With zarmatan saying all he had, plans were made for the group to cross the river to the north, walk towards the mountain as and to the desert, where supposedly another stone was guessed to be.

It was 3 days since the meeting, and the group divided up to prepare. Kell, while spending time in contemplation with the stone, also visited the smith in the village, manned by a half elf woman. Sonori, after her meeting with zarmatan, contemplated the information gleaned. Yacob, also after his meeting, spent time  looking for magic. Nym, at home in the forest village, looked around for magical items that may help. Nino, ever the dwarf, ate, drank and met a lovely elf woman with a pet wolf Rivka and Zell, spending quality time together, managed to resupply some arrows and visit Zell aunt once more, though that second meeting she was a lot worse off. Neliwen spent her time with the elderly cleric, listening to his tales and advice for what was to come. Finally Quinn, feeling out of place, honed his sword and armour and practiced.

The day came when the group met on the northern shore of the village, where a elven ship was prepared with food for each of you, enough for the next two days of fresh meat and fish and another week of rations.

Zarmatan, princess Almeseria and Kalthranath we’re the only three other than the three elves designated for sailing the ship over. Princess Almeseria smiled at you all as you gathered. “What you do here may effect the realms themselves. If I was but a few hundred years younger I would insist on coming, but this task is yours. All provisions are taken care of as well as a few gifts. There are two minor bags that can hold much. It was all we had in the village. Lady Rivka, there is a bushel of special arrows for you as well. I wish you all good luck”

Next zarmatan stepped forward. “This ruse won’t buy you long....a day, two at most. When they know, they will come for you. Remember what I told you all. Together you are strong....and by the gods, don’t do anything foolish”

The elderly elf smiled, and looking at each, finished his gaze on Neliwen. “Stay safe.”

<OOC: this is the final opertunity to ask or say anything before leaving. You have been given 2 bags of holding type 1 and 14 +1 arrows. I’ll move things along in 2 days unless someone wants to bring something up>

Rivka had thanked the princess profusely for the arrows.  She knew, even in a city where magic seemed to seep from the very rocks, that such a gift was hard to come by.  Since she had a quiver that, in a round about way, held an extra dimensional space, she advised others to take the two bags of holding.  Just to be on the safe side.  The ranger, while not a complete novice with magic, was still a bit leery with such powerful enchantments.

She held onto Zell's arm as they left, remembering the emotional second meeting with his ailing relative.  It had affected her more than she'd realized.  Not just because of sympathy for her man, but because it reminded her of her own father.  While not ailing in the mind (at least as far as she knew), he was physically crippled, and despite setting him and her younger brother up with a trust fund before setting out on her own, she still occasionally felt like she'd abandoned them.
Which, to be fair, she had.  Despite the nature of a ranger's job being that of protector and caretaker, being the supporter and caretaker of her family had stressed Rivka out immensely, leading to feelings of resentment and eventually apathy.  She had decided that some distance was in the best interest of everyone involved.

Still, perhaps a  short visit would be a good idea, should the group ever get near her father's new home in the city of Luskan.


As the ship left the (literal) safe harbor where it had been sheltered, Rivka went back into "professional" mode, watching everything with a Ranger's predator eyes, checking and double checking everything else.
This would be the journey of a lifetime, and, as she looked at the handsome half elf at her side, she realized how badly she wanted to live a long life on the other side of it.

Nym lets the others decide who will get the bags of holding.  He bows respectfully to the Princess as he speaks to her in elven.


Nym walks over Neliwen and looks over to the far shore.  Speaking quietly in elven to her.

In reply to Nym Eveningfall (msg # 3):

"I'll carry a Bag of Holding for you all."

  "Well that went well." the half dragon out loud."Two days isn't a lot, but it will have to do."

Sonori mostly spent the time contemplating her place in this world and this quest and her connection with the stones. She tried on and off 'reaching' out to the stones - trying to sense them or make them do something. It wasn't the standard way of preparing, but in this case, she felt it was what she needed to do to prepare.

Of course, in the mornings, she prayed. And in the evenings, she wandered around town, taking in the sights and looking for those who needed healing or help.

Nino had no clue what was going on and really didn't care. He was having fun playing with the wolf and wandering around the elven town, drinking and eating. But, when it was time to go, he seemed really sad and was on the verge of crying. It's kind of a strange sight to see one like Nino about to cry over the simplest of things.