The party, after a week of traveling hard and fast from the former site of the raiders of the Black Scorpion Gang, after heeding the warning of the prisoner, Warren the Zhent, arrive in the city of Shade to discover the city is as its name suggests, shaded by a combination of high arcane energies and shadow infused magic.

The first inn that seems acceptable to all is: The Dark Bard, which despite its foreboding name is actually quite cheery and well lit. Ironically, there is no bard inside though the place bustles with customers.

Roughly 23 people of various races are inside the inn, there are a few empty tables and a spot or two at the bar is clear. The bartender appears to be a middle aged human with gleaming brown skin and no hair except for his dark brown eyebrows. His bright blue eyes note your party's entry and he motions one of the two serving wenches over, both also human with brown skin.

Your server cleans the first table you approach with the speed of an experienced worker and promptly brings the party's requested drinks and food over then leaves you alone. The second server puts her tray on the bar and then jumps onto a large table, hiking up her swirling red skirts and starting to dance as one of the visitors starts an impromptu song with a drum which is quickly followed by his two table mates adding a gittern and a fife to the mix.

ooc: rp go.
_{EDIT: Changed the group to 6.  --Windwalker}
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:45, Wed 16 Apr 2008.

Lysande felt awkward and out of place in the inn. She had drawn her hood deep into her face to hide, in particular her ears, from being noticed. Listlessly she looked at the foreign food that was served and picked in it with her dagger. Aluvendar, her black raven companion, however, was only too thrilled about the mix of dried fruits and meat and occasionally cawed, then added something in the elven tongue.  Lysande looked up, torn from her thoughts about Mourn's missing brother and the results of their raid on the Black Scorpio's base. "Lletwey al'ethwyned, ney traberech almagalen." she replied with a dark look that seemed to quiet the comparatively large bird.

Lysande's thoughts went back to the day when they had met Mourn, or Elora as Respar had called him. They had tried to persuade him to surrender, after the fighting broke out and the sun elven mage and her companions had gained the upper hand. After initial hesitation, some force had seemed to override his real decision and Lysande had been forced to end his life with a carefully aimed arrow. She had tried to reach him, tried to heal him with her wand, but he rejected her help. Instead he gave her the hints that allowed them to find the raider's base and end the threat to the trade route and people of the Anauroch. Still she felt his sacrifice was unnecessary, the death of distant kin was always unnecessary. At least to her. She dropped the dagger on the plate and leaned back, she wasn't hungry. Lysande's hand crept up her cloak and she felt the silver needle Respar had given her. She had become a member of the silver blades, a brother- and sisterhood of elves devoted to help other elves in times of need. Although she hadn't left the oasis with a mission, she still felt as if she had failed her mentor. As if she had turned and ran, leaving the real job to be done by the Zhents.

Lysande grimaced at the thought of the Zhentish, they had had a contract. A contract to find the enemy base and recover the stolen goods from the Zhentarim traders. But what did they get? Nothing, the Zhents had claimed they did not fullfill the contract because their fellow Zhents had decended upon the raider's base and not the companions. They wouldn't have found the base if it hadn't been for Lysande and her friends but of course that didn't count when it came to the letters of the contract. The sun elf felt bile on her tongue and her chest cramped for a second. "I... I need some fresh air." she said, got up quickly and left the inn...

No longer requiring food nor drink for sustenance, Aelynia was able to fully focus on her three companions and the other patrons of the tavern they were in while her dear friends ate.  Their trials had been hard, their journey had been long, but still the monk was as peaceful as ever, her look one of utter serenity.  Until, that is, she noticed Lysande growing more and more upset.  She picked up on tiny cues that not many people would.  Whether it was her elven blood, a gift from her god, or simply the deep loyalty and devotion she had for her friends that allowed her to sense the struggles in Lysande was anyone's guess.

Not a moment after the sun elf rose for air, the wild elf rose as well, giving Joseph and Alister a small smile that showed she would take care of their companion before slowly following Lysande out, giving the other woman a moment of peace alone.

