Those who want a short tour with a Fairy Escort should post here.

With all the activity focused towards "seawards", storms and ships and whatnot, thus far the landward side of Deluzion Break has been ignored.

Not for long.

Firefern, Fuffleberry, Dewblossom, and Petunia lead you out.

The Guesthouse does rise above the cliff top, even though the main hall is several floors down.  The upper floors have the rooms with the grandest views (though a long walk to the pool!) but much of the Guesthouse here is devoted to agriculture: the Chaos Farm.

Part of the Guesthouse is a barn, which houses a few llamas, and has room for livestock brought by visitors.  Most visitors coming by sea do not bring livestock, but those arriving from the Dwarven settlement at Chromic Notch, and the Human settlement at Stonebell and others along the trail west, often do.

Away from the cliff, the Guesthouse faces a thin strip of flat, gentle land- the Chaos Farm.  The Chaos Farm has no precise edge, rather, further from the front of the Guesthouse it just blends into the natural landscape.   For a farm it looks very odd- large, irregular large patches of rich looking but untilled soil, with raised dirt berms between them.  Small plants, all of the same kind, are growing, but not in any lines.  A stone path through the garden leads to the statue called the Orthalisk, and makes a perfect circle around it.

On the exact opposite side of the Orthalisk, the path continues, across a bridge that crosses the Deluzion Break,  on to the herding settlement called Stonebell.   The land in that direction is different, featuring clumps of vegetation scattered across the gravel.

Beyond the farm, the land is a tortured, broken, surreal jumble of stone and vegetation.  Getting through that would be hard, getting lost very easy.

And then there is the Orthalisk itself.

The Orthalisk is a twenty foot tall monument of silvery flecked stone, a six sided perfectly straight pyramid rising from a round stone base studded with small colored stones and bits of tile forming an abstract mosaic.  On each side are runes- deeply carved, but very neat, the finest workmanship.  They look somewhat Dwarvish.   On top is a ball, polished smooth.
It's impossible to see what its made of, as half of the sphere glows brightly, the other half is dark.

"Arcto says it is a Beacon Of Order," Firefern says.  "He says it keeps the Chaos from ruining this place, since we are right in the path of the storms.  Some people say the Dwarves made it, the Dwarves say they did and they didn't, so I don't really know."

"Dwarves say they made others," Petunia says.  "Not this one.  This one's older."

"Well Elves didn't make it," Firefern says.  "And no one else would.  So maybe the Dwarves forgot.  Arcto says he isn't sure, but he thinks it actually came from far away.  Anyway, if you go to the Dwarves or Stonebell or further you have to keep to the road.  The land is wild and Chaos... umm...  does things."

"Strange creatures.  Like the duck billed water bunny creatures Daladain came with, but not always so adorable and much more dangerous," Petunia says.  "This is about the only place in the world where you will hear Fairies tell you there's too much Chaotic magic."

Well, we came for a peek,
and it is quite unique,
for it has its own charm,
'Tis a grand Chaos farm.

Alison took it all it with a sense of aghast wonder. "Beyond here are there other such beacons?"

Abadon's frown was more present on the disorder and chaos of the land, but the magic of the place soon won him over, and he was quite fascinated by the pillar bring balance between the chaos and an orderly area.

"Oh, definitely dwarvish script - but that isn't uncommon.  For all their resistance to magic from slavery to the giants, they retain a surprising skill with working with magic, though more limited in scope to gnomish works.  The giants did mighty creating, but ages back - they have lost much of their skill in the Art- and they, too, use the dwarvish script.  Quite contested whether it was dwarves adopting it from giants, or vice versa.  Several gobliniod and orc races also have adopted it, which further muddies the water, but, sadly, they have little magical talent as a whole."

---

OOC:
06:42, Today: Abadon Crystalfist rolled 13 using 1d20+5.  History
09:42, Today: Abadon Crystalfist rolled 10 using 1d20+5.  Arcana.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:42, Mon 30 Nov 2020.

"That is quite something," Atraxus says, his voice tinged with awe. The Half-Orc had neever seen such a strange monument. He strains his eyes to get a better look at the sphere on top, but the light from the bright half makes it difficult.

"Is it safe to touch?" he asks the Fairies. "It almost doesn't seem real."

