Main Session

The crackle of fire mixed with bird calls among rustling leaves in a gentle wind filled the clearing. The occassional creaking rumble of wooden tires from lumbering old transport wagons pulled by work horses would pass by as the sun hung over head.

This was Emberwynd Pass, a small resting point for travellers of all kinds, just a short while away from your actual destination, the town of Emberwynd.

Trees hung high over head, their trunks thin compared to their blooming leaves that covered the mid-afternoon sky just well enough to scatter swatches of luminous sun rays across the hardened ground beneath them, luckily it hadn't rained in sometime, leaving the camp as a comfortable haven away from the troubles of long distance transport.

Three of the many passenger wagons that made the journey down this road began to slow, the horses huffing in a bored manner as they came to a halt from their differening directions, convening at the resting place to allow their travellers to disembark on the hour, as was the hope with these stagecoach resting places, they were setup for travellers to meet before heading out together. The party were aware they'd be meeting with other members of a team hired to investigate the recent events within the town of Emberwynd and the meeting was set to happen any minute now.

Ophelia and Ardira had long been resting in one of the nearby tents and around the camp. Now, Eris, Vaeri and Nezryn arrive after making their way here individually, just in time to hear Ophelia speaking to Ardira.

A cold shock of water had Ophelia gasp. The edge of her chin just above the surface as the current thrashed against her. She could almost feel her feet touching the ground. Shallow enough to be a lake - a river?

Her body weighed lighter, as a blue sky stared back at icy blue eyes.

The sunlight bared down in trickles, filtered through the foliage the forest provided. A passing cloud shifted, letting a ray spill onto her and causing Ophelia’s eyes to flutter open as she squinted slightly.

She hadn't remembered falling asleep.

Ophelia adjusted from where she sat against a tree stump in their camp, a book open in her lap while a blue wisp floated beside her.

She wordlessly handed the wisp the glasses that had been perched on the tip of her nose before closing the book and tucking it back into her bag.

They arrived early.

Earlier than necessary — arriving on time was essentially arriving late.
And Ophelia Fontaine was never late.

The hours that passed were spent basking in multiple books surrounding the history of their continent, searching for anything pertaining to Emberwynd. Minimal conversation left her lips besides the occasional mutterings of her reading aloud.

Ardira's presence wasn’t one Ophelia ignored, but a comfort settled around the old-school friend. Knowing she'd be accompanying her — albeit for her own reasons — made Ophelia's task easier.

She glanced over at the sudden thought, realizing she didn’t actually know why Ardira had taken the job to begin with.

"Ardie," Ophelia said, "why are you here?"
Something alerted the scholar to a presence that wasn’t just the two of them.
Ophelia’s head snapped toward the camp’s entrance.

Perched upon one such arriving wagon, sat a woman. A lithe form, relatively short- she'd hit barely five foot four if stood straight on the dusty boots she wore- and lightly armored, head tilted upwards and eyes closed as she soaked up the dappled sun that filtered its way through the boughs. A breeze played its way through the woman's hair, the pale strands cut short just above delicately tapered ears. Content, the very picture of it.

A call from the driver brought Eris back from what day dreams she'd been entertaining, drawing her focus earthwards and eyes open- a strange pair, carmine in hue, that she kept from meeting the wizened glower sent back her way. A murmured word was given in turn as she slipped from the wagon and gathered her things. It wasn't much- a satchel found its place at her back, a well worn blade finding its own at her hip, before a shield was slung over the satchel, the slight curve of steel nestling around its contents protectively. Coin was exchanged, an eager, appreciative nod delivered, before quick steps carried her further into the camp proper.

They slowed, though, the deeper in they went, before eventually coming to a halt. A considered furrow drew lines in the woman's brow as she scanned the camp's bustling occupants, clearly seeking something, someone, but unsure of the more exacting details of her quarry. And when in doubt...

"Pardon the intrusion," A close-lipped, almost apologetic smile was offered towards the pair of scholars as Eris made her way over, its sincerity made no less by its contained nature. "Perhaps you could point me in the right direction? I'm here as a hired hand, for the investigation team, and I'm not entirely sure where the head is, or what the..." A hand waved to further emphasize the woman's point, "The protocol, I suppose is?"

What is that smell?

Ardira scrunched up her nose at the unpleasant waft of something indescribable filling her nostrils, fighting the urge to make her displeasure known.

She paced a few steps back and forth, one arm resting on the hilt of her rapier, never straying from the side of her friend, Ophelia.

