Road Trip to the Dragon Isles - Arrival in Kern

09 Newkolt 349 AC

Arthur, Agnes, Granite, Phineas, Altan, and Davaa gather at the entry tunnel to the Deep Shale Hold. Dozens of dwarves had gathered to make their farewells and offer good luck when Talan came sauntering up the tunnel with Fargain, a pack slung over one shoulder.

Granite looks at the Kagonesti. "What are you about, Talan?" He asks, confused by the elf's appearance.

"While you guide Arthur and his lady to the Cape of Nordmaar, I will be plotting a course to the Lastgaard Moutains," came the smooth reply.

The dwarf jabbed a finger at him. "You are not walking to Southern Ergoth by yourself."

Talan seemed confused, "Why not? I walked all of the way here by myself."

The elf continued as though explaining something obvious. "You said you would not commit to moving the clan on my word alone. So I shall gather more evidence."

Granite looked upward as if asking the gods for patience. Then he lowered his gaze to the elf. "Fine."

Granite pointed a thick finger at him. "But if ye find a mountain worth discussing, ye come back."

For a brief moment, neither spoke. Finally Granite grunted. "Safe travels."

Talan smiled. "Pip will watch out for me."

The bird chirped "Watching out! Watching out!"

Everyone froze.

Then Phineas started laughing. Altan laughed. Davaa joined in.  Even Ag'nessallynn cracked a smile.

Fargain stared at the bird.
The bird bobbed its head. "Watching out!"

Granite finally rubbed both hands over his face. "Reorx preserve me."

Arthur chuckles at the pair before offering Talan a handshake, "Safe travels. It was a pleasure to meet you." He steps back, "We should get going as well while the weather is kind."

"Aye, lad, if all goes well, we'll be finished crossin' the Delve by noon," Granite replies.

As predicted, the rocky hills fall away by noon and the group descends into a rolling grassy plain. Granite turns to the group, "We be entering Kern now. It's a land of savages and pirates so keep yer wits about you. The Red Dragonarmy has pretty much taken control of the entire land and last I heared, they were roundin' up folks of learnin' and shipping them off."

"We'll be stayin' west, near to the hills at the base of the Khalist Mountains as we can. Big fortress called 'Bloodspring' sits at the center of these plains."

"With the Red Dragonarmy controlling these lands, who would be the most dangerous of them?" Arthur adjusts himself in the saddle.

Granite gets the group moving, "They’re all dangerous, lad. Khur's Sallah Khan is relatively honorable but the Red's? They’re unpredictable and cruel. They take slaves and work them ta death logging the jungle. Lord of North Keep offered a surrender and they killed him as an example."

The dwarf-lord remains quiet for a minute and Arthur can see that he's thinking, "If'n i had to pick the worst of the worst, I'd lay money on Rivven Cairn. She's half-elf, all b#%&@, and a wizard, ta boot. Got herself a dragon known as Cear. They overran the town of Wulfgar during the initial invasion. Turned the city's arena into execution grounds."

Agnes’s eyes narrowed. "Execution grounds?"

Granite nodded once. "Gathered folk there by the hundreds. Prisoners, militia, anyone who'd resisted. Made a spectacle of it. Wanted every soul in the region ta know what happened ta those who stood against the Dragonarmies."

"And the dragon?" Agnes asked.

"Cear?" Granite spat into the dirt. "Mean as a starving wolf and twice as clever. The beast would circle overhead while Cairn played her games below. Between the two of them, they broke Wulfgar in less than a week."

"Then she's not a conqueror," Agnes said quietly. "She's a butcher."

"Aye, lass, she is at that," came the dwarf's quiet reply. "So if word reaches us that Rivven Cairn's in the area, we don't go looking for glory. We gather our folk, fortify what we can, and pray we've enough steel ta survive until we find a way ta kill her dragon."

Agnes gave a grim nod. "Fair enough. But if I ever meet her..."

Granite snorted. "Girlie, half the people in Ansalon have said the same thing."

Arthur's grip tightened on his reins, "Half-blood butcher..." He focuses on the ground for awhile before looking up. "All the more reason to end the damn war. Roughly a week to the coast correct?"

Granite shrugged. "It would be if that was where we were going."

The dwarf scratched at his beard. "I'm taking you ta Hangman's Harbor."

Davaa and Altan exchanged uneasy looks at the name.

Phineas piped up, "That name is not particularly reassuring, my friend."

Granite's grin appeared for a brief moment.
"Yer right. It's a haven fer pirates, smugglers, privateers, cutthroats, thieves, murderers, and occasionally honest sailors who've made poor life choices."

Agnes shook her head. "And you expect to find passage there?"

Granite nodded, "Best place fer it. The Dragon Isles aren't exactly a common destination. Most respectable captains won't go near 'em."

