Caitlin cast a spell and the magic hand picked up the rolled note and brought it to her.

Inspecting it briefly for anything out of the ordinary, Caitlin did not hesitate long and unfurled the parchment...

Caitlin unrolled the note and looked at both sides of the page.

The centaur looked to Cailin, inquiry written all over the former's face...

Caitlin frowned slightly, not sure what to make of the note, understanding only half of the message. "Well, the note on this side is a call for help. The other side I cannot read. Does anyone of you know what language this is?" she said, presenting the parchment to anyone interested... Talrand in particular, if only to answer his inquiring face.

Kora pulls out a wand and discharges a spell. "Let me try it now" he suggests, reaching out his hand for the document.


Using 1 charge of Comprehend Languages.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:33, Tue 06 Feb.

Kora took a look at both sides of the note.

Kora says Two notes. First  “I am being held prisoner by cultists please rescue me.”
Long message: “You are respectfully invited to attend a great gathering in the North… forces loyal to the Lord of Bones… skills and experience will be of great service… the usurper, Lothian, and all who stand against… …Qwes, ruined city.” Chemash is the Lord of Bones, God of Death, murderers, and crazed cultists. Probably the same cultists holding the other writer. 

Tavion walked over to the bones and examined them.

"I wonder how they managed to get the note here," Tavion wondered out loud as he walked over to the bones.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:19, Wed 07 Feb.

As they took their time to look over the note and get it magically translated, the skeleton started moving after a while. It scrambled to its feet and skittered off along the trail towards Rockhorde.

As the skeleton got up and moved towards town, Caitlin merely shrugged "Looks like we just found the answer to the last question. Lets follow it to its destination." she told her companions. "Any bets we will find both authors where it's heading to?" the sorceress added on a lighter note.

Talrand considered Kora's words, complimenting skills as the former rubbed his chin, and wandered about in thought.  "Qwes...  Qwes... that makes me think Solamnic? Feeleth like a fallen Solamnic place to mine memory.  I'm trying to remember just where - north or east of Kalaman, I want to say, so likely enough somewhat along our way... No, I cannot place it.  I remember hearing the name once, but where exactly, I don't recall.

"Interesting, though, that the Lord of Bones is gathering forces when we find word of the 'Bones of the Past' being important.  Beyond the goodly deed of rescuing a captive, there might therein lie more answers to the items we have discovered."  He raised his brows meaningfully.  "And perhaps time moves a touch more swiftly in need then thought we of the issue."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:19, Wed 07 Feb.

GM passing a message.

The centaur's musings were not quite complete, however, for his mind turned over the other names mentioned in the letter as well.

"Lothien.   Hmmm...

"The only Lothien that cometh to mind was a Silvanesti cleric of Mishakel, tied to Kayleigh Starfinder of the royal house of Silvanesti, if mine memory of the tales is accurate.  Back, back, before the War of the Lance.  The pair worked together to cleanse Silvanesti of the morass causethed by the Nightmare King Lorac, when he was tricked and betrayed, and spread horrors unnamed across their lands."  The centaur pursed his lips, half-closing his eyes as he cast his mind back upon some tome or scroll he had read, or a recounting he had heard.  "As I recall, they were interrupted in their efforts.  She was slain - by a powerful Death Knight, I believe it was.  A sad tale of two proud people forced together, finding a love and common purpose, only to then be riven apart.

"I cannot recall mention of her past that point, which is troubling to mine ear to hear suggestion that she remains now, but as a -usurper, thou said?  To an evil god as Chemosh?  Troubling, indeed.  A possibility there is another by the same name... but something within feeleth 'tis not a separate personage."

The centaur waved away the cobwebs of stories of yesteryear, and gestured ahead to the ogre city.  "In any event, if none here beith familiar with its location, we may yet findeth its location within the city - perhaps with what we seek of the Alignment magics, or unguents or cleaning agents to restoreth this most excellent work of history."

Tavion halted as the skeleton reassembled itself, his initial shock quickly giving way to curiosity. Grasping his horse's reins, he cautiously trailed behind the animated bones.

