Chapter 7: Back in Jalanthar

Nerea blinks, her face flushing as she meets Avis's eyes. One ear twitching faintly under her wild mass of dark brown hair, she wonders, with a hint of irony, Is this the part where she tries to drown me?

"We'll see," she says, looking away and stifling the urge to bite her lower lip. "More than likely, there will be enough water. But... there might not be a second tub. Either way, I'm happy enough to wait my turn if you'd like privacy."

Avis laughs at Nerea's reddened face. "I have nothing to hide. But if you would like privacy, you may bathe first; you need it more than I do, judging by the blood dried on your armor." Her eyes flit over Nerea. "But as you said. We'll see."

Amra Braegen: "Yes. *Ahem*. Let us finish up our business here so you ladies can freshen up at the inn and we can all get some well-deserved leisure and rest... It has been a long and tiresome day after all, with all the traveling and fighting... Defeating an entire orc tribe does call for a good, warm bath, I'd say..." Amra smiles and places a couple of wands and some scrolls and potions she has picked out on the counter.

Avis tears off a scrap of food and feeds it to Ikkri. "Seems as though our bard friend left town. That's too bad. It seems you won't be getting that dance with Nerea just yet, Kardalis."

Picking at his food and casting an eye towards Nerea, and then looks back at Avis.
"I...am absolutely...devastated. I can't possibly imagine how I will cope"

Nerea smirks. "I'm sure. Well, I'm too tired to dance anyway. I'd much rather finish eating and take that bath I mentioned earlier." She casts a look around the Cockatrice. "That is, unless there's another performer somewhere around here. Besides myself, I suppose."

After the warm bath and with a roof above her head Imarra changes out of her soaked clothes and changes into her warmer, cold weather clothes. A brown, thick and long woolen skirt with thin pants underneath for an extra layer of cloth and a blue and red checkered shirt with long sleeves, seemingly a size or two too large for her, along with tall, fur-padded boots. The cold weather clothes also include a warm hat, scarf and overcoat, but since they are inside she leaves them in her pack.

Imarra rejoins the others at the table, Nadra at her side and wet spots as if someone dried themself on her skirt in a suspiciously catlike shape. "I thank you for letting me go first." the witch speaks, giving the group a little bow before sitting down. With a faszinized glint in her eye Imarra tells the others "You won't believe me. Back in the bath Nadra actually started talking." propping the cat up on her lap "Come on, tell them.", but after glancing around the table and opening her mouth Nadra just proceeds to raise a hindleg and clean herself. Imarra quickly tries to stop and cover the cat. " I swear she did."

"Talking!" cries Ikkri. "Ikkri hears only strangers, and his own pretty voice."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Avis gently scolds, handing him another scrap of food. She looks between Imarra and Nadra. "I've heard of familiars gaining the power to speak to their masters as their masters' talents grow. Perhaps that is what is happening. What did she say to you?"

Fighting to keep Nadra from her indecent table manners, Imarra glanced at the cat before answering with a vague "Well, she really didn't like being in that bad weather because of me.".

Right as Nerea casts a look around the Cockatrice, she spots Bran Brighthand entering the establishment. The blond dwarf in the shiny plate armor adorned with the symbol of Tymora looks around and soon catches sight of Nerea and the other adventurers. He nods to Nerea and makes his way to their table.


Bran Brighthand: "There you are. I've reported to Badel Kilmander. He agreed to let me accompany you to Whisperwind Keep, but he could not spare additional troops. The Legionnaires at Kilmander's camp south of the river are hard-pressed by orcs of the Thousand Fists tribe, the same tribe which the Urgruems you rescued me from, are a part of. They have gotten more aggressive lately, the orcs, and scouts report that Thaugrul Heartripper, the ogrillon who leads them, is amassing a large force in the Thousand Maws and arming and training them for war - rumors say the orc hordes are preparing for war at the behest of King Obould Many-Arrows... The attacks on Kilmander's camp are most likely mere distraction..."

The news are a mixture of good and bad. Putting a hand to her chin Imarra thinks aloud to Bran "That sounds like trouble lies in the future. We can just hope that us striking back at the hitching post has the positive effect of making this area more defended than it was, instead of pressuring the orcs into action.". It is surely hard to predict what effects their actions will have further down the line, when they might already be off to another country and adventure. Imarra has yet to learn much before she can even attempt to predict such things. Her thoughts go to the preparations they undertook for their quest with the reward and an idea comes to her mind. "Sir Brighthand, do you know who is on charge of rebuilding the attacked outpost? I would like to help financing the efforts with whatever I can part with, to make it more secure.".

Bran Brighthand: "High Captain Kayl Moorwalker most likely, First Elder of Everlund's Council of Elders and commander of the Army of the Vale. He'll most likely use funding received from High Lady Alustriel howver, now that the League of the Silver Marches is a thing and the Army of the Vale is part of the Argent Legion... But if you want to support local army efforts, you'll want to talk with Badel Kilmander down at the Argent Legion camp southeast of the River Rauvin, the man I just came from. Kilmander's our commander here in Jalanthar and the Moon Pass..."

