Under the Stars, an Interlude

6th - 7th Veltom, 1517

Sean Shamshara, Vyktor Wyvernjack, Valteri Tomser, and Boris Hillmens recover from the vertigo. As he looks again at the night sky, Sean begins to take in the stars.

The stars, for the first time in his life, Sean was looking at the stars with his own eyes. He began to make out constellations he read about so many times. And whether some auspicious sign, a trick of the clouds, or mere happenstance, the first constellations he recognized were the Warrior, the Scout, the Weaponsmith, and the Wizard. Soon enough other constellations grabbed his attentions, but those four still seemed to burn brighter in his mind, almost seeming to point east.

Behind the group rose the Thunder Mountains, tall and foreboding, their presence weighing heavily even in the night.

Sean looks at his map and attempts to call on his Navigation Talent to use local landmarks to identify where he is on the map. It being too dark, the group decides to sleep for the night. They talk about marking the land in some way, but without a magical means of doing so, Valteri pushes back against the idea out of fear of leading others to Kaer Ungada.

They bed down for the night, Sean stumbling upon a rotten leather bag filled with fifty silver pieces, which he kindly shares with the rest of the group. They rise in the morning, the sun brighter than anything they have ever seen before, almost painfully bright.

But with the light of day, Sean is able to assess the lay of the land and verify their location on the map. His Navigation magic places him a little over two weeks from Travar and maybe a week out from the Aras Sea. Valteri suggests they head towards the sea as it seems like a likely place for people to congregate. Everyone agrees.

First, they come up with a cover story. Their discussions lead them to decide that they are from a remote mountain commune. But why did they leave?

Bears.

Bears overran the commune, killing everyone. The pain of seeing loved ones ripped apart by bears is too much to think on.

With that decided, they head north, hoping to run into the nearest village indicated on the map. After half a day of walking, they find a well-traveled road running parallel to the mountains. Assuming the village would likely be deserted, they follow the road north-east.

Within a few hours, Boris hears people talking from around a bend in the road. A small hill blocks sight, but the voices do not sound like they're trying to hide. The group sneaks up the hill, but Sean is startled, stands up, and tumbles down the other side. Boris tries to grab him, but accidentally exposes his position, too.

A group of seven stand around two wagons. At Sean's entrance, two dwarves in armor approach. The older one yells, "Halt!", and promises that after they fix their carts, the group will be on their way, so he asks the four heroes to keep their distance. To Valteri's offer of help, the dwarf asks for the greeting ritual to make sure they are not Horror tainted.

Sean, the reed in his flute broken from his fall, muddles through an ancient song. Valteri tells a story of a knight battling a dragon. Boris starts carving a nice gift but accidentally cuts his finger. Vyktor draws a map, describing that it is from a childhood story about a wizard and some little people from a place called "Middle-Earth".

Satisfied, the dwarf gets the caravan leader, an elf named Delmuth, who accepts Valteri's help. Delmuth explains the dwarf they brought along to fix the wagon was killed in an Espagra attack, along with a number of guards. After several attempts by the whole caravan to lift the wagon, even after unloading it, Valteri eventually gets the broken axle replaced. Thankful for their aid, Delmuth offers them a job to guard the wagons for the few days remaining until they arrive at Urupa. Ten silver a day each, and ten silver each for resolving any encounters along the way.

The group discusses this, ultimately accepting. They are asked to keep away from the main group until they are better trusted, but Vyktor is offered a spot on one of the wagons since he could not get one of the caravan's horses to like him. Neither could Boris, but Valteri manages to calm a large enough horse and let Boris ride it. Sean easily climbs on a horse for himself, and the caravan continues on until night.

Legend Point Awards:

• Fixin' a Wagon and Gettin' a Job: 200
• Total: 200