"These seem to be the remains of a dire rat," he observed to his companions, unsure if this detail was worth mentioning as he voiced it.

As they continued on their path, Tavion mulled over Talrand's recounting. "A tragic tale," he reflected, allowing the story to sink in. After taking some time to consider the story, he eventually added, "The possibility of another bearing the same name cannot be dismissed lightly, yet I believe the circumstances suggest we're dealing with entangled destinies across the ages. It speaks to the importance of our quest: to unravel these mysteries and confront the shadows they cast. However, I'm inclined to think our guide may not intend for us to linger in the city to restore that tome. Furthermore, this peculiar manner of guiding us raises concerns about whom, precisely, we're endeavoring to save."

"Perhaps the ogre libraries will shed some light on what lies in the dark." Caitlin commented, trying to sound ominous. In reality she was just too curious to see where the skeleton would lead them, perhaps the one who wrote the note could tell them more about the skeletal staff she lugged around. Who knew, it might become useful after all.

Kora points out "that skeleton staff might well be an artifact of Chemash. Carrying it might lend weight to our demands, should we present any."

They continued onward to the hamlet of Rockhorde. It was an excavated quarry with buildings at the bottom. Maybe 700 feet across. The road abruptly ended at a set of iron gates flanked by two squat wooden structures at the edge of the quarry. Each structure had a single window. Two ogres stood in front of the gates, armed with enormous clubs. Beyond, the ground literally dropped away, revealing a settlement below the surface and open to the sky.

They could see a temple and a large pen with animals. Though at this distance, it was difficult to say who was worshipped or what animals they had. A sloping pathway began on the other side of the gates and it led down through the village proper and then up the other side of the quarry. The quarry walls were staggered with a ledge running around the outside of the quarry about 50 feet down the cliff face, which in turn was about 25 feet above the quarry floor.

The buildings came in two distinct sizes. Those along the main street were sized for ogres. While the buildings closer to the walls were much smaller. But all of them had stone foundations, timber walls, and sloping tile roofs.

As the group approached, the ogres said something to whoever were in the buildings. And then they stepped forward, clearly planting themselves in the way.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:18, Fri 09 Feb.

As the skeleton tried to pass the ogres, they closed ranks and attacked it, and the skeleton ran away to the side. And the ogres let it go. Remaining in between the group and the gates.

Caitlin followed the skeleton dog, or whatever it was, and noticed the ogres getting in the way. Briefly she wondered how to proceed but aggression seemed the least sensible approach. Stowing her spear the sorceress presented her empty open hands as she slowly got close enough to talk to the ogre guards. "Hello fellas, can you understand what I'm saying?" she asked, testing if they understood the common tongue.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:30, Mon 12 Feb.

The two ogres laughed and made derisive comments about small people. And as they were about 10 feet tall, that meant all of them, except Talrand.

"We understand you," one of the guards said. "What brings you here to Rockhorde?"

"The little folk seeketh information; a bit over their head, they are - hoho," the similarly-mighty centaur chuckled from the back of the group, bringing up the party's spare horses.  "And supplies, of course, if their travels taketh them beyond the great plains.

"Thou art more than mere carriers of knowledge, but only the wisest and best defenders wouldst beith defending the city gates: might thou direct this party to places of lodging, with room for their mounts?  Or of places or folk within to whom they should seeketh with their questions?"  The centaur fished a handful of steel coins from a belt push.

"How lieth word of trails north and west?"

As Talrand talked with the ogre guards, Tavion rode after the dire rat.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:24, Tue 13 Feb.

"Come, come," one of the ogres said. "You should talk to Kokoscha or Klimt. "But we don't really have any lodgings. So you would have to sleep under the stars or in tents."

"And I would not recommend sleeping under the stars," the other ogre said. "And we have no word on what the trails are like."

"But we have tents if you need to buy some," the first ogre said.



Tavion rode after the skeleton, but as he pursued, it picked up the pace.

[As you are faster than it on horseback, you can catch up if you want.]

Tavion rejoined the group, not wanting to get locked out of the town. He was unsure how he'd calm an undead dire rat anyways.