“Well, I hope you’re happy, Ophie. We’re here extraordinarily early, and—“

The elf’s mischievous jeering came to a halt as her eyes met the slumbering girl resting against the tree stump.

Asleep. Of course. Guard duty it is.

Ardira lets out a breath as she sets herself down beside her friend shoulder to shoulder, leaning back against the tree stump with a measured grace. She takes her rapier from her side and lays it across her lap, running her finger softly along the blade as she simply watched the world go by.

Perhaps Ophie had wanted to be asleep for the eventual arrival of the others — it would certainly make it easier on her, although…

“Pardon?” Ardira jumped, snapped out of thought at the familiar voice beside her, though too away with the fairies to jumble together what she might’ve said. Instead, she follows where Ophelia’s eyes are heading, hoping she didn’t look too clueless.

Nezryn is the next to arrive. Her approach is slow, happily taking in the scenery of the woods, as if her curious eyes are taking in a new environment for the first time. Her blue eyes catch the light, but not more than the patches of golden scales that sparkle where the draping fabric of her dress has fallen from her shoulder. The girl wears no armor, and seemingly no weapons. The only thing visible from within her belongings is the neck of a violin poking out from the well-kept bag slung over her shoulder.

As she approaches, what could have been mistaken as wild, windswept, sandy-blonde waves, actually turns out to be a few sets of horns curling back from her face. She, by the looks of it, has undoubtable draconic ancestry.

Before she is able to reach the gathering group, she seems to have gotten herself distracted. Instead of introducing herself and interrupting whatever conversation has begun, she stoops down and picks up a curiously shaped leaf. Curious to her, at least.

The last to arrive announces herself first with a startled yelp from behind the tree-line, then a frantic rustling of branches, and finally a solid thud.

Then, from between two trees, a petite drow, no taller than five feet, steps into view, brushing leaves and twigs from her short white hair. Near black leather armour clings close to her frame, a dark shield on her back and dagger hanging at her hip.

Her crimson eyes sweep the clearing, bright with open curiosity. When they land on the small group already gathered, her entire expression lifts with instant, earnest relief. Her faint striped tattoos that curve along her face stretch with the movement of her growing smile.

“Ahah! People!”

She hurries forward in a half-skip, her satchel bouncing against her side with an ominous jingle.

“Hello! I think I might be, just slightly, late.” She offers a small wave as though trying to brush away the idea of it. “This is the meeting for the Emberwynd… thing, right? The investigation. Adventure. Mysterious situation. Important-business-type… situation?”

Ophelia pushed herself to her feet, leaning on Ardira’s shoulder for support, brushing the dirt from her outfit. At 5'5", her long, wavy brown hair spilled over a fur cloaklet that ended at mid-waist.

Thin, insulated trousers matched the mix of beiges and browns from top to bottom. Leaves cracked under her leather boots as she took the smallest step forward. Addressing the two strangers, she said, “There isn’t a set protocol, however—” the scholar's words stopped short, giving a once-over to the draconic stranger.

The quiet curiosity hadn’t lasted long. Ophelia flinched at the entrance of the white-haired woman. An eager introduction, she noted. “You’re in the right spot… and on time.”

Which is late.

“Introductions should be made before we set out. Familiarize ourselves with one another.” Her eyes flicked between the three, before settling on the blue, floating wisp at her side, and then at the ground in a brief moment of hesitation.

“Luminary Ophelia Fontaine, of the Lumen Archive.” The blue-flamed creature shifted beneath her elbow, prompting her to extend a handshake to the strangers. The small correction forced Ophelia to meet their eyes instead of avoiding contact.

"Um, we can sit. If you'd like."

Ardira’s eyes squint subtly from the sunlight as her head tilts upwards to follow Ophie’s movement, though quickly falling on each new arrival as they all eventually appear.

In one swift move, she stands to attention beside her friend — only a few inches taller than the human at 5’7, though appearing quite the cloud-reacher in comparison to the others. Her rapier now proudly at her side once more, she gives him a rhythmic tap at the hilt before running her fingers along the delicate chains of her cloak at her collar, adjusting it accordingly before smiling warmly towards the new faces.

The elf takes a step forward, only slightly ahead of Ophie — confident yet affable. She bows her head with grace, touching her left hand softly to her chest.

“You can call me Ardira. Lovely to meet you all.” She speaks with a gentle voice, making sure to meet the eye of each person individually.

Ardira nods deeply with an assuring hum at Ophelia’s invitation, threading her fingers together neatly before speaking again.

