You are visitor number
Because Ruqayyah grows lazy and lethargic during the new moon, the party decided to camp in the same place for a few days until she was over the worst of that phase, then continue on to Farvale. Laylah spent much of this time in or near the river, trying to catch fish and giving the other women their first swimming lessons. She and the others also spent time practicing with weapons and dancing.
4 Heatblight: Al-Zaki decided to spend the day and night hunting, then return to help watch Ruqayyah during the worst three days (5th-7th). He assured the others that he would be able to maintain the Mystic Mist spell on their campsite while absent. He returned the next day, with some fresh rabbits.
6 Heatblight: Naima dreamed of being stalked by a giant fish; on waking, the others reassured her that such fish did not dwell in this river.
Laylah dreamed of swans on the river, and woke up homesick. She meditated in order to ask her goddess whether that was a vision or wishful thinking--and more importantly, how they should go about talking to the dragon in her earlier vision. She was told that she would find the swans, or they would find her, in time. The dragon would talk to her when it was time.
Darra asked Al-Zaki about the lands to the south. He obliged, using an illusion spell to show her a crude map. First would be Farvale, near the Krithian border. The Ranae wanderers here were making the garrison nervous. A few days south of the border was the "Haunted Rift," which took two days to traverse. Rana, meeting-place of the Ranae tribes, lay just south of there. The one real threat in the Rift was a type of monster that hunted travelers to feed on their dreams. Al-Zaki knew of a haven halfway through the canyon, but would need to go ahead of the others to see if he would be allowed to bring companions. (He could also say no more about his reclusive friend there until then.) Horses would not help traverse the Rift more quickly, and would be spooked by the dream-eaters. Trying to bypass the Rift would be at least as dangerous, and slower going.
8 Heatblight: The party broke camp and resumed their trek south.
9 Heatblight: About midday, the party saw a fortress on a rocky promontory overlooking the river--the castle of Laylah's vision. They reached the village around Castle Farvale near dusk, and Al-Zaki took them to an inn, "The Last Cask," so named because it was the last place to buy a drink before reaching the southern border of the Empire. Outside the inn hung a peace-bonded sword and a jug painted with the eye of Rashira--symbols of the proprietor's desire for peaceful patrons. The bouncer was a large Ranae man, named Lafo, who apparently was acquainted with Al-Zaki. (The women also noted the racial resemblance between the two.) The mage made arrangements for rooms.
10 Heatblight: Al-Zaki reported that Lafo had had no recent news from the south, but would check with his kinsmen here in Farvale.
Laylah and Ruqayyah inquired about temples in town. The castle had a small temple for the garrison, and the town had three small shrines for townsfolk: one Quadralunic, one Elemental (Uralor) and one Celestian. This area was rather nosiy, so the two women went outside of town to pray. Laylah began trying to teach Ruqayyah how to meditate properly.
Darra wished to locate Bran and Fran in order to learn recent local news. Al-Zaki introduced her to Lady Bladwith, the inn's owner, who knew of the two brothers. Bladwith arranged to send a message to them at the castle.
11 Heatblight: Bran and Fran came to the inn to trade news with Darra and her friends. The brothers had passed what they knew about the necromancer Curazal Taroq to the garrison, but no patrols had found any trace of him yet. Their commanders still could not tell the intent of Taroq's cryptic notes on this region.
The brothers also revealed that a castle guardsman claimed to have seen a dragon the night before. However, he was known to drink on duty, so was an unreliable witness. The women asked to speak with him (but did not reveal that Laylah had seen a dragon's shadow in a vision). Bran and Fran arranged to have the guardsman, Ger, meet the women over dinner that evening. He told them that he had seen a large winged creature flying at some distance from the river, silhouetted by the setting sun. (That direction did not fit with the party's southward travel plans, but a flying dragon could be highly mobile.)
Return to the Arcadayn Journal index page.
Return to the Arcadayn index. | Return to the Game Room. | Return to the Traumhaus Foyer.
This page last revised 2/25/2000. | © 2000 Timothy E. Emrick. | time@neu.edu