Episode 4: Night Owls and Royalty

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June 10, 2020

The group starts out in the guard station with Captain Bal, Rhistel having just told him that the hag is from the feywilde. The captain asks the group to take him to the scene of the fight, and upon investigating it requests they meet him in the morning at 7am to see the king who must be told about what happened. The group agrees to meet him, and with such an eventful day and early morning they retire to the house. On the way, Muud meets with Ernie to thank him and pay him the silver he promised. Upon reaching the house, they have a drink, question Rhistel about a lie he told earlier regarding having never visited the fey. Eventually, they all retire to get a nice long rest.

Except for two - Koko Dotharl spends a couple hours performing a kata to practice her form. Rhistel transforms into a large panther, and runs across the rooftops out of the city to seek a place to commune with nature. He searches for and finds a grove of trees with a carpet of daffodils. There he climbs to a tree limb and meditates. Eventually, he feels he will fall asleep, so makes his way to the bed of flowers to rest, but is interrupted/surprised by a voice from the darkness. His keen sense of smell leads him to the source, which is a giant owl that he can see in the moonlight. The voice is gentle, and Rhistel has a short philosophical conversation with him about the nature of solitude. Floating Feathers Upon The Wind (the owl) speaks to Rhistel of his master, a druid, who lives in the Misty Wood and desires for Rhistel to visit. They also reveal to Rhistel the truth of Djaria-shu, that it was once primarily inhabited by druidfolk, who were at some point in the distant past evicted from the land. Rhistel agrees to go meet with the owl’s druid master in time, but that he must first return to the city to explain to Koko where he must go. Floating Feathers nods and flies away, leaving Rhistel to fall asleep among the flowers.

The group wakes early, especially Ridgely who is keen to make a good impression, to dress and ready themselves to meet the king. Koko asks Luberos if he has an extra cloak, who searches the house and finds one, though that is not all he finds. A loose board in the back of the closet betrays the location of an envelope containing a note and medallion with an ornate yet faded carving of a howling wolf upon it. Luberos tucks the envelope away for safekeeping and joins the group who leaves to head to the palace. On their way, Luberos attempts to play a joyous song about meeting the king, but instead plays a terrible yet loud tune on the bagpipes. Ridgely joins in with equally bad vocals, and the locals were sure to lean out their windows to let them know what they thought of the song. Rhistel finds them on the way to the palace, partially due to the obnoxious noise that is emanating from the group. They meet Captain Bal at the gates to the palace, and they are promptly let in.

They make their way through the palace complex, and eventually to a solid wooden door with kings guard outside. After a brief conversation and confiscation of their weapons, the group is allowed in and finds King Senos dining and working at a large oak table. He kindly invites them to eat with him, and speaks with them about small things during the meal. Ridgely attempts to make him laugh with a few jokes, but the delivery is off and the king is not quite impressed… instead he shifts his attention to Bal in an attempt to not be too rude. After the meal (incredible eggs), the king, captain Bal, and the party speak about the events of the night before, of the fey, and of the similar rumors popping up around the Isle. The group suggests they speak with the Towenaar of Wonders, Towenaar Nevarre, regarding the issue since, though she is not an expert specifically in the fey, she is probably still at least knowledgeable. The king is not optimistic, but says he will ask her if she is willing. The king and captain Bal go out in the hall to speak, and while they are gone Luberos chats with the group about the letter and medallion he found. Rhistel is able to identify the howling wolf symbol as a theocratic seal of a previous dynasty of Frigate. Captain Bal returns, gives the party the 100 gold they are owed for the warrant, and bids them a good day as he returns to his duties. With the king still missing from the room, the party looks around and finds a couple swords on the walls. Both are historic weapons with plaques indicating their importance. One is a sabre, Deathbringer, wielded by King Ian, and Ridgely knows this to be from a monarch from roughly 150 years ago. The other is a giant bastard sword, Giant Slayer, Liberator of Djaria-Shu. The bastard sword was wielded by General Vitgut, a part-giant who fought off full giants. The king walks in while they’re fangirling over the swords, and comes up and asks if they’d like to hold them. Ridgely almost pees his pants with excitement and is speechless, but is unable to lift it. Each member of the group tries, but the only one strong enough to lift the giant sword is Rhistel, who gives it a little twirl with one hand. After this, the king becomes serious and says that it’s time for them to go meet the Towenaar… and there we end for the day.