Outside, Aelynia took a deep breath despite the perpetual shadows and the general ill feeling she got being in such a place.  Then she looked around for Lysande, gentle concern etched on her beautiful, delicate features.

Even so soon after arriving, it was clear that the evil and malice of this place was not agreeing with Joseph at all - he'd grown up in the woodlands of the North, had spent many a winter in the snow, sometimes even crossing into Icewind Dale for hunting trips or to trade with the towns there.  And then, he'd arrived at the great desert Anauroch, and somehow he'd adjusted to it, too - it was all nature, and as a worshipper of Mielikki, there was little he could do but revere it, even if it were not his beloved grasslands.  Before leaving for the City of Shade, he had cut loose the camel who had served him so well, letting her go with the prisoners they had freed, and now he knew how right that had been - this was not a place for anything natural.  Even Joseph's mood began to grow darker with every minute spent there, and only the presence of Aelynia nearby was helping him. . .  so when she left, he almost spoke up, begging her to stay with him, but instead he closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.  He intended to make sure their stay there would be as short as possible, he longed to feel sand (or grass, or marshland, or even snow) under his feet again, and more than ever, he longed for his home which no longer existed.

OOC: evil and malice? **lifts eyebrow in query** I don't think I described evil, but okay....

He was smiling.

He doesn't look like a paragon of justice or anything, just a country bumpkin walking into a city.  Alister for all he know was walking inside a normal city.  Well exclude the flying qualities and curious stare given to him by the locals it was normal as it could get.  He was a rugged young man fresh from the desert, his grabs are all worn only his weapons are properly maintained.  The locals won't even have a clue that he is a paladin of Tyr until he starts smiting.

He looks around the tavern with an innocent eyes.  It was a lively place compared to the desert oasis, and the food.  Hopefully it would be a lot better, especially without the sand on it.

"Oi, Lynsande..."  The graceful sun elf left for fresh air.  Alister took a few bites from his food before chasing the sun-elf.  Okay, it wasn't the food that upsets her.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:45, Thu 17 Apr 2008.

Lysande stood outside and took a deep breath, then another. It wasn't the strange smells and smoke that burned in her eyes. Yet still they stung and threatened to spill tears. The sun elf walked over to Mourn's mare and gently touched the beautiful animal, finding solace in the creature that had been Elora's companion. As such both of them shared the loss, Lysande perhaps not as closely, but definately as deeply. "Ai, el leidmirtue Elora danangalar." she said and buried her head in the horses neck.  Lysande stood silently, allowing the tears to flow, not noticing her companions worrying about her.

OOC:  Well, it is a floating city of darkness, with a population of evil shades, created by the powerful magics of an evil netherese archmage.  :p  Plenty of evil there, at least for Joseph, heh.

"We better..."  Alister taps Lynsande's shoulder, he was smiling calmly not expecting her to cry out in the open.  "... you'll only be richer in salt and wrinkles if you keep on doing that..."

Quietly walking up behind Lysande, Aelynia wrapped a slender yet strong arm around the other elf's waist comfortingly.  "Amin mani," she whispered softly, knowing that something terrible was gnawing at her friend's heart.

"Err... what?" Lysande said in surprise and turned around as she felt somebody touching her. Seeing it was two people the girl pressed backwards, against Mourn's and quickly dried her tears with the sleaves of her tunic. "I... uh..." she looked at Aelynia then Alister, then back to Aelynia until she finally looked to the ground. "I am alright. It is ... it was just too crowded." being 'cornered' by her two companions, the sun elf felt kind of threatened and searched to escape the embarrassing situation. "I am alright. Do not worry about it!" she took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"Yeah, it pretty wild compared to Anauroch."  Alister replied after some awkward silence.  "We better get back inside, we still have a bucket loads of unfinished businesses..."

Ever sensitive to the needs of others, Aelynia respectfully backed off and nodded, hiding the hurt in her eyes from the elf's rebuttal for the sake of Lysande.  It would do not good to heap more guilt upon her shoulders, Aelynia knew.  With a small nod, Aelynia turned and went back inside to Joseph.  He knew her so well, though, that it was very likely he noticed she was upset or some such thing as she sat back down beside him.