"And the pirates will?" She asked.

Granite's expression grew more serious. "They'll sail anywhere if the coin's right. Besides, the Harbor sits outside most governments' reach. Dragonarmy patrols don't spend much time sniffing around there. Makes it easier ta ask questions without attracting attention."

Altan scratched his beard, "What's the catch?"

Granite pointed a thick finger toward him. "The catch is that every man in Hangman's Harbor is trying ta cheat somebody. If they aren't trying ta rob you," Granite continued, "they're trying ta swindle you. If they aren't swindling you, they're gathering information ta sell later. And if somebody seems friendly, check ta make sure your purse is still attached."

Agnes sighed. "So we're placing our lives in the hands of criminals."

Granite's grin widened. "Lass, that's hardly a new experience."

"Well, to Hangman's Harbor it is. It's not like we don't have coin." Arthur looks ahead, "I'd rather deal with pirates than the Red Dragonarmy. We will just have to be extremely careful, and mindful of our possessions." He looks at Granite, "Do you know anyone in the harbor that can help us?"

Granite shook his head. "Maybe a few. One's a merchant, one's a fence who says he's a merchant, third claims that she's a retired pirate."

Altan slows his camel. "Claims?"

Granite nods. "She's told three different stories about how she retired. One involves a sea dragon, one involves a mutiny, and one involves a husband."

"Which is true?" The Khur archer asked.

Granite shrugged. "Knowing Marla Blackwake? Probably all three."

Agnes pinches the bridge of her nose. "Which can be trusted?"

"None of them," Granite admits. "Most reliable is probably Harl Voss. Used ta move stolen goods through the Blood Sea coast. These days he mostly brokers information and arranges introductions."

Phineas smiles, "It seems, my friend, that you've spent more time in this harbor than you've admitted."

Granite didn't bother denying it. "When you've lived as long as I have, you learn that respectable ports ask too many questions. If Harl can't find a captain willing ta sail fer the Dragon Isles, nobody can. He knows every smuggler, pirate, corsair, treasure hunter, and fool with a seaworthy vessel within three hundred miles."

Arhtur nudges Nightrend forward, keeping a sharp eye out. "How many days till we reach the Harbor? I wish to get out of this place as soon as possible."

Granite shrugs, "A few days, a week at most as long as we avoid any entanglements with the Dragonarmies. "We'll stop in Styx first." The dwarf points to the east. "The city lies at the point where those mountains reach the Miremier Sea."

Arthur looks towards the mountains, "Hopefully, it's an easy travel." Arthur follows behind Granite.

Agnes calls out from behind her camel's neck. "Granite, correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this Kern? Won't we have a problem with ogres?"

"It's possible, I suppose." Granite replies, "But a lot of the brutes went south with Sallah Khan and his Green Dragonarmy to fight the elves. The countryside should be close to empty."

"Is Kern home to a lot of ogres? And 'close to empty' but I would assume with how our luck is...." Arthur raises an eyebrow and shrugs, "We will just deal with it when it comes."

That earned a round of laughter from the travelers. Even Agnes smiled.

The mood lightened somewhat as the caravan continued eastward beneath the shadow of the distant mountains.

Still, Arthur found himself scanning every ridge and stand of trees they passed.
Kern was quiet.

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on sound over sight to see if he could hear anything out of the ordinary. He slowly opened his eyes. "This place...it's unsettling how silent it is. I'm getting a bad feeling just like when we were at the watering hole just before we got attacked."

Granite's expression became serious. The dwarf looked around, studying the countryside. The dwarf's hand settled casually upon the haft of his axe. "The countryside is too quiet."

Agnes frowned. "You said it would be empty."

"I did." Granite swept a hand toward the horizon. "But empty and silent aren't the same thing."

Phineas spoke, "Then perhaps we should assume we're being watched."

Granite didn't hesitate. "Aye, Professor. That's exactly what I'd assume."

Davaa and Altan immediately urged their mounts forward and spread out.

The land stretched out ahead of them with nobody in sight.

The road south had never truly been a road.
It was more a suggestion worn into the earth by generations of traders, hunters, and raiders. Scrub grass bent beneath a cold wind blowing down from the Taol Mountains. To the east, gray peaks rose like jagged teeth against the sky. To the west, the land rolled away toward marshes and distant waters hidden beyond the horizon.

Granite's words still lingered in the air.
"Most of the ogres have gone east to join the Dragonarmies."

That should have been comforting. Instead, it made Arthur uneasy. Wars drew predators together, but they also left behind stragglers, deserters, scavengers, and creatures too dangerous or too clever to march under anyone's banner.

Arthur brought Nightrend to a halt. The horse shifted beneath him, ears flicking forward.

His eyes moved across the landscape, not looking at it as a traveler would, but as a soldier.

