Volsh rubs his chin in thought. "Strange very strange." He looks over at Laask. "These shadows, where do they come from, is there a place they live, can be found?"

Dellas smiles at Kel, nodding in approval as he reaches out to pet Kel on the head, for his little show and his gathering of pebbles

"Very Good, Very good. I do wish you could speak though. It would be easier. I suppose though being made of stone, leaves you without the proper ability to do so. It is to bad. I am sure you would have many good things to say. Do you require anything of me?"

Dellas then takes another bite out of his bread and cheeses he had brought with him, and lays some out for Vish and Kel if they want some.

"Vish come out here and meet Kel, he seems like a good friend doesn't he?"

Dellas looked up from his two small companions to at the taller one discussing the shadows, that was something interesting as well, fire makes some great shadows you know. I wonder if it was just an illusion he ponders to himself

"What if it was an illusion?" he pipes up.

"A killer illusion?" Narthian says quietly to Dellas. "It is unnatural, whatever it is. But it has real consequences. I am no expert in the planes, but to me, extra-planar seems more likely. Or undead."

"When I was in school, I heard of a sort of magic, Shadow Magic. Those who practice it and create sort of illusions that mimic other things. As with illusions, disbelieving can help those caught in its effects. Otherwise, tough luck for them.

What happened could have been due to something like that."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 02:10, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

"That sounds so ... perverse." he says with a slight shudder.

"As my great-grand pappy would say, 'Evildoers believe the ends justify the means...and perversity adds spice.'

In case you're interested, he also said, 'The trouble with perversity is that you gotta' have more and more perversity to get the same effect.'"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 02:11, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

Grollock furrows his brow, and nods at Laask again.

"Not see them come.  Just heard screaming, saw them fighting those on the road, left before they could get me.  Didn't want to lead them back to the clan," Laask says.



After Grollock hears that, he actually nods at Dulgran, the oldest troll, to answer.  "Legends say, Cave of Shadows, where Kul-varak the Monster-Mother gave birth to evil, is where the shadows come from.  Legends say Cave of Shadows is below Fire Maw Mountain.  We do not go there.  It is cursed."



"Aye, that's becoming clearer by the minute," the Commander says, looking faintly troubled.  "The road to the priests' holy site and the tribute road from Firegold Citadel come within a half mile of each other, though it's not easy to get to either road easily from the other due to elevations.  But both roads also pass near Smoke Peak, which is what the trolls are calling Fire Maw Mountain.  We need to mount an expedition immediately."

He takes a moment to think, and then turns to the group and the Guard nearby.  Master Deyna has been lurking in the back, taking in what has been said without comment, but now she creeps forward to listen to the news.

"A two-prong expedition.  Ten of the Guard, plus the Troll Hunters, will accompany Grollock's band back to their clan holdings and then trail the priest road back towards Smoke Peak.  Leafblade Company, if you and Master Deyna agree, I want to send you with a guide and message runners back along the tribute road, also towards Smoke Peak.  We have too many coincidences and need answers."

Master Deyna looks at the group and gives both a nod and bit of a shrug.  "I can't leave without the tribute, and we're not getting that without getting to the bottom of this.  I'll send my own message to Port Lyalee about our delays.  I can't give you additional payment for this-"

"But I can," the Commander says firmly.  "For taking the burden off my men, and providing magical expertise, I can offer you fair recompense, plus salvage not related to the tribute, if found.  What say you?"

"I'm ready!" Lantamori called out, waving at the rest of the company from the back of Cloud.  "Mount up!"

Volsh holds his hand to pause the others. "Commander, Master Deyna, have either of you seen this symbol before?" He asks taking a moment to describe the symbol of the raiders who destroyed his village. "It may not be connected at all but something about this situation seems odd. I was told before a convoy from Firegold Citadel was attacked by raiders with this symbol..."

Haazheel looks at the trolls and gathers his courage. "You are warriors to be feared. I'm guessing you want to live and let live. Are you willing to join us on this, to end the menace to these people and to your people? I'm, uh, speaking just for myself."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 06:07, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

Master Deyna shakes her head, not recognizing the symbol, but Commander Brighthearth looks surprised by it.  "That's Ironmaw's symbol!  I have some distant cousins in Firegold Citadel, and Guthbar Ironmaw is one of them.  He was a guard on the tribute caravan some six moons ago, and they were attacked by some vicious band of raiders.  They lost some of the wagons, and those that weren't lost were painted with that symbol.  They thought it was some rogue orc band and retaliated, and haven't had any problems since...  But he said the attackers moved well in darkness, and no one got a good look at them.  The markings looked orcish, and orcs are the most common enemy, so thinking it was just a clever orc band made sense at the time.  This might not be connected to our recent attacks, but it's not something to discount."