Leysa walked along quietly. Fairies didn't bother her nor chaos. In truth, she never felt comfortable confined by rules and orders. Nature had its own balance, but it did not force itself. It simply was the foundation of things. Given what she had known before and what she had learned at Rapatua, this was an opportunity to take advantage of.

Interested in the obelisk, Leysa contented herself first with examining the soils surrounding it. She also examined the path to see if it was laid or other methods of construction were used. Looking up at a fairy, "Oh, aye, we had carrots and corn trying to murder us recently. What's growing here?"

Daladain headed out with the others on the excursion, curious to see what chaos farming actually entailed. The idea of trying to bring order to chaos was someone perplexing, but he wondered what they were up to. As he surveyed the scene in front of him he couldn't help but be drawn to the strange pyramid they named the Orthalisk. It was indeed strange looking. He turned to the fairies. "Is it safe to approach? I would love to touch it, to feel it's energy."



He raised a quizzical eyebrow at the comment. "I hope you made a good soup?"

10:56, Today: Daladain rolled 15 using 1d20+4.  Arcana.

"Oh yes, more Orthalisks in the villages along the road," Firefern says.  "The Dwarves probably have one, too."

"I don't think they need it, they have all those Dwarves," Fuffleberry says. "You know.  Dwarves.  I think if the Orthalisk could walk and talk and slurp soup it would be a Dwarf."

"It's never hurt anyone touching it.  Things with a Chaos nature..."  Firefern begins.

Fuffleberry interrupts.  "Not us.  We have a nature nature, and a faerie nature, it's different.  Better, in every way."

Firefern raises an eyebrow and continues.  "Windrazors and such, things that come from the Chaos storm, they can't stand it.  I suppose it would work against carrots and...  wait, you said carrots tried to murder you?"

"Around here they are quite passive," Petunia says softly.  "It's radishes I don't trust."

"She doesn't mean radishes try to kill you," Firefern says.

"Have you eaten them?" Petunia asks.

Fuffleberry explains:  "Well, we do get vegetables but they haven't tried to hurt anyone.  We don't know what kind we'll get next because this is a chaos farm, it blows across farmland and anything can grow.  We've had apples, artichoke, asparagus... and that's just the A's... we've never had a Q."

"We got yams last time," Petunia says.  "We have a LOT of yams."

Leysa stood up with a frown as the things the fairies said didn't quite make sense to her, "Apples? As in apple trees? What happened to the trees? And why do chaos farms only ever grow familiar crops? And only crops. Why do they never seem to spawn strange wild plants in them?" This might illuminate her understanding of these chaos waves even further.

Alison nodded and followed along the conversation. "So each village has one of these to keep the storms at bay. Very useful. It could be a way to sabotage a warring party as well...very interesting in deed."

Qui-Lin followed the tour, wanting to be out and moving, not contemplating the strange venture into the chaotic airship with the giant toad-thing and the ethereal platypii and... all that.  Musing about the rights and wrongs of the past is only useful to guide one's future actions, her master had taught her.  Long ago.  Far away.

Here in this place, everything seemed upside-down.  And she barely knew her companions.

"So the winds from this farm breed crops, and in turn, it holds chaos storms at bay?" she asked, trying to understand.

"Oh yes, apples on apple trees," Fuffleberry says.

"They wouldn't be on pear trees," Firefern explains.  "That would be strange!  But it is always some sort of crop plant in the Chaos Farms, even if we have to figure it out.  Maybe somehow the magic knows its supposed to be a farm."

"In the wilds there are different kinds of plants, brought in by the Chaos Storm," Petunia says, taking her turn with the tour.  "And we, being Fairies, of course have to go and find the important ones.  It's not easy because what comes with one Chaos Storm might go with the next, and it's dangerous out in the wilds so we don't go far or stay long.  But we can find Siffle Berries, Fizzle Berries, Feather Berries, Giggle Berries and Sparkle Berries.  Sometimes.  But this region is very rich with exotic and magical plants, that's probably why we're here."