“Of course, please, sit. I hope your travels were all uneventful.” She giggles softly with a slight smirk, slowly gesturing with one hand towards a cluster of tree stumps that looked as though they could be purposed as somewhere for everyone to sit.

Deft little shuffles brought Eris aside, making room for the newcomers to crowd in. Each one earned a shallow, polite dip of the half-elf's chin, though the offered hand was left for another to receive. Her own were held at her back, fingers loosely interlaced as she bent into a light bow towards their guides- Ophelia and Ardira, names memorized to each welcoming visage.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintances. Just Eris, I'm afraid. Eris Tourmaline." How strange, that in spite the warm, smooth tone, the smile that matched the woman's pleasant demeanour, that Ardira's attempt to meet her eye was only done so for the briefest of moments. A glance, just long enough to barely catch the crimson hues to gilded, before they were away once more- down, notably, to study the various tomes the pair had been delving through.

And, to catch the sweep of hand towards the offered seats. Eris took up the invitation with another friendly nod and stepped around, claiming one of the seats furthest from the entrance- to let the rest have an easier tiem filing in, no doubt. Her smile widened a touch at the question, an affirming hum making it past the curl of lip. "Decidedly, delightfully so. I imagine the possibility of any banditry being interrupted by another travelling the same roads, so close to one another plays as a good deterrent."

In seeing that she is being spoken to, Nezryn sets down her leaf and dusts off her hands. She offers them a bright smile, unabashedly showing off teeth a little too sharp for the average humanoid girl.

As she takes a seat on a tree stump, she makes sure to gather the layers of repurposed and upcycled lacy fabrics and neatly tuck them out of the way. Her hems have grown dingy from dirt, but she doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. The bag on her shoulder is gently lowered in front of her as she greets them, "Uneventful enough! Save for a disgruntled squirrel that attempted to throw a walnut at me... Though I am choosing to not take it personally. The red ones are rather rude, I've found."

There's a pause before she realizes an oversight, "Ah, right - I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Nezryn, but I don't mind if it gets shortened. Back home I got a fair bit of 'Nezzy', but I'll respond to mostly anything."

As Ophelia extends a hand, Vaeri beelines straight for it.

“Luminary Ophelia Fontaine of the Lumen Archive,” she repeats aloud, then clasps Ophelia’s hand between both of her own, shaking it with far more enthusiasm than necessary.

“I’m Vaeri Zau’drynn! Just Vaeri is fine, or Vae or Vee or- you know what, doesn’t matter! Lovely to meet you all!”

Finally releasing Ophelia’s hands, she spins toward Ardira with a quick dip of her head.
“Thank you! Sitting sounds lovely. I did get a teensy bit lost on the way here, but I went in enough circles that eventually one of them had to be the right path.”

She hops over to an empty stump and plops down, legs swinging slightly as she settles in. Her attention flicks to Eris, and she nods with grave seriousness.
“Bandits. Yes. Terrifying.”

Another nod, as she turns to Nezryn.
“And red squirrels. Also terrifying.”

She glances between them, with the utmost earnestness.
“So we should definitely avoid both. Good to know. I will be sure to keep an eye out!”

The draconic woman’s smile had Ophelia return one of her own, sharp teeth against an equally sharp curiosity—it hadn’t spooked the human.

The small moment was cut short by Vaeri's vigorous handshake—it had almost been entirely too much for the wizard to process. “Squirrels?” she audibly questioned, a flicker of confusion on her features as she shared a glance with Ardira.

“The red ones are called Sciurus rutilis ferox—usually shortened to the latter—they’re known for their aggression towards humanoid creatures.”

“So, it was likely personal. Avoidance is for the best.”

She then settled beside the elf, taking her previous seat once again. “Nice to meet you all.” An obligatory statement that Ophelia hadn’t deemed true just yet.

“This is Wisper.”

He looks up, placing on the glasses handed to him by Ophelia, deciding to try them on. The party watch as he adjusts the frames, Ophelia's glasses much too big for him as he glances around the clearing, his eyes blinking as if out of focus. As she explains squirrels in detail, his flame like body plumes, reshaping to display an example of a squirrel's fluffy tail, nodding his head while the glasses threaten to fall completely loose.

As she introduces him, he feels the eyes of several beings many times his size eyeing him and quickly darts up Ophelia's back, disappearing into her hood.

