The Road to Balifor Bay

14 Hiddumont 348 AC (1351 DR)

Kysek moves ahead; silently as ever heard. He sends Bubo ahead of himself to scout ever more silently. The gold elf and his familiar checking in regularly with one another other as the elf passes any and all info to the party behind him with predetermined hand signals to stay unnoticed.

The same manicured walkways that led from Silvanost to Alinesti are present as the adventurers and Onforithalas' scouts make their way east toward the Bay of Balifor. The woods are neat and tidy, with artfully trimmed undergrowth, pruned branches, and smoothed walking paths. Every few miles, the trail opens into a clearing with flattened boulders that have been neatly arranged to provide a picnic-like setting for travelers. Songbirds are the norm with hardly any sign of predatory species being present. Nearly tame deer look up casually as the party passes by, not at all alarmed by their presence. Squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits move to one side, allowing the party the right-of-way as if they were strolling casually on a sidewalk. The weather is crisp, just cool enough for breath to fog in the early morning air. Berry-laden shrubs are almost always within arm's reach to allow for snacking on the go if desired and clear, cool running streams provide sparkling, clean water if anyone should become thirsty.

Ra’ziir walks the path quietly, the wounds to his face mostly obscured by black hood of his robes. He chats occasionally with the others, but seems otherwise to contemplating something as they make their journey.

Raven will bring up the rear of the group, hand close to his bow so he can provide cover fire if anyone gets into trouble. His eyes scan the towering trunks, marveling at the sheer height and breadth of the trees, having not seen their like since leaving his home on Evermeet more than fives decades earlier. But even these arboreal titans deliver a sense of artificality, with the lowest of their stout branches cleared to a minimum height of fifty feet or more.

He shakes his head, wondering if these elves realize how easy they have made it for an enemy to march through their lands.

Shadow asks Cedron “I don’t mean to pry but does that song writing just come to you all at once or do you work a line or two and be stumped for days? I was never a singer or much for music until the surface. The Drow were dull as an ogre’s wit.”

“A bit of both, if I’m to be honest.” He replies to Shadow. “Sometimes the words flow forth like a deluge from a broken dam. And sometimes they trickle a few drops at a time. It really just depends. Over time I’ve discovered my mind will work on a song or poem while I’m distracted with daily struggles.”

As the miles and hours pass by, strains of music begin to carry through the woods. It is the work of but a moment to realize that a lute is being played up ahead. The muted lyrics are hard to make out but keen-eared listeners can piece together 🎶🎵 "On a tour of one-night stands, my rucksack and my lute in hand, and every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-elf baaaand... 🎶 🎵  The song stops, a few more notes are plucked as the unseen musician adjusts the pitch and starts again. 🎶 🎵 "And each town looks the same to me, the taverns and the smithies, and every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to beeeeee.... 🎶 🎵

The party rounds a bend in the path and, there in one of the picnic clearings is a a lone elf. He has long gray hair that is receding from the front and a heavy sleeveless jacket worn over a doublet of the same color. He stops singing as the party enters the clearing and raises a hand in greeting.

Ced, sounds like you got some competition round these parts.” Shadow steps off to the side of the road and says to the elf singing,“ Good day, Minstrel. We are heading to the Bay and were curious if you can recommend some inns and taverns along the way. And more importantly the one night stands” he says with a chuckle.

The bard leaves off with his singing and smiles, "The one night stands can be quite remarkable," he chuckles. "As far as taverns and inns, you won't find any until you reach Kurinost. It's the trade city at the end of this road."

“How far is that from here my friend?”

"I have been on the road for two days. I'm hoping to reach Tarithnesti Harvest Festival before the first frost. Paulsimon, at your service."

"Thank you, my friend. I am Shadow.” The dark elf introduces his companions, leaving them room for embellishments of their own.

When Shadow gets around to Ornfornithalas' introduction, the guard captain makes sure to include his title and position within Silvanost. Paulsimon's smile falters slightly, prompting him to clear his throat and state, "Hello, sir, my uncle once held a similar position in Brattalnosti, sir. I would like to assure you that I have nothing but respect for our kingdom's laws."

Kysek extends his hand toward our new “friend”, “I am he who walks unseen; unheard. I am he who has gained trust of animals for the benefit. I have saved fair maiden from sure destruction. I have travelled time and space. Yet here I am; Lord Kysek Creepinshadow. In your realm now to help make the wrong things right. Any information you could provide may assist us in our quest; meaning your name; Paulsimon, could truly become EPIC!”

The bard pauses, "That is quite a lot to process. What do you want to know?"

Raven speaks up, "We are specifically looking for intelligence on the Dragonarmies."

"Ah," Paulsimon begins, "Well, minotaur ships hired by the Dragonarmies sail just out to sea from Kurinost, stopping every vessel that sails from the harbor. They claim that they are checking to make sure Silvanesti isn't trying to smuggle warriors out of the kingdom in some ploy to undermine the Treaty."

”That sounds a little to much like piracy to me sir. Do the Dragon Armies have so much to fear from Silvanesti that they need hire Minotaur ships? What of the goblins and giants they say have been spotted roaming free?”

"I don't think they're afraid at all. It's just them trying to intimidate the Speaker. By my understanding, the minotaurs don't even board the ships they stop. As far as goblins and giants go, I personally haven't seen any evidence of them but that's not saying much of anything."

Raven grunts, "Hmmm... dragons, giants, goblins, and now minotaurs. That is quite an array of enemies that our elven hosts face."

”The plot seems to thicken more with each step we take.” Kysek adds.

Grotto looks through his gear and finds a few healing portions. He reminds the group of the healing gummie potions he gave to each of them before he entered this realm. He inspects his belt and prayer beads and still feels the holy power in them. He says to the group, "Be careful with the heals I gave you. I won't have many charges in my gear to heal severe wounds!" With that Grotto readies his axe and moves to the rear of the party to cover Raven should he start using his bow.

After a half-hour or so of conversation with the bard, the party moves on, traveling for another few hours, stopping just before sunset to make camp.

At the group stops for the night, the full light of Solinari beams down upon the camp, joined by the fading red of Lunitari. Only Ra’ziir can see that Nuitari has gone nearly dark, turning its face from the world.