[Alliance] Chapter Two: Session Twenty-One
August 13th
0:00
There is a momentary stand-off between the party and the assembled guards around the moonkey.
Gil starts to concentrate on primeval awareness. After about 20 seconds, Lana’thel starts to send people to investigate. Meanwhile, Vincent slips into the foliage and starts to climb.
Vel sends Lana’thel.
"We're still allies despite falsities. Hope you realize. If others trusted, stand down. If not... Velameestra Windrunner attempted to assault your mind. Must be apprehended."
There is a pause. And then Lana’thel orders everyone to drop their weapons. There is some confusion, but everyone hesitantly starts to lower their weapons. There is still confusion, but Lana’thel tells them to trust her.
Gil, Vel, and Uther step out. Meanwhile, a Farstrider senses Vincent, and immediately trains her bow on him. He rolls his eyes and starts climbing down.
There is some apprehension from the guards, but Lana’thel continues she can confirm that the party is innocent, as they saved her daughter’s life, and proved her own innocence. She then looks at the party and asks them to trust her a bit longer. A Guardian approaches and asks for their weapons. There’s a humorous scene of Vincent pulling out a ton of weapons, though he is able to keep a shortsword hidden. Everyone else hands their weapons over willingly.
They draw closer to the gazeebo, and they observe a brilliant pink crystal that seems to be cut into the shape of a half-moon. Everyone is watching the party carefully. The magister walks up to them, wanting to know what’s going on, but Lana’thel asks that they go somewhere more private.
He relents, and they head to a filigree door… which seems to be part of the gazeebo even though the gazeebo looks to only be on room, curiously enough. The magister speaks a Thalassian incantation, and the door opens up into a magnificent-looking chamber.
There a great majority of unseen servants standing by, and the magister sends them to fetch some chairs. The magister then informs them the room is warded against lies, and that he expects the truth.
Lana’thel explains to the magister that her daughter had been killed, but this group had helped bring her back from death. She had been told as much by her daughter herself, who was somewhere safe. She continues that evil people would not help an innocent girl, nor would they risk their reputation to help a woman accused of being guilty.
Gil confirms that he had witnessed Thal’ena’s resurrection, and the magister asks how she was brought back, and he says that he wasn’t sure exactly.
Vel explains that they were framed, and the Magister is still suspicious, so Vel goes into detail about the dealings at Duskwither and Runesight’s involvement. The magister is still suspicious, and mentions he went to Duskwither Spire, so he could confirm the information with Duskwither himself.
His smugness, however, fades as he receives the response. Duskwither confirmed their story, and also mentioned them by name… despite him not saying any names.
They continue to present points and counterpoints, wearing down the magister’s resistance. He argues that only powerful magisters would know how to manipulate the keys, and Gil asks if an advisor to the king would. Vel follows up, stating Dar’khan Drathir is a ringleader, and his death was faked.
Eventually, they are able to wear him down, and he relents to trust them, as there were no lies, and no beguilements.
He undoes the traps, and hands over the moonkey to Vel. He then informs them he will be in contact with Magister Neema, who presides over the moonkey to the south. He asks them to take care of the moonkey, and Quel’thalas.
They also thank Lana’thel, and she says it was only the beginning of her repayment for everything they had done.
The magister reactivates the traps and defenses, and weaves in an illusion of the moonkey.
0:50
They leave, and travel a bit longer, eventually making camp somewhere off the beaten path. Vel and Jaina examine the moonkey and take some time to get a good image of it to give to Talath. Vincent gives Vel his damaged sword to try and get it repaired.
The two wizards then disappear.
0:59
August 14th - 15th (With Gil, Uther, Tess, and Vincent)
Nothing notable happens.
August 16th (With Gil, Uther, Tess, and Vincent)
They come to a road, and Gil spies a cart in the middle of the road. There is a solitary merchant who is off the cart, seemingly repairing a wagon wheel.
The merchant seems to hear them, and starts asking who was there. He said they already took everything and there was nothing left.