Firefern continues.  "So the Orthalisk holds back the chaos from the Guesthouse, and the towns all have their own, some better, some not... Arcto says that regularity and ritual can help when the magic isn't strong enough, so Stonebell has their... umm.. stone bell... which they sound every hour.  He knows a lot.  But though the Chaos Storm won't hurt the Guesthouse, it reseeds and changes the Chaos Farms and they grow something new.  So it's a good place for us!  Not the stormy part.  We cant go outside during a storm.  But they don't happen every day, so we can go outside a lot!"

Petunia finishes up.  "After everything settles down from the storms, it's time to check the roads to make sure it's still safe.  The Dwarves should be here soon from their settlement.  Arcto used to organize the road check to Stonebell and even beyond, but he doesn't have anyone to do that now."

Alison moved up sidelong to Leysa and spoke quietly. "I like the way you think. You and I should work together. What say you?"

As for what happens to the plants...

They've learned over the years that whatever is left before the next Chaos Storm will just be gone.  However, the next harvest is better if the Chaos Storm can work on ready soil, so when they can, they clear it all out.

Well... not the Fairies.  They don't do heavy labor.

They do things like berry picking.

But they've learned another weird thing:  it's best to leave tilled soil, but never, ever tilled in straight lines.  Chaos abhors straight lines, and the crop will be small.

The roads, and the Orthalisk itself, have very straight lines.

"Duō luó xī, wǒmen bù zài zài kānsàsī zhōule," Qui-Lin breathed, taking it all in.

"Extremely powerful item, indeed," the gnome discussed with himself, but aloud.  "It's something of a dimensional anchor -or a planar anchor, more precisely.  I've read about some of the farther planes of existence, with their own world laws, and impacting on reality laws.  It is quite uncommon for the outer planes to impact beyond their spheres, however.  That there is such a weakening or bleed-over... hmm.  So is it truly an anchor of our world laws or footholds to permit the extension of their reality?

"Oh, most interesting visit."

Fairies look at the Gnome in wonder.

Petunia breaks the moment of silence.

"Are you a wizard?  You sound like one!"

"I've been studying - there were so very many interesting books on the practice of magic.  It's how I learned the play with water-  magic is simply amazing, amazing," he confirmed and clarified simultaneously.

Flipping one of his waterskins' cap, the gnome concentrated, and smiled as the water shot out, turning into a frozen horse that galloped gleefully about the chaotic landscape.

"This author, Torg-Grodenensen, had some simply marvelous treatises on different world laws.  Fascinating.  Direct clashes of chaotic and lawful world rules, tied and contested in the great material world in which we live.

"Interesting, interesting.  Of all the gifts of the gods, surely the giver of magic gave the greatest."

The Faeries look perplexed.

"That's a lot of words," Fuffleberry says, "and wonderful magic, but you didn't exactly say yes or no."

"Definitely wizard then," Firefern concludes.  "That's how they are.  Poke and pull and pry the universe apart to see how it works, but not a single simple answer out of any of them.  Well it's been a while since we've had a wizard here.  Arcto tried to train a few but that didn't work out.  And then he gave up.  If you're a wizard... you'll probably want to explore the land out there, maybe even explore Deluzion Break.  Wizards like to explore magical things."

"Except Arcto," Petunia says.  "He gave up."   For a moment, the little Fairy does her best to imitate an old human male voice: "I can't play those games anymore, I have a family and they need me here looking after them."

"That exploration sounds very prudent - and enjoyable.  Likewise meeting this Arcto - never too much known when it comes to learning more and more complicated spells, hmm?" the gnome agreed with Petunia, before turning back to Fuffleberry.

"Being a wizard requires training and mastering several spells and principles - I'm working on them, and have learned and been given many magics by the great gifter of magics, as are many of my people, but I wouldn't say that I've reached the level of 'wizard.'  Wandering apprentice, perhaps?  Devoted to the principles, if not trained on the executions in detail.

"Oh yes, many words.  There are many books on words as well.

"Not a wizard yet.  There you go.  Unless you consider it in being able to do magic, then it might complicate matters."

Atraxus follows the group quietly, taking in all of the sights. Every so often, the large Half-Orc glances down at his right hand---the one with which he touched the ortholisk. He opens and closes his fist, as though trying to figure out if everything is still working as intended.

"It felt warm," he muses aloud, "or at least I think it was warm. Maybe my mind was playing trixes on me."

