(Prologue) It was a dark and stormy night......

[Alex]

Pleased that Raul has praised him, Ivor buckles on his backpack and follows the group, taking care to stick close to his larger friend so as not to get separated- he didn't want a repeat of the incident in Scorta, after all. (OOC: Thanks Fabian. Going to have to get a list of random throwaway placenames I can use for things like that; I'm sure I've already referred to something in Scorta...)

[Fabian]

Lyrie is now Scorta, isn't it?

[Mr Teufel]

Scorta. I think that's right.

[Balgin Stondraeg]

And so the group bundles into the small room, making themselves as comfortable as they can with only three stools and very beer spills (and half cleaned up vomit) on the floor.

Once everyone's relatively settled down, brother Berden once more speaks.

"Now then everybody," he begins, "I am brother Salian Berden of the church of Theydori, master of unanswerable riddles, lord of the known truth. Allow me to introduce, to you, a piece of recent history. Some of you will recall that, one hundred and fifty years ago civil war wracked the kingdom of Drechanon. Now then, this state of instability was hardly condusive to our great wealth of knowledge held within our halls. As such, it was decided that the church remove many of it's most sacred relics, by ship, south to Elkia, there to be reclaimed once the kingdom was stable once more.

"As fate would have it, a mighty storm arose and a great many of our ships were wrecked. One of these wrecks took place just off the coast of a small island, not that far from our shores. Now what is unusual about this, is that despite the isle's proximity to the mainland, it was on none of our maps and none of our ships had ever sighted it before. It was a year or two before rescue came, and when it did, it became evident that the island contained lost secrets of it's own. Consequently, we have established a monastery on this isle, there to unearth the secrets contained within the ruins, and as a base for skilled divers who seek our lost treasures.

"Now then, some of our more recent finds have baffled even the greatest minds and to this end we have engaged the rewnowned sage, Naedath Kelden, to study these artifacts. I have with me a letter from the abbot of the Guardian Isle abbey, hopefuly it should explain all."

And with that, he places a letter on the table which bears the Theydori seal.

[Balgin Stondraeg]

Lyrie is now Scorta, isn't it?

Nope. We worked out that Port Lyrie is not actualy in Drechanon but in the eastern elven kingdom. Scorta is now a small town in northern Drechanon near the border with the northlands :p.

A copy of Abbot Olmaren's letter to the church of Theydori in Medhera is now in the player handouts thread.

In addition to the letter, brother Berden also spreads a map on the table announcing that "this is a map of the Isle of Guardian to which we wish the eminent sage Naedath to travel. Unfortunately, the most knwoeldgeable fellow does not feel safe enough to undertake this voyage alone," at this he glares at the greedy old bugger before continuing, "and so we are forced to seek those willing to travel with him and ensure his safety."

[Mr Teufel]

"A new island? Gurthor is generous indeed, to give you an island in return for the fleet he took!" Kiaphas beams. "You and your god are truly in his favour, and I would feel privileged to join you in an expedition to this marvelous land!"

[Fabian]

Alarian nods during the story, familiar with recent Drechanon history, and addresses Brother Berden "Brother, I would be eager to visit the isle for its own sake, as well as accompany so worthy a gentleman. These artifacts sound intriguing."

[Alex]

"Oh my... that does sound like fun!" Ivor says, eagerly,  then remembers himself and with a small cough settles back down and waits for Raul to speak.

The thought of a lost island filled with arcane secrets is very exciting, and, try as he might, Ivor's attempt at looking business-like doesn't do a particularly good job of masking his interest.

[Fabian]

Alarian grins at Ivor's unrestrained enthusiasm.

[Custom_Hobby]

Aurum smiles and looks at his brother, he says in dwarven "good thing we came to see what he wanted. We get a chance to travel together now." He adjusts his shield and puts a dagger in the sheath.

[Balgin Stondraeg]

"Good, good," says brother Berden, "I'm glad to see you so eager to set off," at this the acolytes shift nervously, "you see, the thing is that, well, there are certain high ranking priests within the church who do not think this mission of great importance and so I am operating with limited funding. On top of that, what with the recessions and so on, well, there's been certain cutbacks we've had to make."

"What he's saying," breaks in the eminent Naedath, "is that he can't afford to pay you."

Shocked, the acolytes look for the door, as if to flee, but fortunately brother Salian Berden is prepared for such an eventuality. "Of course, we would not ask you to embark on this endeavour for nothing. However, we cannot afford to pay you. As such, the wise sage Kelben here shall pay you out of the monies I am to pay him for this task."

Naedath Kelben scowls at this but speaks not a word.

"I shall be paying him two hundred, two score and ten gold coins of the realm and from that he shall have to pay you whatever ammount you all agree is reasonable, based on the understanding that, as he shall be undertaking most of the work, he shall claim the greater share of the reward."

At this mr Kelben grins wickedly.

"Now then," adds brother Berden, "your ship, the Grey Gull, departs at the docks in the morn, I trust you shall all be aboard. Now I have some important matters to attend to back at the church but if any of you have any questions, or something, I am more than willing to delay those of my more onorous duties that can certainly wait."

And with a grin he rubs his goatee and waits for an exuse to stay a little longer.

[Fabian]

Alarian pipes up, "Brother, have there been any sightings of spirits or unusual creatures haunting the island? Perhaps disturbed by the the investigation, or angered by the removal of the artifact?" He looks shrewdly at the priest to see if he'll level with the newly assembled band.

"I know that this maybe a question our Gurthorian friend can answer more readily, but can you tell us of the shipping situation at all? As you say the raiding season is not yet upon us, but has anyone told the raiders that?" he asks half-jokingly .

[Balgin Stondraeg]

" The northern raiders are unpredictable indeed friend. And as for ghosts and the whatnot, I can assure you that there are none whatsoever my good sir. The abbey has been established firmly on the island for a good five and tewnty years now. It should have been built earlier but, unfortunately, these ancient elven ruins were abandoned by certain arrogant members of our order who thought other matters more pressing. In fact, the isle was forgotten for a good three score and ten years before brother Jarden Gamete discovered records of it, written by the survivors of the original shiwpreck. Eventualy he was able to persuade the church to establish a settlement upon the island to recover our lost relics and search the ruins for what knowledge we may find as to their former purpose." Folding his hands he smiles fondly at the thought of discovering new information about these elven ruins.

Bet you wish there was an elf in the party now :p.

[Mr Teufel]

"Gold comes from the dead earth. I'll rely on the providence of Gurthor, for it is His tide that guides us."

Do I know anything about the conditions we'll face? Profession: Sailor; Kn: Nature; Survival ?

[Balgin Stondraeg]

Gimme a while to work it out. At this time of year that part of the sea's relatively warm (being close to land) but it can get a bit rough as spring can occassionaly be ungentle breaking. They haven't actualy todl you where it is yet but merely that it's a few days offshore. That's why the informatiob I gave you is pretty vague, but Kiaphas has seen storm clouds brewing in the east and the recent weather's been a bit rough and wet too. You know, April showers kind of thing.