Uther tries to appease him, but he is clearly panicked. He begs them not to hurt him, as he has a wife and three daughters at home.
Uther asks how long ago he was robbed, and he said that it was only an hour ago. They broke his wagon wheels so he couldn’t follow. He’s clearly terrified.
Vincents asks him if Gil or Uther looked like thugs, and Uther asks him where the people that accosted him went. The merchant is hesitant, but Uther uses logic, presenting there was nothing for him to lose by telling them where his attackers went as either nothing would happen, or the party could help him out.
The merchant explains there were 5 or 6 of them, and they had fled toward the cursed lands. Gil had been using primeval awareness, and he said that the group was about 4 miles out.
The group debates on whether or not they should go. Uther and Gil are clearly all for tracking them down, but Tess and Vincent are much more objective and believe they can’t take the time to track them and go back.
Uther and Gil relent, and Uther asks how much was stolen. The merchant takes out a pair of reading glasses and goes over his list, saying that it was about 75gp worth. Uther gives him 75gp as they don’t have time to go track the bandits down, and the man thanks him repeatedly.
1:23
They continue on, and it’s dark as they approach the site, and Gil looks around for signs of people passing through. He finds a smear of blood.
He immediately casts Pass without Trace, and they start to sneak ahead. Uther’s foot hits something. It’s the body of a spellbreaker. Vincent takes a look, and is able to determine they were killed by a weapon coated with poison.
Tess sees signs of a struggle nearby. There are two more bodies. A spellbreaker and a magister. The magister seems to have had her throat slit, and she was not killed there--she was drug there. However, the two spellbreakers seem to have been killed there. Or rather, one was. The second spellbreaker was not fully dead.
Uther uses lay on hands on the spellbreaker. His eyes shoot open and calls “WHAT THE FUCK?” They immediately silence him, and ask what happened. He said it was someone disguised as the magister. There was someone else with them.
There is a hole straight through the spellbreaker’s breastplate. Clearly the attacker was strong.
He starts to stand, reaching for his glaive nearby.
The continue to creep forward, and there’s a grim sight ahead. Signs of struggle are everywhere. The shrine indicates a very recent battle. Blood is splattered everywhere. There is a smattering of Guardians of the Eternal Spring and five farstriders total.
There is a clash of steel, and one of the Guardians goes down. One of the other Guardians goes to him, and then finishes him off.
A tall, elegant elf with bright red hair is standing at the moonkey with a very low-cut dress. There is the dead magister (rather a look alike of her) next to her.
1:41
Everyone raises weapons to attack, but one of the Farstriders whistles. The Farstriders fires into the brush, but miss any targets. However, Tess senses something flicker behind them. She whirls around, and takes a shot at an assassin with black hair and bright blue eyes.
Gil shoots at the mysteries, red haired woman. For a moment, he hears a voice in his mind, trying to appease him, but he shakes it off. The woman turns just in time for the arrow to strike into her chest. The arcane energy wafts over her for a moment, and her form shifts subtly. Her skin darkens and turns grey. She looks down at the arrow, and she reaches up and rips the arrow from her chest. Her eyes are now bright red. Arrow shoots at her again, but this time, she catches the arrow in her hand.
She then reaches out and the moonkey hovers to her hand, and she starts to walk neatly down the path. She calls to them to either reveal themselves, or to turn around and be on their way and pretend they didn’t see anything.
Vincent dukes it out with the assassin, landing a firm blow, but she doesn’t seem to be as slowed down as they would like.
The farstriders fire again, landing hits on Vincent and Gil.
Uther rounds on the assassin, his sword igniting with holy energy. She seemed to recoil much more than a human should. More like a demon or undead. He then hits her again, and she curses in eredun.
He then uses green-flame blade, and slices into her again. He shouts “Back to the Void with you!” There is a flash of bluish skin and horns as she disappears.
One of the rangers fires off an arrow volley on the group.
