Provisions collected, and fresh horses saddled, the group readies itself to leave Therion.  Friends old and new are missing, Phineas - and Orissa perhaps - missed most.  Saris and Xar ride on smaller horses, though both apparently can ride well enough.  Xarini is there as well, her modest gear enhanced with a new suit of plated leather.  Mairen, relieved to be off to rescue her son, is packed and eager.  Her time has been spent learning a bit of self defense so that she is not such a liability on the trip.

Dagnir Therion and a few others have come to see the group off: Tierloff, Usigami, and Haverno of the visiting smiths as well as Haethar, the royal gardener.  Hushed conversation around the stable yard is further dampened by the dense fog that has rolled in, signaling the oncoming autumn weather.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:26, Sun 15 Jan 2017.

Ourn shakes the hands of those he does know, gives polite nods to those he doesn't and gives a bow to Duke Therion. He isn't much for words when it comes to farewells, and having recently had so many people come and go from his current walk in life, he doesn't exactly know what to say either. As he saddles up, he gives his equipment a once over, methodically checking each pouch and pocket for its assigned item. He wears his new daggers at his hips, with his long sword and buckler strapped to the saddlebags of his horse.

Ryland is somewhat taken aback at the crowd that's drawn together to see the group off. He admires those he'll be traveling with, for keeping such good and broad company. He feels he's made the right decision deciding to petition them for the right to accompany them. He takes to the saddle of his horse without trouble of hesitation, and then waits patiently.

When the group privately is together, Klale says I have been able to craft two glyphs with my limited skill and experience.  He then proceeds to explain how they work.

OOC:
With thanks to GM. I think full info will serve the party best.

Glyph of the Feather

This glyph makes the armor worn one weight class lighter than normal.  This affects several stats.

-Armor check penalties are reduced by 2.
-Armor proficiencies change - e.g. someone proficient in medium armor but not heavy can wear heavy armor with this glyph and be considered proficient while the glyph lasts.
-Max DEX mod is increased by 3.
-Encumbrance is reduced by 25%.
-Climb, Jump, Ride, and Swim checks are made with no armor penalties.

Once per glyph, the wearer of the armor can activate the glyph to act as a feather fall effect.  The effect lasts until the wearer touches the ground.  Once they do, the effect ends and the glyph is destroyed.

The glyph, one applied, will last for fifteen days or until the feather fall effect is used.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:43, Sun 22 Jan 2017.

As they leave, Klale has a request to those who wish the group well. There are powers for the Good abroad in the world and it may be powers who can offer help from realms beyond our ken. Please keep us in your thoughts and, if so moved, pray for us.

Then he takes the van save for any scouting.

(Klale has two of the stoutest horses available so that each will be relatively fresh. There are also pack horses.)

Toben bids his farewells to all who arrived to see them off. He stops when he comes to shake hands with Dagnir. "Thank you for everything. Truely. A light in the world such as this is going to bring hope to more than you know. Keep it burning as bright as you can."

He smiles warmly. "Once this is all over, it would be an honor to call this place home."

Toben gives them all a final nod and then makes his way for the road north.

"Klale.  What do ya propose t' do wi' yer new li'l friend all chained up in th' tower.  I imagine th' place won't smell right when we return if we forget 'bout 'im.  Tha' an' I'm not one for cruelty, even t' th' likes o' 'im."

Ano mounts up along side the others making sure he has his few possessions with him.  He bids a respectful farewell to the Duke.

Since the arrival of Ryland Ano has been mostly quiet towards the musician.  He has not been secretive about his distrust for thr man, always keeping a close watch.

With a quiet farewell, the heroes of Arda depart Therion.  They travel north through the duchies to the west, hoping to avoid the most chaotic of them so as not to hinder their progress.

The road, though, is a familiar one at this point.  It leads close enough to Towertown that a stopover might happen the first night.  From there, though, the group will need to travel north rather than west as before.

[forgot all about him. My excuse is (fill in the blank).]

Klale considers the fate of Kark. He offers him choices:

"Kark, you can stay here as a prisoner, treated well. If you do, you will be guarded and either work in the scullery or serve as a sparring partner for older children. You can expect to live a full life with a full belly if we prevail....otherwise, nobody will live except wretchedly.

or

"You can come with us, unchained, to help us against the evil attempting to exslave all, have all in fear...including goblins. If we do our part in stopping this evil, goblins will have a chance to live free as they wish provided they do no harm to others except in self-defense. Be warned. If you try to leave us without permission or try to betray us, you will die...and you may die anyway.

"Before you decide, weigh carefully your ability to withstand temptation, for evil surely will attempt to lure you. (Klale smiles grimly.) As I expect it will try to lure each of us."

Kark does his best to follow Klale's offers.  When the big man finishes, Kark blinks and looks around at all the other heavily armed and armored individuals who took down his army and its four troll mage leaders.

"I can go wid you or stay here wid food ana shelter ana...ana no fightin or beatin?"  He looks over at Therion who nods respectfully.  Then the goblin looks back at Klale.  "I stay."

Klale nods and bows to Duke Therion. Lord, I deliver Kark to your watch and care.

That business concluded, Klale is departed.

With the journey pressing forward, Toben takes the spare time to get to know their new travel companion.

"So, Ryland, where exactly did you say you hailed from?"

"Gondor actually. Though I haven't returned to its gleaming white walls and bastions in quite some time now. I'm from all over, really".

"I suppose that goes for most of us lately. From all over, that is. I've seen more of this land in the past few months than I have in all my years." Toben smirks. "All 17 of them."

"In fact, this area is fairly familiar to me. We passed through here just as we were starting out on our journey. I think perhaps it might be a good idea to see how things are going. Towertown shouldn't be too far ahead"

Saris and Xar have no opinion either way having never been.

Mairen, though, urges speed toward saving her son and avoiding sidetracks.  She suggests visiting after you save her son.

"Towertown? I haven't been through there in ages. I wonder if Marny still runs the Twin Toadstools?".

"I don't know who Marny is, but when last I passed by, the entire town looked to be under some sort of martial law. There were patrols in the streets, archers on roof tops, and a rather oppressed looking lot of common folk. I didn't set foot much within the perimeter of the place. Only enough to see that it wasn't a place for me to be at the time. If things there haven't changed, I don't see us waltzing in and clearing the town out in a days time. Just some food for thought".
This message was last edited by the player at 05:25, Sat 28 Jan 2017.

Considering Marien's words ad Ourn's information, Klale changes his mind. Then we'd better press on.

"Agreed. Even though I'd like to check in on them, we can't afford any delays in our travel."

He gazes out in the direction of Towertown. "North it is."

Destination set, the party continues north skirting between Stharane's duchy and the turtle-shaped forest.  On the north side of the forest, the group cuts through would would be the head of the turtle to avoid entering any dukedoms.  So far, there haven't seemed to be any distractions, but there is something in the air that speaks to tension.  An expectation of violence.  Sure enough, on the fifth day out of Therion, smoke rises on the horizon to the North.  The dukedom is one nestled in some high hills that don't quite deserve the designation of mountain.  These hills are on the coast of the Sea of Ice, south of the Soul's Range and your goal.

Mairen sees the smoke then looks about at the men in the group to see if they will deviate from their stated goal again to help another duchy instead of her son.  She says nothing, though, knowing that one life is difficult to weigh against hundreds, maybe thousands.