Re: AAR: [6H] A House Divided 2020-09-16 2300 GMT
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:49 am
Thorkell's Journal:
The Daicar brothers and I were able to come to an agreement. They will help with the rebuilding of the town around B'shon tower if I can secure them a living crystal mine in the region. Lazulin, LaShana, and Elisen have agreed to accompany me. The others recommended a Wizard named Nib to join us on this adventure. He seems a thorough type. He asked for two days to research the region. From his research he found that a small kaer lies in the region by the name of Dviel.
We set out for Clear Creek Crossing where we would then leave the road and skirt the mountains around to our destination. Within a days travel from the mines, we encountered a town that was the rebuilt Dviel. The guards outside were asleep, but very friendly once awoken. It seems not many outsiders come to this area. Before long our arrival had drawn a crowd. This did not escape the attention of a member of the council, a man by the name of Iwicko Mokoi. He greeted us warmly and offered us a place to stay for the evening as well as a banquet. On our way to drop off our things we ran into another council member, a woman named Erka Haftlid. It seems she has a rather poor opinion of the Mokois. She seemed annoyed we had taken Mokoi up on his offer but understanding. She insisted we meet with her the following day for a luncheon. Lightning is not wont to strike in the same place twice, but on this day another outsider also appeared. Haftild arranged it so that this individual would meet with the Haftilds first and then the two families would swap their guests.
Through our banquet we discovered the Haftilds and Mokois shared bad blood due to the mines. Of course the mines were claimed. Nothing ever seems to go that easily.... Anyway. The Mokois believed the mines were still too dangerous to work while the Haftilds believed the Mokois were overly cautious. This disagreement seems to have escalated to the point of murder. Mokoi told us of a geologist they sent to survey the mine being murdered. He believes the Haftilds were behind it. He also asked if he could hire us to check out the mine. Not wanting to get into the middle of a family feud, I restrained myself from accepting his offer until hearing what the Haftilds had to say.
The next day was the luncheon with the Haftilds. They vehemently denied killing the Mokoi geologist. They then told us of a pair of their member who were murdered in the mine leaving a dying message that the Mokois were behind it. Haftild also asked us to investigate the mine. Once again I turned down the offer. I tried to explain that neither family would benefit from this feud, but she seemed unconvinced.
I was starting to believe there may be some foul play at work here. Our group decided to go investigate the mines and murder sites. Unfortunately, I did not pick my team with the expectations of solving a murder and we were unable to learn much. Our best bet then was to check out the mines themselves. A group of guards were arguing in front of the entrance. It seemed the guard were split equally between Haftilds and Mokois. After Lazulin stopped their bickering we demanded to enter the mines. Neither side seemed willing to allow it, but sent runners to see if it was true. After both runners confirmed we were allowed access.
Some ways in I recognized that we were being followed. We picked the most advantageous spot for defending ourselves and waited. Eventually a group of Mokois showed up and attacked us believing us to be Haftild spies. At my urging our team prioritized non-lethal methods of subdual. In the heat of battle, such things can not be relied upon and I worried their deaths may close an avenue for us. Upandal favored us though, and we were able to subdue all the members without any deaths. It was at this point we felt rumblings from even further below. Fearing that the cave might collapse if something wasn't done, I rushed to see what could cause this.
The scene before us was one of devastation. A giant elemental spirit was wreaking havoc on the structural supports of the mine. Even beasts like basilisks fled in fear of this thing. Nib was able to spot that the spirit had laid a trap before us and had LaShana draw the outline while he attempted to dispel it. The basilisks by their very nature blasted us with their eyes while fleeing. Elisen nearly went down from the whirling vortex of rocks and mining equipment. We were able to take it down, though. No time to rest though. The basilisks were running in the direction of the Mokois we had left tied up. I had hoped to scare them into fleeing a different direction, but in the end we had to kill the beasts.
With all the excitement over we investigated the direction from which the spirit came. We found a dead Haftild elementalist with a dagger in their chest. It seems the the elementalist summoned the spirit and then was murdered, allowing the spirit to rampage. We were unable to track the murderer, though.
Upon returning to Dviel, I arranged to speak with both the Haftilds and Mokois. They agreed to allow the Daicar brothers provisional oversight of the mines until they could work out their differences. For my part I am staying in Dviel to oversee the mining efforts...and to make sure no more trickery occurs. I have rented a houses from a neutral party so as not to gain the ire of either family.
Nib sent word after doing some research that he believes the town may have been deceived by a questor of Vestrial. It seems due to my attempts to raise B'shon Tower back to prominence the balance of the passions had swayed. This Vestrial questor was trying to rebalance the scales. I don't know much about the balance, but if this questor intends to impede my work he will meet my wrath.