Meanwhile, the magister steps forward, asking the mysterious woman if she can take care of the group. She releases a burst of fel fire on party, and the spellbreaker and Vincent drop.
The magister asks the woman if she can give them another one, but the mysterious woman said that they got what they had come for and their deaths won’t serve them.
The fake-magister says “see ya later, losers” before she disappears. The farstriders begin to aim again, but the mysterious woman tells them to hold their fire.
Gil gets Vincent up, as well as Koltira.
The mysterious woman saunters forward, musing that things could have ended a lot more peacefully, but they allowed their passions and virtues to get ahead of them. She snaps the arrow she had taken from her chest, and she gestures a hand and opens up a rift.
However, Koltira steps forward, and he hurls a flash of blue light, shattering the portal before she can step through it.
The succubus’s face drops, and she asks if they really want to die that day. She then waves her hand, and all the people she had told to hold then looses their attacks. However, she calls for them not to kill them, as that isn’t why she was told to come here.
Vincent drops again. Meanwhile, Tess charges the succubus, her body shifting and elongating as she roars and takes on her worgen form.
The succubus is intrigued at there being a worgen this far north. One of the farstriders shoots Gil, and he drops, while Uther brings Vincent back up.
Koltira tries to knock some sense into one of the rangers.
The succubus queen steps out of the way of Tess, and pats her on the cheek, before she flickers and then disappears. Tess calls her her a coward, and she replies mentally that only a fool would claim someone in her profession is brave.
Suddenly, all of the individuals that were aiding her blink, and look around, confused.
Then they see Tess, in worgen form. They start to dogpile her.The woman the spellbreaker, Koltira, was trying to knock to her senses is baffled.
Uther calls to the assembled people, introducing himself and explaining they had been ensorcelled by a demon and the fight was over.
The group looks to Tess, who isn’t being aggressive, and they realize the group was the one they were expecting. Uther explains what happened, and that the demon left with the moonkey. He then goes to help Gil, and Tess shifts back to her human form.
2:35
Koltira confirms the group’s story, explaining the magister had been killed and her identity stolen. The Guardians and other assembled peoples start to run to check on those who had fallen, while Uther brings Gil to.
The Guardian captain removes his helmet, and apologizes, as they had failed their country and countrymen. He explains that they were told of their arrival, and they were expecting them, but the demons had reached them first.
Gil expresses he is concerned that the succubus, for as strong as she was, seemed to be on orders from someone else. The captain said he would report to his superiors. Only those that needed to know.
The Guardians and farstriders then set about burying the dead, many of whom were friends, family, and other loved ones.
August 17th (With Gil, Uther, Tess, and Vincent)
They start to head toward Tranquilien the next morning.
2:47
August 13th (Evening, with Vel and Jaina)
Vel and Jaina arrive on target after warning Talath, and low-and-behold he opens the door as soon as they arrive. As they enter, it’s clear Talath had been hard at work. Many of the small things that had been in disrepair had been replaced. Nicks and dings had been repaired, and things seem to be getting more homey.
Mr. Bigglesworth opens one eye in acknowledgement. Talath says the cat doesn’t scratch or mess with his things “much”. Kel chuckles in her head.
Talath shows Vel to the garden. It’s much more trimmed then it was when Kel had it, it has a fence and a garden. Vel compliments him on his work. Talath mentions he wants to build a fountain for Arkha’din, a picnic table and ect.
Talath then says she should probably get a new bed. (Kel scoffs) He also brings up that some rooms are being unused. But then he digresses, as she had a project for him.
Jaina brings up the key idea, and Vel also brings up Vince’s sword.
Talath mentions he finished another thing for her, and he comes back with a finely crafted lantern with the arcane eye of Dalaran. He asks her if she can turn invisible, and she does, and he puts the light on her. Her form is revealed. It’s a lantern of revealing.
August 14th
Vel and Talath go to the bank to get him set up on the account. As they start to head back, a beggar approaches Vel, asking if she happens to have a copper to spare. In an decent mood, Vel opts to be more generous and gives him a few gold pieces. However, he then asks if she happens to know Velameestra Windrunner. She pauses, expressing that she may.
