Chapter Four: The Manifest of the Harikan Squall

When the party sits down for breakfast, Leth groggily joins them. He takes a deep breath, blinks a few times, sits up straight, and stares intently at the table, as if he is trying to wake himself up.

Vhezyen enjoys the meal, More than anything, he appreciates the new, yet strange company. It's in his nature to enjoy tales of all kinds, and he eagerly hopes for his new friends (?) to regale him their most interesting stories. He's well aware that they all have a story to tell, complete with perspective. As such, he focuses on listening more than anything. Either way, such a meal, shared with such company, is something he would most definitely appreciate and savor, aware that very few individuals get to experience such rare moments in life.

"I haven't lived here long," Domarc says, observing the spread, "but I doubt that no matter how long I do, I will not get used to the idea of pickled eggs at breakfast."

As Vhezyen gains insight into what is clearly the company of adventurers, he is more than willing to share the knowledge he has gleaned from the night's events, although he takes pains to be secretive about such knowledge, vigilant for eavesdroppers.. Specifically, he makes a point of sharing the fact the he knows Gorham, and heard from chatter among the crowd that Gorham was suspected to be part of the attack on the Gahmez estate. Naturally, he clarifies his relationship to Gorham, which is one that essentially is limited to a chance meeting in Banwod 10 years ago that evolved into a most interesting conversation about primoridal Bload history and Gorham's seemingly obsessive interest in finding ways to establish contact with the lower planes (meaning the Hells, consisting of Demons and Devils).

This is where Vhezyen shares everything he knows about what he learned during the conflagration that was the Gahmez mansion. What Vhezyen knows about Gorham, the group now knows. At this juncture, I think it's safe to say that Vhezyen realizes he is part of something greater, and his interest is piqued to the point of insisting that he help the group with their mission. Particularly, in addition to the group's tales of their adventure in general, Vhezyen is interested in the 6PC.

Naturally, the group should pick a direction. If you're willing to facilitate knowledge Octo, Vhezyen shares that, before he encountered the Gahmez catastrophe, he was intent on scouring the Ilhaz Mastaba for archaeological treasures, on his own. And, although he is aware that the Ilhaz Mastaba is protected legally by Hazardian law, Vhezyen believes that the knowledge, and artifacts, that could be gained from exploring the Matasba are highly valuable, not to mention that the Mastaba is largely unexplored, due to Hazardian law in tandem with 'superstition'. Pointedly, he would elaborate that his historical understanding of the Ilhaz Mastaba was that a court wizard, over 1,000 years ago, had discerned that there was something of value within the Mastaba, although said wizard was exiled before he could acquire whatever said object of value. Most important, Vhezyen would mention that he had learned all of the above from Gorham, an alleged attacker of the Gahmez estate last night. Perhaps the group could learn more by exploring the Mastaba? Also, Vhezyen would be more than comfortable sharing his past relations with Gorham, limited as they were.

Zangua lets the scholarly folk talk about politics and intrigue, while he stuffs his face with breakfast. He feels a certain responsibility in keeping his strength up, reasoning that with the departure of Shamush, someone has to eat more.

Mordred returns to the inn, keeping the string to himself for now - partially out of secrecy, partially out of embarrassment.

Domarc listens intently to to Vhezyen, for once keeping his mouth shut except for the occasional question.

"I must admit, that when I came over from Mez, I did not think that Bload would contain so many intrigues and mysteries. And I don't think we have ever discussed exploring the Mastaba as one of our options...I fear the events of last night have left us several steps behind. We must assume that Martjan - as strong as I know her to be - has divulged the location of the Sphere to the Pointy Hat crew, and that knowledge is now beyond us. Possibly for good."

His voice breaks a little at that.

"So, we can attempt to follow up on the little knowledge we do have: track the Elven scholar, or we could set out in a new direction."

If no one else spoke up, Leth would have shared a short synopsis of their adventure thus far, prefaced by saying that he's uncomfortable using specific names in such a public place - and I would assume Felor probably helps out as well:

A friend of ours was forced by some bad guys to steal an ancient magical artifact, and got executed for it, but he first managed to hide it away from the bad guys. We tried to look into what happened, got wrongfully accused of crime, were forced to flee sthombo (here we met Mordred) and started looking for our late friend's daughter - the girl who was attacked tonight - to both get more answers and to protect her from the bad guys (here we met Zangua/Shamush). We followed her underground to the badgerways, nearly died at the hands of a fierce metal construct, learned she was going to Hazard to get answers herself and decided to join her, finally got into Hazard (here we met Domarc), found refuge at the Gahmez estate, went out at night to case the shrine, ran into the bad guys again, fought them off and ran back to the estate where we met him.

Leth would answer any specific questions Vehzyen has without naming names, and says he'll be willing to go into more detail later in a more private place, and after they've had a chance to get some rest. He also says all of this very quietly to try and prevent anyone from other tables from overhearing.

Vhezyen, always one for a good tale, particularly those of mystery and intrigue, remained silent as Leth got him up to speed. Once Leth had finished, Vhezyen nodded his thanks. "I see. Then there is much to consider regarding direction from this point, and what's at stake. If you'll excuse me for just a moment, I'm going to get some air."

Vhezyen rose from the table, exiting through the front door, stopping outside, off to the side of the inn's entrance. He spoke to his familiar telepathically. Do us all a favor. Stay on the roof, keep watch. With that he released the owl, watching as it found a perch on the roof above the door.

Breathing in the fresh air for a moment, he quickly returned to the table. On the way to his seat, he stopped next to Mordred and addressed him. "So, did you accomplish whatever it was you set out to do?"

Thanks for catching me up dandyman.

Vhezyen elaborated on his question after a moment's pause, speaking as he took his seat, careful of eavesdroppers. "I'm not sure why you would be so clandestine. From what I've heard, you should be able to trust the company at this table." Vhezyen's eyes quickly panned over the group. "All of you have been through a great deal together. It seems, to me, that trust would be implied, if not established." He looked at Mordred from his seat. "I must say, given the circumstances, your secretive ways could actually pose a threat to the health and longevity of those who sit at this table. All of whom, except for me, have fought by your side, entering into a conflict against what would seem to be dark forces and their attached machinations. I believe that everyone at this table, including myself, is aligned in purpose, albeit for a variety of reasons."

With that, he picked up his milk tea. "It's Mordred, correct? I understand if you're not quite sure what to do with what Zora gave you." He took a drink. "Beyond that, I would ask about your concerns with... string? Perhaps Mezians... and female tieflings as well?"

Octo, whenever we do move to finally sleep, Vhezyen will perform the ritual for an Alarm spell, from inside the privacy of his room, specifically designed to 'ping' him should anyone try to access the room's door except Vhezyen.

Having finished his meal, Vhezyen was ready to move the conversation somewhere less prone to prying ears. "If everyone has gotten their fill, perhaps we could continue the conversation in one of our rooms?"

Unless there's some RP event we're unaware of between getting up from the table and meeting in private, is it possible we could just do a scene change Octo, and resume our conversation from where we left off? It seems like that was what you were getting at, just being sure.