He looks over toward Qui-Lin when she speaks an unfamiliar language.

"I'm not sure what you said," he replies, "but if you said that this is all very different, then I'm of a like mind."

He listens to the discussion between Abadon and their Faerie guides. He grins as the Faeries attempt to decipher the Gnome's erudite explanation, and their curious yet logical conclusion.

"I must admit," he chuckles, "that is probably also the most modest claim about wizardry I've ever heard, Abadon."

"Something like that," Qui-Lin replied, still trying to take it all in.  "This is like nothing I've seen."

Leysa's frown only deepened at the answers from the fairies. It was clear the chaotic being accepted what was before their eyes as fact and did not question why it was so. Leysa's mind did not work that way. The understanding of how things worked was core to her philosophy. The laws of people concerned her little in the face of the truth of existence.

Thus, Abadon's musings intrigued her more. Leysa had learned what she knew from her patron and other forest spirits. Learning from books sounded even more wonderful. And the thought of books about words almost had her salivating. She was about to approach the gnome when another female whispered to her.

She blinked at the woman, her concentration broken in a discomfiting way, "That would depend on the goal and the methods, I suspect. Still, comrades or allies are neither bad things to acquire."

Her train of thought broken, she directed another query at the fairies, "So, in the space of... how many days? How many days for an apple tree to grow, flower, develop fruit? Do they always manage before the next wave or are immature Apple tree sometimes whisked away? HAs anyone tried to transplant such a tree out of the farm before?"

"It would be better if you talked to Arcto about these things," Firefern tells Leysa.  He knows these things, counting of things, hows and whys, these are not things Fairy folk are good with.  Humans and Dwarves are better."

"We're better with real things," Fuffleberry says.

"Fun and adventures and things like that," Petunia adds.  "Poking at things is not our way.  But yes, the Chaos farms grow quickly, and fruit usually comes before the next storm, but with the next storm, it starts over again.  There are a dozen chaos farms in this land, they are famous, and without that... well I think without the prosperity of the farms people would never have settled..."

"A string of villages along a road and some llamas, barely settled," Firefern interrupts.

"Well it would be less.. less nice without the settlements," Petunia says.  "Hey... we have a wizard now.. and the others got onto that airship and back... we could go down into the Break and explore and bring back berries and..."

"Petunia, I'm sure they aren't the type to plunge into crazy things," Firefern says.

Atraxus chortles when the Faeries mention whether or not the group would be willing to plunge into "crazy things."

"Given the very nature of this place," the Half-Orc says with a laugh, "I doubt there is very little here that doesn't involve something crazy. I can only speak for myself, but I would be interested in seeing more of the Break. We have numbers, and I can vouch for Daladain's and Qui-Lin's mettle."

I think that there's a unique charm
right here within the chaos farm,
But I might be somewhat hazy
thinking there is more that's crazy.

She glanced back at Lysander and her eyes narrowed. She spoke again to Leysa, "Is he always like this?" She seemed exasperated, "I mean as a performance I understand him doing it, but now, unless he is always performing?"

Leysa looked to the new, strange woman and nodded, "Always performing. It has its charm once you are used to it." She returned a frustrated look to the fairies and coughed indignantly. The Hows and Whys were reality. Math was at the core of reality. Frowning, she huffed and then followed up, "Fine, and where is this wizard then? Not the gnomish one. The other one... er, Arcto?"

She blanched at the mention of adventures and craziness, "What's the point? Exploring for the sake of exploration?" She wouldn't have put such illogical nonsense past the fairies, but she suspected she was not too wrong.

Anything worth saying,
is worth saying in rhyme,
it only takes some practice
and a little bit of time.

Smiling in a tight lipped way Alison turned to Lysander, "I wasn't speaking to you. When I am speaking to you, you will know it because I will be looing at you. Consequently, if you do not see me looking at you, you know I am not speaking to you and do not wish to hear your voice."

Intimidation Check?

If you don't want to hear my voice,
it's up to you to make that choice;
But if you want to shut me up,
Just put a gold piece in the cup.

Lysander holds out a small drinking mug.

The gnome discretely made himself occupied and out of sight of the tallfolk starting their argument, and instead slid in alongside questions of the area's mage.