The flames of Wisper's head slowly peak out from behind her neck, his body animatedly shuddering as he reveals himself to get a good look at the others,

"...Seems dangerous.. " He mutters to her, forming illusionary teeth just to have them chatter.
"Hello Wisper!" She says sweetly, then tilts her head at the mention of the squirrel's proper name, "I bet that one was posh enough to go by that name. Certainly was rude enough. If they're mean to all humanoid creatures, then how could it truly be personal? I hadn't accidentally burnt down their tree or anything... Haven't done that for years, thankfully. As a child, I was ehm..." A small embarrassed flush warms her cheeks, "Would accidentally sneeze fire bolts..."

“Everything seems dangerous to you,” Ophelia replied to the wisp, paying minimal attention to the familiar that darted back and forth between their hiding place.

Her next sentence only contradicted her reassurance to Wisper as she replied to Nezyrn. “Their aggression is often territorial. Personal in the sense they labeled you a threat—tree burning or otherwise.”

Blue eyes shifted, landing on her horns momentarily. It was clear Ophelia was attempting to piece together whether Nezyrn’s fire-based capabilities came from their ancestry or practiced when she asked.

“Innate magic?”

"Mhm! You know when you eat something spicy, and get hiccups? That happens to me, too, but after I do a specific fire thing- just start hiccuping..." She offers a shrug, followed by a proud smile, "Fire is sort of my thing. I'd practice controlling flames to keep the wood stove going or to put out little accidental fires over the years. Caused just about as many as I fixed," then her voice drops to mutter the remainder of the sentence, "or more..."

"How about you?" She asks, "Magic, I mean - not necessarily fire, of course."

She tended to stray away from spicy foods—but Ophelia didn’t think it was necessary to ruin her example. Intrigued, to say the least. The girl opened her mouth to spew another number of questions when Nezryn posed the same to her.

She hesitated.
There was some envy that surrounded the wizard—magic users that hadn’t needed to study runes, weaves, or rely on components for their outcome…

“Ardira and I were students of Vermillion Academy, an arcane school.” The words hung in the air for a moment, and Ophelia realized that clarification was necessary.

“While fire exists in some spells I know, I studied—as opposed to… learning through bodily functions.”

Vaeri has been swiveling her head so much from following the conversation she looks like she’s one new epiphany away from falling off her stump entirely. As the others speak her expression softens into something that can only be described as awe.

Then, suddenly, she blurts out.
“You’re all so magnificent!”

She points at Ophelia and Ardira first, literally pointing, as though presenting them to an invisible audience.

“You, Luminary Ophelia Fontaine, and Miss Ardira- are both actual studied magicians? What an amazing fete of intellect to be able to bend magic to your own whims through study alone!”

She then gestures wildly, at Eris, staring with a wild curiosity.
“And Miss Eris here seems damn right formidable! A real professional!”

Her head snaps toward Nezryn next, eyes going wide.

“And you were born being able to control fire? Actual elemental power! That’s- that’s incredibly special!”

She beams at the four of them…
…then suddenly seems to realize how much she’s said out loud.
Her shoulders shrink in, hands dropping into her lap; and for the first time since she tumbled into the clearing, she looks a touch sheepish.

“Um. Sorry. I just- you all seem very… impressive.”

She lets out a quiet, awkward cough before tucking a loose strand of white hair behind her ear, trying, and failing, to be subtle about composing herself again.

“But! Yes. Right. Magic.” She nods vigorously, and whatever embarrassment that was there instantly washes away.

“I was… ah… spectacularly terrible at studying magic,” she admits with an unapologetic grin.

“Back home in Tel’ith Drazhul, my private tutors did everything short of branding the runes into my head, but nothing stuck. They’d lecture, and I…” she mimes a long, slow blink “learned absolutely nothing except how nice a cold obsidian desk was for napping.”

Whilst Ophelia sat leaning against the tree stump, Ardira sat behind her atop it, looking down fondly at the pair of the wizard and her familiar.

“Perhaps you’ll grow into them, Wispy.” she giggles quietly, crossing her legs and picking a loose shard of bark out of Ophie’s hair as she nods in accordance when their school is mentioned.

The elf slowly shook her head in amusement at being seen as impressive. To tell the truth, she had no idea what she was doing — but a wave of relief washed over her that at least on the outside, everything looked more than fine.

If she’s awed by us, she should meet Seravorn.

Ardie turns her chin away, chuckling softly, before turning her attention to the drow with a look of empathy.

“Tel’ith Drazhul?” she repeats, “I can’t say I’ve heard of the place. Where might that be?”