Talath, sensing that this may start to breech into a private conversation, tells Vel he will meet up with her back home, and then leaves.
Vel walks with the beggar, still dodging outright admitting she is who he is asking for, and mentioning that she could take a message. However, it’s clear that he caught on that she is who he was looking for, and he asks her if she had encountered anyone that had suddenly gotten a surge of power recently given what was going on in Silvermoon.
Vel admits that she has, her mind going to both her brother and Telina.
The beggar seems quite concerned about this, and he expresses that they need to be careful, as such an individual could be incredibly dangerous. He had fought a threat before, and is concerned it may be involved somehow, though when Vel asked what it was, he refused to reveal the name as “names have power” and he wasn’t completely sure it was the threat they were facing, just a concern.
However, Vel, now very suspicious, asks if the beggar was in Silvermoon recently.
The beggar denies such a thing, but smiles, raising his head just high enough for the elf to get a glimpse of long white hair and pale, undead flesh beneath the shadow of his hood. Vel identifies immediately that the man is the wizard that Gil had encountered when he first faced the demons, though when she asked who he is, he refuses to give an answer before bidding her once more to be careful and leaving.
Kel’Thuzad is immediately intrigued, mentally asking Vel if she saw the same thing he had. Vel agrees she did, replying she was fairly certain the man Gil had referred to--a surviving member of the Council of Tirisfal.
Further intrigued by such a thing, and troubled by the grim tidings the man had offered, Vel returns home.
August 15th - August 17th (Vel and Jaina)
Vel goes to visit Rhonin. As she knocks, there are two voices that both shout “I’ll get it” coupled with some scrambling as her twin cousins scuffle over who is going to get the door. Rhonin’s voice can be heard, commenting that if they stopped fighting perhaps they would have been able to open it before he did, and ultimately Rhonin is the one who opens the door.
He stares for a second, not expecting to see who was at his doorstep, and Vel offers a meek “Hi” before he hurries her in, given the cloak she was wearing obviously indicated she was attempting to keep herself hidden.
They talk for a bit, and Vel explains the situation up in Silvermoon--and the fact that she was framed, hence why she was attempting to keep her presence on the down-low.
August 19th (Gil and the others)
The party goes and tracks down a hawkstrider so they can move more quickly, and they managed to get a lead on some hawkstrider races that they could perhaps buy one from. As they arrive, they see dragonhawk riders spiraling through the sky, flying through illusory rings in their own races.
As they approach, one of the jockeys, a handsome elven man, approaches, asking if they are there to race or admire. Gil says that, for as much as he’d like to do the second, they were there to buy. The man introduces himself as Zanis Andilien, son of the lord of the area, and that they had the best bred hawkstriders in the area.
Gil asks him to show them around, and he relents, given Gil *is* a prospective buyer. Zanis takes the opportunity to brag a bit about his family. He muses that his family is closer to a great many other estates, for instance, his great-aunt may have married into one of their lines.
Gil humors him, saying it is hard to keep track of them, which Zanis returns it may not be difficult in a few centuries given the sisters’ tendency to marry humans. They talk a bit about lineages, and Gil points out Sylvos Windrunner married an elf, to which Zanis agrees, and mentions the younger brother might have as well.
He leads them to the stables, explaining the nuances of raising dragonhawks and hawkstriders. He seems to be quite knowledgeable, explaining that hawkstriders are quite easy and adorable, though dragonhawks need to be approached as equals.
Zanis then leads the group to meet his father, as all transactions need to go through him. The man acknowledges, and dismisses him, focusing on the buyers at hand.
He starts to ask some questions, like why Gil was looking for a hawkstrider. Gil answers that he was looking for a means to move faster, plus he liked animals.
However, the noble then mentions “Yes, and in addition, I imagine being fugitives requires a need to move more quickly.”
He’s on to them. And he asks why he shouldn’t just turn them in.