"Yes, a most helpful person with whom to speak.  Especially if he is disposed to share his learnings to advance the practice of magic in the region.  Excellent, excellent.

"I must admit that exploring for exploring's sake isn't my need - the next horizon is what it is, as it goes.  Now, if there was intriguing magical developments in the next valley, well, then that would certainly be something more than a need to wander, hmm?"

"This one is a wizard who doesn't know it yet," Fuffleberry decides, "and that one is a very large Fairy who doesn't know it yet."

"I suspect that he suspects," Petunia says.  "But if he is not a Fairy, then we should declare him an honorary Fairy."

"We can't have people running about not knowing what they truly are," Firefern says. "Especially if one of them is one of us."

"Oh yes, things would become higgledy piggledy for sure," Petunia said.  "Perhaps even more higgedly than usual.  I propose that we help them."

The Fairy looks quizzically at Leysa.  "You know who you are, I hope, because I have no idea."

"We should return to the Guesthouse," Firefern suggests.  "They can speak to Arctos, or if he is not available, Zynobia and perhaps Mia, who also know of Arcane things and where to find who and what.  After that, everyone can decide what they are going to do."

"And who they want to be," Petunia says.

"Yes, that too."

Atraxus raises an eyebrow at the standoff between the stiff-lipped Alison and the lyrically-liberal Lysander. He looks ready to intervene when the latter raises a mug asking for gold. The Half-Orc grins.

"I'll say this," he chuckles, "the man is persistent."

The Half-Orc nods when Firefern suggests returning to the Guesthouse.

"A reasonable suggestion," he replies. "I'm interested in seeing what this land has to offer, but I'd rather travel with those who share that curiosity."

Be it the rocks of mountain heights, or sand upon the shore
The land is very interesting I'd say, 't'would never be a bore,
But it's not land that I would crave or crops to be my fare,
It is the people I would meet with joyful word to share.

Leysa's face pulled tight at the stand-off and she looked at both of the people, "Lysander, perhaps it is a matter of wisdom to know when you are antagonizing someone? Antagonizing people is not nice. Not everyone enjoys your manner of communication. I didn't at first, after all." Then she shifted her gaze to her new comrade, "I have found it best to be polite at all times. Except when blasting living thing that should not be living. Rather unpleasant that."

She then looked at the fairies, "I am not overly fond of lots of manners of communication. I know quite well what I am. Or, as well as anyone can know themselves. I am a curious person. Curious but prefers answers that adhere to logic. Yes, let's go speak to these wizards. I expect the gnome might enjoy such a conversation as well?" She raised an eye at Abadon.

She then turned and began moving back toward the Guest House.

Alison's eyes narrowed as the man held out a cup. Audacious to ask to be paid to shut up and she unconsciously let her hand fall to her weapon. Realizing where it had gone she shifted it and it's twin to clasp behind her back. Leysa gave sound advice. She nodded, "Yes, you are correct. I will endeavor to be more cautious with me antagonism. A failing I'm afraid, as I am unused to life as a civilian."

There is one last sight for the fairies to show, here.  That is the Deluzion Break itself.
They've all seen the canyon where it splits the cliff face.  Now, from a high point, they can see that this canyon extends for miles inland (you have learned by now not to ask Faeries things like "how many miles?") towards a distant mountain.

It's much wider towards the inland side, narrower towards the sea, which, since the sea is downstream, is the reverse of the typical canyon.  Close to the Guesthouse, a bridge crosses it.  Looks like Dwarven stonework.

The bottom of the canyon, the Faeries say, is most easily accessed from the seacoast, where the stairs reach the bottom...  (stairs which have been quickly repaired since they sustained damage in the storm.)  That is the best place to kick off any exploration of the canyon itself.

Sometime later, back at the Guesthouse, after they have finished the tour...

The Montebon patrol ship captained by the Baroness Nina Arcour is back, dropping off, among other things, letters.  Montebon has a very simple mail system:  you can send a letter to a port, where the captain will see to its delivery to a chosen harbor side guesthouse- at most stops, only one per port has this privilege.  If you are expecting a letter, you stop in from time to time and check.  There are shelves in the Guesthouse where Fairies are placing letters to the Dwarves, and to Stonebell.

