T w e n t y S i d e d

The party leaves Della Minera and heads for Fol Thron. They pick up Endo, who has been hanging around town and keeping a low profile. There are conversations at the Mages Guild and elsewhere.

They discuss their next move. They want to find the Mages Archives. They think (hope) it will have some clue as to what to do with Mordan. They have no idea where to look for it. Their only lead is that Prince Garret Lorman, who traveled with Endo for a while, might know where it is. Garret’s father was King Dravis Lorman, ruler of the northern half of this island. Dravis started the war, and if the rumors are true he died in the battle of Fort Boland. According to Endo, Garret cares nothing for the throne, his former kingdom, or his place as heir. He has been schooled abroad, and his only goal now seems to be getting “home”, which is back to wherever he was attending school. Somewhere off this island, anyway.

Endo doesn’t know where Garret is. The two of them were fleeing south when the Alidian soldiers attempted to arrest them in Crossway. Endo fought them so that Garret could escape. Their goal was to get off the island. Where would Garret go after Endo was catpured? They check the map:

click for full view. (134k)

They have been to Tal Podere and Hillstead. Garret would stick out too much in the Halfling-dominated Hillstead. He wasn’t in Tal Podere when the party stopped there for a few days, and that would be an unlikely hiding place. Dockhouse was much too small to enter unnoticed, and Sar Diga seems a bit too out-of-the-way. He wasn’t in Della Minera on any of their visits to that town. He (hopefully) isn’t stupid enough to try to hide right under the Queen’s nose here in Fol Thron. So, he much be someplace south. Since he was trying to escape the island, it would make sense to head for Telwin Port. The party decides to look for him there.

They ride south. The trip takes two days, and is uneventful.

Beck has been looking ragged and run-down recently, but as they near the town he smells the ocean and perks up. He leaves them and heads to the docks to find work. It appears as though a ship is currently under construction.

They mill around town and look for Garret. (Prince Lorman) There they find that Garret is in jail. Apparently he was in the tavern when someone spoke ill of Dravis Lorman. He unwisely defended his father’s honor (at least he had the wit to leave out the fact that Dravis was his father) and lost badly. The man he attacked was a nobleman, and so Garret was tossed into jail for one month, or until he could come up with the unlikely sum of 15 gold.

The players bail him out. As he sees Endo, he cries out, “Sensei!” and hugs him. Endo stands with his hands at his sides, embarrased. This is not how you greet a stoic monk. Furthermore, he’s uncomfortable with being called Sensei, particularly by a kid who just lost a fight with a nobleman.

Garret is a young man, not yet twenty. He’s young, eager, and naive. His head is all stubble right now. Apparently he shaved his head recently, probably before he was thrown into jail. Everyone notes Endo’s baldness and sees that the kid is emulating his reluctant “master”.

They grill Garret about the location of the Magus Archives. As they guessed, he does know where to find it. It is in the far southeast of the island.

They rest for the night. Beck decides to take a job on the docks, working on the ship being built there.

The rest of the party leaves town, taking Garret with them. They strike east, heading for the small town of Washport. They arrive without incident. There are no roads going East from here, so they pay to have the horses stabled and plan to proceed on foot.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.