Grollock looks at Haazheel for a long time, and finally speaks.  "That is why we came."

Dellas smiles at Kel & Vish as he allows them to play, before standing and turning his attention to the conversation at hand, sounds like we are headed out on an adventure.

Dellas looks at the commander "Sounds fun. I get to burn things? Right?" He looks over to the trolls "No, not you. As long as you don't try to eat me and my friends I won't burn you again." turning back to the commander he awaits to see what else is said.

"Sooner is better. Let us hope that we find nothing more then perhaps a scout of these shadows. Our spellcasters are not properly prepared for much beyond a chance encounter."

Curious about these shadows, Dante nods absently in agreement to going to find the missing tribute shipment. If it means leaving this hulking stone structure, it sounds worthwhile. His only concern is whether or not ordinary weaponry can touch these shadows, because aside from his two remaining holy arrows -- and Ehlonna's bow, of course -- all his weaponry is rather ordinary.

"I have used very little of my spell selection, especially considering I have been gifted with more since we slew that vampire spawn. If Lantamori wishes to continue on tonight, I at least should be more than effective, although most of my magics were prepared for hunting undead," the priest responded, absently tugging at the new armor around his body as he gets used to the much less restrictive nature of the magical chains. "I do not know much of shades and shadows, but a dose of Pelor's concentrated light should more than do the trick in a pinch," he laughed. "So whenever you all are ready, we can commence. Before we leave, I would like to see if they have any bolts readied with the taggit poison for purchase, or perhaps I could ready some myself if the poison is available instead. Not that the average shadow would be effected by drowsiness..." he grinned.

Haazheel is pondering. "These shadow-things may be all illusion but may be real or half-real. Commander, have you any whips in your arsenal?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 16:11, Tue 23 Oct 2018.

Kel and Vish seem to get along splendidly - perhaps because Kel doesn't tire easily, or perhaps because Kel's wings allow Vish to fly as well.  Now you have a flying weasel.  Nothing will be safe from Vish's inquiring nose ever again.

The trolls understandably do not look particularly friendly when glancing in Dellas' direction, but Sir Aberlayne's casual pose with her hand upon her axe near Dellas keeps their responses just to looks.



"You won't get to the sites tonight, I wager.  The ambush site for the priests was two days away from here, and the tribute caravan must have been delayed at least that far away, because that's beyond the reach of our patrols.  If we can't prepare for anything in two days, we deserve to be surprised," Commander Brighthearth says.




"It's a bear to make, I'm certain you heard.  We have to keep some in reserve, but I believe Brother Val said he could spare a half-dozen, if you'll pay him fifty gold an arrow.  The process is wretchedly expensive and time-consuming," he says.



He nods thoughtfully.  "We do.  Some are in the stables, and there are a few in reserve for discipline.  If you want one, just speak to the stable master before you go.  Anything else needful before you go?"

Haazheel replies, "Perhaps just a  stray thought, but it came to me that whips might be useful against these shadow things...stir up the air so to speak."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:29, Tue 23 Oct 2018.

Narthian frowns at the mention of whips, and / or the fact that they're available at the stables - doubtless for use by the ignorant on poor creatures who know better. Not that Haazheel was proposing any such use, it's just... whips in general.

Overall, he's not confident in getting more useful information from the trolls. They're not known to be overly studious after all. He nods at the fact that there will likely be time to prepare for "shadow creatures" before encountering them, and is ready to leave when his companions are.

Lantamori practiced dramatically draping herself across Cloud as if she'd fallen asleep waiting on the others.

"I think I can hear them dying from here, Cloud," she confided to the horse.  "Slipping away, one by one."

Stroking Prreet, Dante looks around at the others. "The shadows are real creatures. Prreet has fought them before. But I believe they are only vulnerable to enchanted weapons, and probably magic as well. Does everyone who can't cast spells have such a weapon? I have only two of Ehlonna's blessed arrows left, and nothing else."

"You're welcome to the 3 that I still have, Averdante," Narthian offers. "Thunder and I will have other means for fighting such things."

Dante nodded at Narthian's offer. "My thanks," he told the other elf. "It might help."

Haazheel does procure two whips.

OOC: Please direct all in-character correspondence to the new Caravan Trip: Firespine Mountains and Beyond thread!