was lead by a spellcaster and four archers clad in black, and the undead were in large enough number to draw the Argent Legionnaires out of the Watchtower, me alongside them. When we were out in the open and had almost defeated the undead, the Urgruems attacked from the south before we could retreat back into the tower. The black-clad folk leading the undead assault had vanished some time before that during the initial melee... The Urgruems had their shaman, the Cave Mother Vuthkra Skulldrinker with them. When she summoned a huge demon centipede in the middle of the battlefield, the Legionnaires surrendered..."