A few have arrived for Arcto himself, and he is reading through him.

"How do they always know where I am?" the old man grumbles.  He takes a letter, reading:  "Dear Sir Arcto, you are my last hope... this is from Fidelis!  They've got a whole Order full of Paladins, if I am the last hope someone is in big trouble.  And this is from the Queen..."

"I think the Queen knows where you are, dear," Cornelia, his wife, notes.

"Well, yes, she does. She's reminding me that the Baron of Sanzi would like support for another trek to his favorite mountain pass."

"Yes, because you didn't respond to the Baron," Cornelia says.

"He should leave that pass alone, for now.  It was very costly.  And it's got Windrazers," Arcto says.

Zynobia, in her shop, joins in.  "I recall you considered them more of an annoyance than a hazard."

"That was then," Arcto says.  "Now, getting dressed is an annoyance."

The old man turns to the Guesthouse guests present.  "If you will pardon my demeanor... and pardon our esteemed Queen as well... she has the peculiar idea that if she keeps sending us what she calls the young and bold and restless, sooner or later I am going to conjure up the people who will do things the way we used to here.  Her offer of free lodging, you see, is not out of simple generosity.  Don't get me wrong, there are no obligations on your part.  But the queen holds out hope.  I do not."

Alison stood there in Parade Rest ("at ease") listening to the conversation between Sir Arcto and his wife. Upon being addressed she assumed a very military "eyes forward but looking at nothing" demeanor. "Lord Arcto, Lieutenant Alison Romtree of the third Expeditionary Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Light Armor Infantry Division, reporting in as requested. I could not help but overhear, sir, that you have had word from an order of Paladins in need of assistance. May I be so bold as to volunteer, Sir?"

Arcto looks up from his letters.

"It's not from the Order of Paladins... I was saying that Fidelis has an Order of Paladins so why bother sending a request for aid to me?  It's from a person in Fidelis.  And it involves a missing paladin.  Now one would think, you have the Order of Paladins handy, and a Paladin is missing, so who do you trouble, the Order, or some unfortunate guesthouse keeper hundreds of miles away?  And they say the Faeries are illogical?  Here..."

He hands over a letter.

It is written in a very neat script, as if from a skilled calligrapher.  It is from someone  named "Thaller of Dimeste House" and says that a very dear friend, a paladin, did not return from a recent expedition that was only supposed to be a simple, nearby thing. Thaller has not been able to obtain any information locally, and lacks the skills needed to mount a search, but does have (and offers) "reasonable and rational monetary payment, as my family is one of considerable means".

"Please-help-me Letters," Arcto says.  "It's odd, how many still arrive.  It's strange to see one from Fidelis, though.  Fidelis is in some ways an opposite to here.  Here we have a strong influence from Chaos.  There, Order rules, and strong touch of Good as well they say.  Only natural that our Order of Paladins would set up shop there, and a dozen other orders, societies, leagues, associations and what-have-you.  It's quite a dangerous place to be a villain, just place a hand on someone and you face half a score of heroes desperate to receive their next medal.  I would think Please-help-me Letters should be going TO Fidelis, not FROM."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:01, Tue 08 Dec 2020.

"Perhaps a rigidity of thinking - a failing of many peoples, and even moreso of certain professions," the gnome wizard?/warrior?/sage? opined from a couple feet below Alison's face, though the gnome did straighten to something close to four feet.  If you counted boots.  With thick heels.

"Or it simply could be the respect for a sharp and insightful mind, an observant eye, and the incredible power and flexibility that magic brings to the world, and the lay person's awe of that power and learning."

The gnome politely introduced himself, and recounted an abbreviated version of the faerie's praise for Arcto's wizarding skills.

"I am exploring and studying, and working on magical studies as well.  The Bestower of Magic has blessed me, as he has my kind since time eternal, and I wish to learn further of his great Gift, and have begun my initial studies.  If you require aught, tasks of need but time away which would interfere with your studies, perhaps I or my companions might be of assistance.  The opportunity to assist one with knowledge and connections to many places is surely of assistance to their varied interests, and the potential to learn in studies or of activity in the area such as would be of interest to my people is, of course, of interest to both us as a community, and myself, individually.

