Chapter 1 - No Silent Secret

Scylax roars to the heavens, raising his axe in triumph. Then he seizes Kalstios by the shoulders.

"You fight with the ferocity of a leonin warrior, my friend! This victory belongs to us both. And many more to come!"

Kyrios, I hope you are still on the right side of the rivers. Is anyone else hurt and needs my prayers?' Sarlyn moves closer toe everyone else, eyes searching for any harm or scratches.

She pulls a faces at Scylax celebrating the victory, but if that was what would motivate him to protect them as they looked into this mystery, she could put up with it.

Astraea comes out from behind the tree.

"Yeah, that was, uh, totally just tactical positioning there. Not like, cowardly hiding or something... OH COOL NEW TAT SCYLAX!"

Astraea will take a look at this dire lion creature to understand better what they fought and why it was so angry.

Kalstios roars triumphantly and laughs at Scylax, "What a blow that was, my friend! It came clean off, that is no small feat! You sure you don’t have minotaur blood in you? God I could use an ale!". He chuckles and then looks towards Kyrios, his face falling more severe. "Are you okay, mr. Cat?"

The nyxborn purple cat lies on its stomach, breathing heavily. He looks up at you all. "It appears that Khea was right about you. A sign of the gods this early."

He glances at the enormous lion's corpse. "A mighty Fleecemane is said in legends to be sent by the gods as a messenger or guardian to do their bidding." He turns to Scylax. "In this case, it seems it may have been a test of might. Given your marking, it appears you have passed."

"Fleecemane, got it. And Kyrios, you totally took one for the team! Thanks for distracting it with your FACE while EVERYONE was GETTING ready to POUNCE!"

She punctuates her statement with shadow boxing, throwing a jab with every emphasized word.

"Well, I'm heading back to sleep my pretties! We got a long road a head of us."

Kyrios licks his wounds as he nestles into the grass. "Ah yes...that was my plan all along. Kyrios the feline meat shield."

"I regret that you were injured, Kyrios - if this Fleecemane was indeed a test and intended for me, then I would have faced it gladly even without it threatening the lives of innocents. Perhaps such creatures simply have a taste for the Nyxborn, eh? It did seem to ignore everyone else and go for you directly. Still, I'd wager there are not many cats who can say they have faced down a lion and lived - now you are truly a champion among your own kind!"

Astraea applauds Scylax's rousing speech as she climbs into her bedroll!

"Huzzah!", Kalstios collapses on his bedroll and almost immediately starts snoring loudly

Scylax drags the lion's body a short distance away from the camp, then resumes his watch - he is far too worked up to sleep now in any case. Instead, he sits and tries to find calm in the stillness of the night.

Kyrios had been quick to judge the creature as a test sent specifically for him, and his new mark seemed to bear out that Iroas had at least witnessed the battle. Would the gods truly waste such a magnificent beast on a mere contest, and send it to steal into their camp like an assassin? Messengers or guardians, the cat had said, but could this message truly be from Iroas? There were other, more insidious gods who would surely be taking an interest in their quest as well.

He wakes Kalstios for his turn on watch, and has troubling dreams.

Kalstios grunts as he gets woken up, the adrenaline shot out of his body as soon as he laid down and now he’s surly and groggy. He stares up into the sky, crossing his huge legs as he sits and says a silent, clumsy prayer to Thassa (using words such as "great sea lady" and "o lady who must surely be the dampest of them all"

The morning comes, and each of you feel much more refreshed. As you see Kyrios for the first time that morning, you notice how quickly his wounds have healed. In fact, he's almost entirely healed.

He rubs up against Astraea to wake her up. "Rise and shine, Lady Astraea. Your destiny awaits."

"Wow, I am no more a lady than you are a lion, but destiny can wait til after breakfast! Slaying fleecemanes is hungry work!"

Astraea fixes up a trail breakfast for everyone, and though it is clear she hasn't much training in the culinary arts.

"Onward to Setessa?"

Astraea will tell a ribald tales that will make even the sailor blush.