Heavy Load

So a simple piece of magical paper turned our situation upside down. What set out to be a simple investigation of trade disturbances suddenly became a responsibility to prevent an insane cult from killing all name-giver races - or did it? Was it in fact our responsibility, or should we just report it back?

A lot of names were mentioned in Aubrin's (Forest) report, two of which were familiar. Silas we knew from the Temple of the Twelve, and Freya just brought me back to health after the Experience Death ordeal. And how could it be that the heiress of the most bloodthirsty of the troll moots becomes a questor of Garlen? She was definitely not faking beneath a white-robed disguise, my scars can vouch for that. We decided that this lead was too close to let pass, and sent Ajisha back to Daiche to try and bring her out to talk to us.

The windling disguised herself as a bulky male of her race, using that uncanny talent troubadours have. She later reported that, since it was late, the town was deserted and the inns all but closed. Her search yielded nothing, so she headed outside of town to the encampments beyond. There she changed her disguise to that of a sickly female windling, in need of healing. She was given directions, not to where Freya was, but gruff man who offered here another type of healing - in the form of a vial of mescal. This was the new drug mentioned in Aubrin's report, and I hope to gather some useful information from studying its alchemical properties. This man gave her more than a vial of the drug though, he also let her know that he had plans for Freya, as she was probably intent on stopping his trade in that gold mine of a drug.

Meanwhile Jarl and myself decided to try and learn more about the huge tome brought back from the Temple. Little did I know then that I was about to make the single most important discovery in my whole life, the though of which makes my hand tremble even now, when the initial impact subsided. We pitched our magic reading abilities against it. First we found out that it was in Theran, and obviously very old. Then that it was none other than the Second Book of Harrow, translated from the original by Elinar Messias, as written by the scribe Tarish Ferros. The Second Book of Harrow. Literally one of the foundations of Thera and a huge repository of arcane knowledge. It lay there on the ground, beckoning me with a nasty grin. Half remembered tales of scribes dying while translating the Books of Harrow came back to me. I exchanged a long silent glance with Jarl, and in unison we closed the tome. Two thoughts crossed my mind then. What was Silas planning to do with this ancient knowledge? And more importantly, how could we prevent it from falling back again into his hands?

We were interrupted by Ahmok, who announced that he was off to see why Ajisha was taking her time. It seems he met her on the way back, and tey returned to share what she'd learnt. Ahmok decided to go back to town during the day, to attempt to confront her. They found her at Pappi's, in the company of Dvorak. He scowled at them, but they explained why they were there. They took her by the side, and told her about how they thought she was the daughter of the troll Chorak, and that if she reclaims her rightful leadership then the senseless raiding and pillaging of the different moots would stop, and stability be restored. She stared back blankly, denying she was Chorak's daughter. Ahmok and Ajisha were not too convinced, and tried talking her out of it. She would have none of it, and would not even come with them to talk outside town, as it would be seen as a sign of defeat in her struggle against the Mescal pusher.

While this was happening we were beset by windling thieves. Injuries were inflicted on both sides, my left and my right... We didn't want to kill them off, and so Jarl managed to convince them to leave in exchange for their leader's life, who he had downed. This encounter was enough of a nuisance to warrant a return to Freya's healing touch, for which I shall be eternally grateful. Long story short she was not going anywhere. We thanked her anyway, and I think she realised that we were not quite buying her story.

Back outside of town, and we had our first major argument as a party. Jarl and myself concluded that the most important thing to do at this point was to take the Tome to Throal, to deposit it with the Library there for safekeeping. The others wanted to finish the mission and return Aubrin's note and news of his fate to Varadi Farion in Travar. It went on and on, and Ahmok and Jarl were the most stubborn about it. Issues of the party's leadership inevitably came up, as a leader would have solved this argument quickly. Finally I suggested a compromise - we would take the note and report to Travar, on condition that we resolve the issue of the Tome immediately afterwards. I realised that if the party split up to reach both goals at the same time we would be more vulnerable to attack, thus a greater chance that the Tome falls back into the wrong hands.