“You’ve never heard of it?” Vaeri echoes, genuinely baffled for all of two seconds.

Then the realisation hits her like a slap, and she brightens once more.

“Oh! Well, that actually makes perfect sense. I didn’t know anything about anywhere up here until about… uh…” She counts silently on her fingers. “…three days ago? Four? So we’re all learning new geography today!”

“But, it’s underground,” she explains whilst nodding sagely to herself, and pointing generally in the direction she’d arrived from, though the accuracy of said pointing is highly questionable. “About a week or two that way. Tel’ith Drazhul sits in this enormous cavern. It is very shiny, very sparkly, very easy to fall off things if you’re not paying attention.”

Which, based on her tone, she absolutely has done.

She tilts her head before asking, “how far is everyone else from home, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Eris had been quiet, contentedly so in letting the conversation drift around her. Absorbing it all- a curious slight cant of head had at the hiccuping puffs of flame, the nervous wisp of fire warning a reassuringly slow dip of chin, a wry hum had in protest to the exaltation of how 'formidable' the drow found her.

The sound lingered, dry and understanding towards Vaerie and her troubles holding onto lessons learned, before Eris properly spoke up. "A trait we have in common, I fear. I've managed to find a firmer grasp on small threads of the Weave," Very small, but she continued with a light pat to her rapier's hilt, "But a quick blade is something I've become a dab hand in, thankfully. I'll leave the more impressive shows of magic to you all." Crimson eyes briefly landed upon Ardira, Ophelia, and Nezryn in turn.

The drow's follow up question drew the wood elf quiet for a moment, her hand wafted in idle- though not harsh- dismissal. "Quite a ways away, though I'm more interested about this Tel'ith Drazhul. No guard rails in the Underdark, I imagine?" She asked in turn, all sincere curiosity that hopefully hid well enough how vague her own answer had been.

Opening her mouth as if to interject, Ardira stops herself — instead continuing to politely nod along, accompanied by her familiar warm smile that she directed towards Vaeri as she spoke.

“How fascinating! You’ll have to tell me more— in time, of course.” the elf beams enthusiastically, before her attention turns to Eris — chin raised slightly at the dismissive answer provided by the half elf.

“By no means should you disregard a quick blade.” Ardira says, shooting her a knowing grin as she smooths a finger over the amber-hued gemstone set in the shoulder of her rapier, gleaming golden in the midday sun.

“Ophelia and I are from Virelle,” she tells the group, gently nudging the human sat below her. “But Ophie’s too good for our humble city, so she just up and left me…” Ardie teases, feigning a choked sob behind a chuckle that she couldn’t quite hold in whilst wiping a non existent tear from her eye.

The sound of footfall against crisp fallen leaves and the long grass around the camp alerts your attention to two newcomers. Those paying attention can hear idle chatter between the two as they make their way closer to the group through the trees.

"I'm telling you, there's no reason that anyone else will have any more of an understanding than we do." The tone was upbeat, feminine and confident. The woman waved her arm across her side, flippantly disregarding the argument. She's about to continue until she's cut off abruptly by her travelling partner.

"Leona." The word isn't said with any hostility, more so the man looked a little worn out from her nattering and had realized the two of them had stepped into the camp, quietening her before she said something that might get her into trouble.

She turns away from him, facing her vision forwards towards all of you, a brief surprise is quickly hidden behind confident composure. She strikes a pose, resting her left hand on her hip, "Well!- It would appear we're already here, gathered up and getting along nicely, I presume." The woman offers a smile.

"They've sent us over to collect you-" She frowns for a moment, "Assuming you're the travellers here to investigate the rather sudden ruining of a building. You all have that kind of..." Leona raises her right hand, making a small circle as if to group you all together, "Adventurery look about you."

"If they leave because they don't want to deal with you, I'm not going to be the one to explain this to the guard captain..." He grumbles under his breath, just loud enough to let the party here his disapproval.

Vaeri’s compliments were met with a thinned smile—not one of appreciation, but of acknowledgment. Ophelia had grown up around plenty of professors, teachers, and the like, whose praise had started to mean little over the years.

The only person Ophelia wanted to impress was her mentor, whom she hoped to succeed.
“It isn’t for everyone,” she directed toward Vaeri and Eris. “Capability is in the eye of the beholder.”

She paused, as if recalling information. “Eyes, I suppose.” The scholar remained quiet at the mention of hometowns, only nodding along at Ardira’s words in confirmation.