His gaze settled on rocky outcroppings overlooking the trail. Dry washes cut through the land like scars. Patches of brush large enough to conceal a handful of warriors dotted the terrain. None of it looked immediately threatening.

Arthur rested a hand upon Lawbringer's hilt. "Agnes, what do you see?"

Agnes narrowed her eyes and rose slightly in her saddle, scanning the countryside.
For several long moments she said nothing. Then she pointed toward a distant ridge. "Movement. No... nevermind. Just a goat."

She frowned. "Too empty. There's no campfires, no smoke from farmsteads, no hunters, no shapherds. It's like the entire nation had stood up and walked away."

Granite spat into the dust. "Dragonarmies took most of the ogres.  The dwarf glanced toward the mountains. "And it doesn't mean something else hasn't moved in while they were gone."

Davaa leaned forward in his saddle. "Sitting here isn't doing us any good. Let's make for this town and find a ship. The sooner we are out of this land, the better."

Phineas nods, "Well said, my boy. No point waiting for something that may not even be here to rise out of the grass to attack us."

Arthur nudges Nightrend forward, keeping his eyes on the spots he noticed and sighs, "It feels unnatural here, sorry I'm just paranoid right now. Keep your eyes wide open for anything to see in this abandoned land. The sooner we get to town the better."

The travelers pressed onward. The silence followed them. Hours passed beneath a pale sky. The wind whispered through dry grass and rattled loose stones down distant slopes, but little else disturbed the stillness. No wagons traveled the road, even birds seemed rare.

An hour later they crested a low rise and finally saw signs of life. Far ahead, perhaps two miles distant, a thin column of smoke rose into the sky. The travelers collectively relaxed.

"A farm?" Agnes asked hopefully.

Granite narrowed his eyes. "Maybe." But he did not sound convinced.

Davaa shaded his eyes. "Could be a camp."

"Could be," Granite agreed.

Phineas adjusted his spectacles. "Well, whatever it is, at least it proves someone is here."

As the afternoon wore on, more signs began appearing: a broken wagon wheel beside the road, tracks - not fresh, but not old either, a discarded spear, the remains of a campfire.

Each discovery suggested travelers had passed this way recently but no travelers appeared.

Arthur's unease deepened.

It felt like they were traveling through an area where whatever was going to happen, had already happened. Toward evening the land began to rise. The first true foothills of the Taol Mountains loomed ahead, casting long shadows across the road. Then Altan suddenly raised a hand.

"What is it?" Granite asked.

Altan pointed toward a rocky ridge overlooking the trail.

For several seconds Arthur saw nothing. Then he spotted it. A figure watching them from a distant ridge. The figure lingered for another moment. Then stepped backward behind the ridge and vanished from sight.

"I'll be back." Arthur vaniahes from sight, reappearing where the person was a moment earlier.

Cold wind rolling down off of the mountains struck him immediately. His hand rested upon Lawbringer as he slowly turned in a circle. From the top of the ridge, he could see for miles across the rolling wilderness of Kern. The party members looked small below, clustered along the faint trail winding through the foothills.

He made another circle but there was no one to be seen. He looked down at the ground. He was no tracker but it was almost impossible to miss the massive boot prints not far from where he was standing. He walked over and placed his foot beside them. Whatever had made the tracks was at least twice his size.

Giant? Ogre?

He searched some more. He found a broken spear, a shrub that had been uprooted, dried blood smeared across a rock.

After nearly a minute of searching, Arthur found nothing else. He vanished again, reappearing in Nightrend's saddle in the same moment.

The horse barely reacted, accustomed to its master's unusual methods by now. Several of the others immediately looked toward him expectantly.

"Well?" Granite asked.

Arthur glanced back toward the ridge. "Ogre, I think."

The dwarf nodded grimly. "I figured."

"Double watch tonight. At least one person who can see in the dark on each watch. I saw blood up on the ridge. The ogre was gone by the time I got up there." He nudged Nightrend forward. "Silence is more terrifying than the sound of battle any day."

"Ya get no argument from me," Granite replied.

The travelers continued until the sun began sinking behind the western hills. Long shadows stretched across the land. The distant Taol Mountains became dark silhouettes against a sky painted in fading reds and golds.

Eventually Granite selected a campsite - a low rise where a cluster of boulders created a natural windbreak. Nightrend and the camels were drawn into a rough circle. Altan started a low fire and stirred a pot of millet zutan, the thick porridge sending up curls of steam into the cold evening air.

After dinner, the group sits around the campfire. As night settled over the plains of Kern, the silence grew deeper. There was no howls of the coyotes, no hooting of the owls. Crickets remained silent. Even the fire itself seemed reluctant to burn brightly.