"Ah - well met, they say, above surface?  I apologize, but I was not given the name of your mating partner, or I would greet her in the proper custom as well."

Daladain had been quiet since the tour. Upon returning to the guesthouse he freshened up before returning to the common room for a drink. “I like this place,” he declared. “I want to explore further, see some more of what the chaos brings. Who’s up for some exploring?”

"Of course, we came here to be of service," Qui-Lin commented.  "Am I to understand we're being asked to rescue a paladin that's gone missing?"

I would love travel forth
to see more of this land,
Better still to see if we
can lend a helping hand.

"If people need rescuing, I'm game," Atraxus says. "However, I'll go wherever I can earn some coin. I spent the last of my savings making this journey."

"I'm not exactly rich, either," Qui-Lin said aside to Atraxus, under her breath. Her tone had nothing serene or monk-like in its demeanor.

"If magic is a blessing for you, then you're talking about Azuth, the Lord of Spells," Arcto says to the Gnome.  Not many temples... a few.  You see, the Southlands is sparsely inhabited..."

"Parsley inhabited?" one of the fairies asks.  "What does parsley have to do with it?"

Arcto ignores that.  He gives Abadon some background, which is found in the General Information thread, msg 4.

Arcto's wife, the matriarch of the establishment, introduces herself:  Cornelia.

"Originally this was going to be a private refuge," she says.  "Then one thing led to another, the family moved back, and here we are now."

After talking to Abadon about magic and Azuth, Arcto mentions another odd detail.

"You're from across the sea, like me.  We learned wizardry our way, and that is still the way of Azuth.  But here... you've probably already seen how magic infuses the land.  Sometimes its not just land.  Sometimes, people born here come into magic in a different way, and it's... well, sometimes its the same, sometimes its different.  It can be very focused.  The magic users called Windcallers, for example, are very attuned to the air, and effects connected with Elemental Air, but are very weak in other areas.  As you can imagine they are popular with ship captains.  There are others, for the other elements.  I think its related to the natural magic of the land."

"But it looks to me like your companions might be looking to go in two separate ways.  Exploring locally, or maybe a bit further, and looking into this Paladin in Fidelis. When you become a wizard, you're going to get requests like this.  People with ordinary problems go to clerics.  People with strange problems go to us.  Somehow we're supposed to fix things.  It's a routine event, I get at least one of these a month.  You'll know you've made a name for yourself as a wizard when they start coming in."

He looks over at Atraxus.  "This person in Fidelis did promise payment.  Exploring, on the other hand... you never know what you'll find.  Especially here.  But you recovered a few things from that airship of possible value.  There is a guild of people called the Mage Mongers.  They go out and collect all kinds of strange and rare things  that they then sell as spell components, to wizards, alchemists, artificers, whomever.  There's a shop in Montebon City and one in Fidelis, where you might get some money for Odd Things that no one else would buy."

LEysa chewed on the conversation going on and finally weighed in, "I've no interest in paladins or saving them when there are... other paladins to do so. And payment is no great attraction for me. Least of all, do I want to spend time in population centers. However..." She eyes her erstwhile companion as well s the new acquaintance, "The chance to earn some favors and see more of the wilderness intrigues me. Tell me. What's a Razorwing? How annoying are they exactly?"

She was still mulling over the information on wizardry in the Southlands and had not made up her mind to seek out any sources on the matter. She had her own curiosities to follow up on."

Abadon brightened as Arcto explained re Azuth. "It is pleasing to hear His name here.  Different peoples have different names for him, but it is always pleasant to hear as I have learned him.

"My kind also have the innate magics, so I quite appreciate the situation, although the elemental involvement here is unknown - the presence of chaos magics and influence in such spillover is intriguing as to causation.

"I cannot say that attending the schooling would assist with what brings me here, so I shall have to explore and learn along the way, much as I enjoy working with folk to learn.  Perhaps there will be other tomes to discover, and other folk along the way who find satisfaction in teachings."

---

OOC: do we have any other plot hooks in the region?
- help find word of the missing paladin
- pick random direction and wander?

DM, is intention 1/2/3 parties?

Alison passed the letter on to anyone else interested in saving a Paladin.

