Chapter Six: The Muster of Caltlikrath

Very much a fan of the Vaudeville comedy duo of Domarc & Zang.

The goat bleats back at Felor.As Mordred follows the footprints down to the water, someone comes marching up out of the waves as if ascending from a basement stair. It's a clean-shaven, fit man of about forty or fifty, sandy hair neatly trimmed, wearing brown shorts and a white linen vest. Though his overall presentation is pleasant and tidy, he has a few old scars on his face and a nose that looks like it's been broken more than once.

"Hello!" he says. "Forgive me, I was underwater." He looks up at his hut and waves to the rest of the party. "What brings you here, tiefling?"

Same

He nods deferentially when Mordred says his name. "I am known as he, yes. Come, let's walk back and meet your friends. It's no interruption, don't worry." As you walk back up the beach with him, he asks: "What sort of message do you need to send? Is it to be received only by a particular individual, or do you want a declaration written across the sky for all to see?"

"I have money, too," he says with a smile. "We'll work something out." You start to ascend the path that runs up the cliff to his hut. "There's a simple way to do this, and that would be for me to cast a spell that allows me to whisper words into the mind of any person I know. I have friends in Hazard; I could send your message to them, and they could attempt to convey it to the person you wish to communicate with. Now, that's the simplest method, but it's not the only method. Sending you all to Hazard faster than your horses can carry you, though...that could be done, too, but there'd be quite a bit more involved with that."

You arrive at the hut. The chicken flaps down from the roof and lands at Wet Beng's feet, clucking excitedly. He pays her no mind. "Greetings, friends. I am told you have an urgent need to contact or visit the great city of Hazard."

Everybody give me a Perception check.

Mordred doesn't notice anything strange; the wizard is a more ordinary-seeming fellow than Mordred would have expected, but he seems decent enough.

"There are five of you, and your horses. To convey you all to Hazard would take more than a snap of my fingers and an incantation, and there are risks to consider--instantaneous travel being the most dangerous." He scratches his chin. "They say the wizard Narbalanger created a flying barque to carry the Priest-King Anko and his four finest war-chariots, horses, drivers, and all, across the Thorovian Desert. I would like to be able to say I matched such a feat! But that would take quite a lot of time and effort."