Phineas found himself staring into the fire. "You know," the professor said quietly, "most people fear battle because of the noise."

Davaa sat nearby, sharpening Bloodletter, the sword Arthur took from the green-cloaked mercenary after their first encounter. "The sounds don't bother me. The screaming tells you where the danger is. The horns tell you where the enemy is. The shouting tells you your friends are still alive."

The Khur looked up, nodded toward the First Paladin of Malazzarr, "Like Arthur said, it's the quiet before the battle that has always bothered me."

Arthur finished sharpening his blades and cleaning them. He put on his goggles and rested them atop his head. "Even the crypts of my homeland have more sound than this place. It's almost like someone cast a spell to silence the land." He stretches and looks to the sky, "This is one place I wouldn't want to return to if it stayed like this."

Granite didn’t reply. The dwarf just tightened his grip on his axe and looked out beyond the ring of wagons, where the world vanished into blackness.

Phineas broke the silence first, his voice careful. “A spell to silence the land would be… extraordinarily difficult to maintain over such a wide area.”

Agnes gave a dry laugh that lacked humor. “That's comforting at least.”

Then Agnes leaned forward slightly, peering into the darkness beyond the firelight. “You know,” she said, quieter now, “there is something odd about this quiet.”

She frowned. “It isn’t just that there are no animals. It’s that there are no small sounds either. No insects in the grass. No burrowing things."

Davaa, seated a short distance away, finally spoke.“In the steppe,” he said quietly, “silence like this means only one thing.”

Altan glanced at him. “Don’t start that.”

Davaa didn’t smile. “It means something has already eaten everything that would make noise.”

Arthur stands and steps beside nightrend and put his goggles on. "The ogre we saw earlier...what...what if they are up in the moutains to avoid something like that? What would be able to do something like that here in Kern?" He looks out into the distance to hopefully see what might be lurking, if anything. He than looks at the animals to see how they are acting.

Arthur’s question hung in the air.

Nobody answered at first.

The dwarf scowled. “Something like that doesn’t belong in Kern,” Granite said slowly. “Not unless it brought its own rules with it.”

Phineas shifted closer to the fire, extending his hands to warm them. “What sort of force would cause ogres to avoid open ground?” he asked.

Davaa answered, "An army."

Altan shook his head. “There are always armies.”

Agnes frowned. “The Dragonarmies are already here. That’s the point.”

Arthur stepped down beside Nightrend, boots pressing into cold earth. The goggles came up over his eyes as he scanned the ridgelines again.

Nothing showed itself.

"My boy, if ogres are hiding up in those hills,” Phineas said, “then something taught them to stop standing where they can be counted.”
He looked toward Arthur.
“And I don’t like thinking about what teaches ogres lessons.”

"The sooner we get out the better," he sits down beside the fire. "I'll take first watch with whoever wants to join." He sips some water. "Sorry. I'm nervous. I just dont like this."

Agnes pushed herself up from her seat on a rolled blanket with a slow, deliberate motion, like someone deciding not to let fear choose for her. “I’ll take it,” she said simply.

Agnes walked over and took position near him at the edge of the firelight, where the world began to dissolve into black. She didn’t sit immediately. Instead, she scanned the perimeter.

After a moment, she lowered herself onto a rock, wrapping her cloak tighter.
“So,” she said quietly, “you always talk that much when you’re nervous, or is this a special occasion?”

Arthur sighs, "It's more that I'm nervous for our friends than myself. And this unnatural silence..." He takes a moment, "I don’t want to fail them you know?" He sighs, "...and I don't want to run into whatever is doing this to Kern." He looks at her, "Maybe I'm just overthinking."

Agnes listened quietly and thought about Arthur had just said. After a moment, she reached over and slipped her fingers between his. "No, you're not. You’re doing what people are supposed to do when things don’t make sense. You’re paying attention.” She paused for second. “And you’re thinking about other people before yourself. That’s not overthinking. That’s responsibility.”

She adjusted her position on the rock, trying to find a more comfortable spot. "I have seen this before, well, not this exactly but close enough."

"Either the land is dead," she held up one finger as she spoke, "or," she held up a second finger, "everyone who would normally make noise has already moved… or been moved.”

She looked directly into Arthur's eyes.

"You’re worried about failing your friends,” she said. “That’s good. It means you won’t. But you’re also assuming you’re the only thing keeping them safe.”

Her gaze flicked briefly toward Granite, then Davaa, then the dark again. “And that’s where you’re wrong.”

She took a deep breath, “If something out there is strong enough to make Kern this quiet,” she added, “then it’s strong enough that you alone were never going to handle it anyway."

A few hours pass, Granite and Altan are roused from their slumber and assume the next watch while the knight and his lady-dragon retire for the night. They are awakened the next morning by Davaa and Phineas.