OOC:  With the number of active players here two parties is probably best.  The available plots here now are:

A paladin is missing in Fidelis, home of paladins.

The Fairies would like to explore the badlands nearby, including the canyon called Deluzion Break.  (They've done it before, but it has a habit of changing with Chaos Storms)

The Baron of Sanzi wants to do some exploring of his own, to fulfill his dream of securing an overland pass through the northwest part of the kingdom.

It might be feasible to link 2 and 3, due to location and distance.


The characters will no doubt inquire about these places.

Sanzi is on the northwest edge of the Kingdom of Montabon.  The Barony includes the Breaks, but the Baron rarely has the ability to exercise direct control here.  It's more of a legal thing. Arbov, the Baron of Sanzi, is a Dwarf.  By old treaty one of the Barons of Montebon is a Dwarf, it is a mixed Dwarf-Human kingdom.  He is a young Dwarf- still a teenager, who lost his father in a battle in the region he wishes to explore.  It is the same battle that claimed the life of the Baron of the Oceanfront, leaving Nina Arcour as Montebon's other "child baron".

The Northern Barony, which includes Sanzi and the Breaks and the Chaos Farm villages in between, is cut off from the rest of Montabon by extremely difficult, dangerous mountains.  People go around the mountains by sea.  That's okay by some people, but Arbov would like an overland route.  Here at Deluzion Break you are already past the mountain obstacle, it's the rest of Montebon you cannot reach by land.  Going by the road, Sanzi is about five or six days away.  Faster by boat.

Also on the local calendar:

St Mol's Day is coming up. St. Mol, a historic half Dwarf Half Human who is the patron saint of Montabon is an important figure here.  Among the events of a typical St Mols Day are the Craft Competitions and the Declarations of Apprenticeship.  So, one could also opt to be in one of the towns for St Mols day and see what connections develop- St Mols day is pretty low key here at the Guesthouse due to a lack of people.

Fidelis is the little nation south of Montebon.  It is not a kingdom. The Old World is obsessed with monarchies but the people of the Southlands got creative with a few governments.  Fidelis was established by the Order of Paladins to be "theirs" but they quickly realized they were too few.  Other groups moved in, attracted by the uncanny sense of law and "rightness" here, and now a council of Order Masters rules, with each order choosing its Master in its own way.  The Order Of Paladins is a "first among equals".  Most people belong to an order, guild, association or other official group, and that is how the tiny nation is organized.  The crime rate is near zero- a cry for help will generally bring a swarm of people eager to be recognized as heroes for their Order.  Of course people can't all be Paladins, and some of the Orders are purely economic.  Thanks to the demand for distinctive official uniforms, the Guild of Embroiderers was created here.

There is no overland route here.  Unless the characters want to traverse difficult mountain terrain they would take a ship.

Daladain looked over at the Dragonborn and nodded. “I have no interest in Paladins, they can ask their Order for help, or their gods.” He chugged bag a large gulp of sweet tea. “But exploring here, now that does sound interesting. Count me in.”

From forest depths to desert sand,
I am in favor of viewing the land,
So like our new friend Daledain,
You can also 'count me in'.

Atraxus grins at Qui-Lin's aside.

"Coin and the lack of it almost seems to be the one condition constant between here and home," he replies to her as he takes the letter from Alison. He looks over the details of the letter before passing it along to anyone else interested in reading it.

"I've had a paladin or two help me out of a jam before," Atraxus says. "I might as well pay their good deed forward."

Abadon nodded at the point raised by Atraxus.  "Paladins are uncommon in my homeland, but I familiar with them and doing generally goodly deeds.  They do not have the best history with wizarding, but that they have reached out to Arcto for assistance is an opportunity to help restore that connection.  If it also assists in lightening missives on his desk, that seems a third benefit.

"Exploring the region would be quite interesting, but I can also do that by our airship travel, and a place of such order may well hold word of my missing peoples.

"Atraxus, it seems a longer time of travel together, and more tea with the delightful lady- though not with Daladain; perhaps we can rectify that anon.  And Lt Romell - no, Romtree, was it?  An interesting gathering of skills and hands."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:10, Sun 13 Dec 2020.

Daladain looked at Lysander and smiled. He raised his hand and held up three fingers. “Anyone else?