The Daicar brothers and I were able to come to an agreement. They will help with the rebuilding of the town around B'shon tower if I can secure them a living crystal mine in the region. Lazulin, LaShana, and Elisen have agreed to accompany me. The others recommended a Wizard named Nib to join us on this adventure. He seems a thorough type. He asked for two days to research the region. From his research he found that a small kaer lies in the region by the name of Dviel.
We set out for Clear Creek Crossing where we would then leave the road and skirt the mountains around to our destination. Within a days travel from the mines, we encountered a town that was the rebuilt Dviel. The guards outside were asleep, but very friendly once awoken. It seems not many outsiders come to this area. Before long our arrival had drawn a crowd. This did not escape the attention of a member of the council, a man by the name of Iwicko Mokoi. He greeted us warmly and offered us a place to stay for the evening as well as a banquet. On our way to drop off our things we ran into another council member, a woman named Erka Haftlid. It seems she has a rather poor opinion of the Mokois. She seemed annoyed we had taken Mokoi up on his offer but understanding. She insisted we meet with her the following day for a luncheon. Lightning is not wont to strike in the same place twice, but on this day another outsider also appeared. Haftild arranged it so that this individual would meet with the Haftilds first and then the two families would swap their guests.
Through our banquet we discovered the Haftilds and Mokois shared bad blood due to the mines. Of course the mines were claimed. Nothing ever seems to go that easily.... Anyway. The Mokois believed the mines were still too dangerous to work while the Haftilds believed the Mokois were overly cautious. This disagreement seems to have escalated to the point of murder. Mokoi told us of a geologist they sent to survey the mine being murdered. He believes the Haftilds were behind it. He also asked if he could hire us to check out the mine. Not wanting to get into the middle of a family feud, I restrained myself from accepting his offer until hearing what the Haftilds had to say.
The next day was the luncheon with the Haftilds. They vehemently denied killing the Mokoi geologist. They then told us of a pair of their member who were murdered in the mine leaving a dying message that the Mokois were behind it. Haftild also asked us to investigate the mine. Once again I turned down the offer. I tried to explain that neither family would benefit from this feud, but she seemed unconvinced.
I was starting to believe there may be some foul play at work here. Our group decided to go investigate the mines and murder sites. Unfortunately, I did not pick my team with the expectations of solving a murder and we were unable to learn much. Our best bet then was to check out the mines themselves. A group of guards were arguing in front of the entrance. It seemed the guard were split equally between Haftilds and Mokois. After Lazulin stopped their bickering we demanded to enter the mines. Neither side seemed willing to allow it, but sent runners to see if it was true. After both runners confirmed we were allowed access.
Some ways in I recognized that we were being followed. We picked the most advantageous spot for defending ourselves and waited. Eventually a group of Mokois showed up and attacked us believing us to be Haftild spies. At my urging our team prioritized non-lethal methods of subdual. In the heat of battle, such things can not be relied upon and I worried their deaths may close an avenue for us. Upandal favored us though, and we were able to subdue all the members without any deaths. It was at this point we felt rumblings from even further below. Fearing that the cave might collapse if something wasn't done, I rushed to see what could cause this.
The scene before us was one of devastation. A giant elemental spirit was wreaking havoc on the structural supports of the mine. Even beasts like basilisks fled in fear of this thing. Nib was able to spot that the spirit had laid a trap before us and had LaShana draw the outline while he attempted to dispel it. The basilisks by their very nature blasted us with their eyes while fleeing. Elisen nearly went down from the whirling vortex of rocks and mining equipment. We were able to take it down, though. No time to rest though. The basilisks were running in the direction of the Mokois we had left tied up. I had hoped to scare them into fleeing a different direction, but in the end we had to kill the beasts.
With all the excitement over we investigated the direction from which the spirit came. We found a dead Haftild elementalist with a dagger in their chest. It seems the the elementalist summoned the spirit and then was murdered, allowing the spirit to rampage. We were unable to track the murderer, though.
Upon returning to Dviel, I arranged to speak with both the Haftilds and Mokois. They agreed to allow the Daicar brothers provisional oversight of the mines until they could work out their differences. For my part I am staying in Dviel to oversee the mining efforts...and to make sure no more trickery occurs. I have rented a houses from a neutral party so as not to gain the ire of either family.
Nib sent word after doing some research that he believes the town may have been deceived by a questor of Vestrial. It seems due to my attempts to raise B'shon Tower back to prominence the balance of the passions had swayed. This Vestrial questor was trying to rebalance the scales. I don't know much about the balance, but if this questor intends to impede my work he will meet my wrath.