As soon as Aelynia returned, Joseph took her hand in his, and placed her on his lap, holding her close to him.  As he held her tightly to him, he drew on her strength while also offering her his own in support, until he felt he could relax again.

Lysande took a few more minutes before the emotional turmoil subsided. She shouldn't let this get to her so deeply, but the truth was: It felt as if she had killed her brother. The elf took a deep breath. Then another one until she found the strength to return to her friends.

Once inside she sat down on her seat and managed to eat at least a few bites, mostly of the fruits. Aluvendar sensed the distress in his mistress' heart and kept quiet, allowing her to order her thoughts.

"Ai, what will we do now? We did not get paid for infiltrating the raider's base but we did get some compensation from that merchant. Do you have any plans for the future?" Lysande asked and looked at each of them.

OOC: the party picked up the crate of potions mentioned in the OOC thread from Warren's shop prior to coming to the tavern. Now would be an appropriate time for someone to recall the strange map as packing material around the potions and since you are in a tavern, if anyone wanted to gather information by asking questions or just listening (please specify in your post) and give me some roles. We won't leave the tavern thread until the party has a chosen course of action.

Alister moves around the crowded tavern looking for someone who looks friendly enough too talk with.  Hopefully he would find one.

--- ooc
oh is there a 'good' person inside the tavern beside the three people I'm with?

OOC: assuming you are using detect evil? Yes, roughly half the tavern is of good alignment on the axis.

Aelynia sat peacefully cuddled on Joseph's lap, drawing just as much strength from him as he got from her.  Every passing day brought her closer to him, and more and more she was able to put away the sorrow of her past because of his strength and the comfort he provided.  When Lysande returned and then spoked, Aelynia softly replied, "I never have any plans.  I simply go where Ilmater seems to want me."

"Get back to the Dale Lands and set up a bakery?"  Alister seriously answered as he continues to scan the crowd.  "Oh by the way, roughly half of the patrons are nice people."

"Plans?  No...  not really.  Before we met, I was a ship lost at sea, going where the wind would take me.  I have no quests I need to accomplish, no home to return to.  I will go whereever Aelynia goes, and keep her from hurting herself too much.  Though, I do hope to walk the woodlands again, sometime soon...  the desert is part of nature, as well, but it cannot compare to the beauty of the forest," Joseph replied after spending a few moments lost in thoughts.

Lysande listened patiently to her friend's words about their plans, or absence thereof. Idly she played with the paper that had come together with the potions, realizing suddenly it was some sort of map. The mage pulled it away and straightened it out on the table before her, wondering what it was telling her.

Aluvendar hopped on the lithe elf's shoulder, cawing and speaking something into her ear. He smelled of hot spices that seemed to have drenched the food they had been served. At first Lysande frowned, then started to giggle "Al thanathé Aluvendar, ith lebethan ad vanaeth!"  Then proceded to fill her empty mug with water from her flask. Eagerly the large bird began to swallow as much as it could as quickly as was possible. The sun elf felt her familiar's plight and stroked his ruffled feathers gently.

"So what's that paper about?"  Alister after finishing his meal asked Lysande after noticing her amused look.

In viewing the paper, which resembles a very crude map one can see that a swampy area has been sketched in the middle of a desert region with the ocean on one side and high cliffs on the other. It appears an odd place for a swamp, considering the dryness of a desert.

Some hard to read hand writing is scribbled in various places on the map. It looks like a smaller section at the lower end of the paper shows a type of cave with a 'Y' shaped drawing with scribbles in the paths there as well.

The writing is not easy to read though the numbers 1-4 in a small list appear.

(OOC: if anyone has decipher script, have at it. Otherwise,actions go!)

ooc: I don't think anyone of us has decipher script.

Lysande squinted, trying hard to make out what had been written on the map. She held it up in the light of a window, hoping it would help.