Myrdin Doedance: "Looks like the lot of us will have to suffice. I mean we did just take out an entire orc tribe. I don't want to downplay the risk of taking on Whisperwind Keep by ourselves, but after our little rescue mission in the Urgruem Caverns, I feel quite confident we can do this. As far as I've surmised, there are the Kreels - Sarvoth and Salena - two former Zhentarim turned Shadovar agents who are going to be our greatest challenge, then there are the Zhentarim henchmen working for them, probably easy enough work for a bunch like ours, and then lastly there are an unknown number of undead raised by the Kreels for whatever reason. With the additional gear we just bought, some planning ahead and a good night of rest, I feel confident we can do this! First of, knowing the layout of the compund will probably help us a great deal, and yes you guessed it, yours truly made a copy of a map of Whisperwind Keep as well, while I was at Folk Falknar." The moon elf with the blue-feathered hawk opens his satchel and pulls out a map of Whisperwind Keep, which he promptly makes room for and unfolds on the table in front of them...

Map of Whisperwind Keep:

At the news of more orcs, Avis groans, rolling her eyes. "I'm damned sick of fighting orcs. I say we put as much distance between us and them as possible, after we wrap up this business in the Keep. I'd rather face something more interesting."

As Doedance displays his map, Avis peers at it, lips pursed in thought. "I'm having a difficult time parsing this. Where is the entrance? What are these structures at the bottom? Tunnels? Streams? And that opening to the right, is that some sort of cavern?"

"We're in agreement, it seems," Nerea says to Avis, patting down the place in her armor where the Cave Father's weapon had struck her. "I don't know that I'd quite like to tangle with more orcs, after that last battle. The centipede, my frequent misses--" She smiles self-deprecatingly. "I may need some time for my ego to recover. Though I suppose that if I am needed, I will still answer the call."

She peers down at the map over the rim of her tankard, her brow furrowed in thought. "This map, however--how resourceful you are, Sir Doedance! Those tunnels--or caverns?--are they hidden passages? Secret entrances to the keep?"

Myrdin Doedance: The moon elf  smirks proudly at Nerea's compliment. He tries not to show it, but it is definitely noticeable. The Moonstar, however, quickly regains his composure and proceeds to answering the inquiries in a calm and collected manner:  "I never finished the map as it was the one I was working on, when the assault on the towing station happened. I do remember most details though. The main entrance to the compound is in the wall to the south. Those structures along the bottom are towers, and I believe the cavern to the east is for storing foodstuff and such. The lines down there are cliffs. Whisperwind is cut right out of the rock wall of the mountain, you see, drawing on the natural defenses the Moon Pass and its ravines offer... The cavern at the top of the map supposedly holds a natural spring, used by the builders of the keep as a well..."

Avis sighs. "Well, before we do anything, I'm still in desperate need of a bath." She turns to Nerea. "I was half-teasing before, but now I'm serious. Do you want to go to the bath together? I need a break from all this talk of dusty old keeps."

Nerea laughs and sets down the remainder of her drink. "It's almost as though you read my mind," she responds, with a small grin. Turning to the others, she says, "I might drop by again later. Perhaps we can finish planning then, but for now, I dearly need some rest. I'm glad you're here to assist us, Myrdin; the assault will go all the more smoothly with you and Sir Brighthand around."

Avis grins, flashing perfect teeth. "Wonderful. Let's be off, then. I hate the feeling of grime on my skin." At that, she rises from her seat and heads in the direction of the bath, looking over her shoulder for Nerea to follow.

With a wave at the others, Nerea stands and walks after her. "Wait a moment," she tells Avis. The further they walk from the table, the more their voices fade against the backdrop of the bustling tavern. "Do you even know where we're going...?"

The moon elf waits a bit for Avis and Nerea to leave, before picking up where he left of, so as to have the remainder of the table's full attention:  

Myrdin Doedance: "There's also supposedly an ancient Netherese stone contraption in the cavern with the spring, its arcane purpose still not discerned by any of the scholars who have investigated it... Perhaps the Kreels are using this device for something... Necromancy perhaps... Its true purpose could have been explained to them while they were prisoners of the Shades, and could very well be the very reason they're there..."

Amra Braegen: "Interesting detail indeed. It helps to know who we are up against and what their agenda might be, but I must however remind you of the fact that my employees and I are solely there to retrieve Jarvin Gaurraven, dead or alive... Our objective is not to deal with the Kreels, and neither does Silverymoon's High Lady, High Captain Moorwalker of Everlund or any other League of the Silver Marches patron pay us to do so..."

Bran Brighthand: "You can rest assured High Captain Moorwalker will reward us for our efforts, should we manage to clear the keep of the Kreels and their underlings... And as an official of the Argent Legion, I'll personally vouch for the legitimacy of such a claim, should we survive to present it to Kayl Moorwalker and his court. Such a reward would be quite handsome, I imagine, so perhaps a reevaluation of your objectives is in order..."

Kardalis leans into the conversation nodding in interest at the mention of the Netherese. "I must say, the Netherese have long been a fascination of mine, the Thayans.." Kardalis gives a somewhat apologetic look to Imarra for bringing them up ".. look like dabbling children and can't hold a candle to the arcane mastery that the Netherese empire commanded"
Listening further as their new companions explain the intricacies of the quest, he is encouraged by the inevitability of compensation should they be successful, and if their first venture was any indication, it truly had the potential to be fruitful.