She up and left me…
Ophelia broke her gaze from her longtime friend. There had been some hesitation from her—but clearly, there were others here who hadn’t wished to speak of their own. She took silent note of that.

“The archive doesn’t reside in Virelle. I moved for my research.”

Before anyone could press further into each other’s pasts, a pair rounded their way to the camp, addressing them, and she clambered to her feet once again. “Your assumption is correct,” she said, leveling her gaze.

“And, to state the obvious—would that make you our guides?”

"Us? We're just here on a nice walk when we decided this looked like a nice little group to mingle with, so any plans to get up to no good, maybe we raid the tave-" Thud. She's cut off by a gentle jab on her arm from Elric, leaving her rubbing the spot with a huff, "Yes, okay, we're you're guides..." Leona's eyes roll upwards and she bobs her head side to side like a child doing something a parent was forcing them to.

"Not that we don't believe you're capable, it's more of a formality to welcome you to the town rather than leaving you to muddle around on your own." Elric adds, folding his arms in front of his chest, "I take it you've all had enough of sitting on wood after travelling here by wagon and waiting around here for us - how about we get right to it. We can show you the strange building at the back of town."

Vaeri has been watching Eris with a level of quiet concentration that does not match what was her otherwise excitable energy up until now. She has had an almost concerned look to her, a crease between her brow. It isn’t unfriendly, just perhaps unexpectedly perceptive from her, and a tad bit awkward.

But the moment passes, and as Leona and Elric finish explaining their purpose, that sharpness vanishes like it was never there. Vaeri blinks, straightens, and brightens yet again.

“Oh! Guides! Wonderful!” She hops onto her feet, then clasps her hands together, her cheerfulness smoothing into something a hair more practical than before now the task is set before them.

“Just quickly before we go investigating, we should at least be a little more acquainted with our guides, no? I’m Vaeri Zau’drynn.” She gives a small, earnest dip of her head.
“And since we’ll be following you, what should we call you both?”

"This is Elric, he doesn't like things like joy, smiling or having fun. If you happen to think something might be enjoyable, try to do the opposite or he'll complain." She raises her eyebrows into a smug expression, quite pleased with herself.

The man heaves a sigh, "This is Leona, Leona Nightbloom. If you learn how to ignore her, please, don't hesitate to teach me." He jabs back, "My surname is Blackburn, by the way. Elric Blackburn." He turns to his partner, "Always room for improvement." He adds with a sickly sweet tone that has Leona rolling her eyes.

It had been some time since Ardira had seen Ophie in person. Perhaps the teasing ought to be brought down a notch — it always did take her friend a moment to acclimate.

With a soft sigh, she uncrosses her legs and rises from the stump, gracefully hopping down with a small thud of her boots — swiftly filing in beside Ophelia and listening carefully as the conversation unfolds.

"You bicker like a married couple." Ardie laughs with a smirk that is quickly wiped off of her face, realising she had said that out loud — but she rests one hand on her hip whilst the other lays touching her chest, bowing her head with a quiet giggle.

"Ardira Solvandar. A pleasure to be working with you." she finally says, her tone calmer now. "I suggest we make the most of the daylight and be on our way."

"Married? Bleh" She sticks out her tongue in a cliche show of disgust before coming around, "That's a good attitude, the faster we take a look, the faster we can all prove that no one knows what's going on, and more importantly-" She turns to Elric, "That I'm right."

"What she means to say- Is that the sooner we get into town and show you this thing, the better." He corrects, "It's good to meet all of you. I'm sure with your help we can get to the bottom of this in no time. Probably just some...magical explosion or something that's wrecked a building." He shakes his head, clearly not believing it's anything all that deep.

"Yeah! Good to meet all of you!" She rocks forwards on her tip toes then back on her ankles before raising a pointer finger on her right hand, pointing into the distance behind the party, "Don't suppose...those eerie looking undead marching towards us with weapons belong to any of you?" Leona asks, looking a little worried.

Key NPCs

Key Locations

Important Info

Recap

The investigation team assembles at Emberwynd Pass, where Ophelia Fontaine and Ardira Solvandar have been waiting ahead of schedule. One by one, Eris Tourmaline, Nezryn Goldthorp, and Vaeri Zau’drynn arrive, introducing themselves. After a while, the group is joined by local guides Leona Nightbloom and Elric Blackburn, who confirm they will escort the party into Emberwynd to inspect a recently destroyed building. Just as the group prepares to depart, Leona spots a group of armed undead marching toward the camp.