(ooc=Out of Character)
*I'll get other people some more attention next time, I think I'm out of thinking for now.*
Time frame--evening of the day of your release, leading to night.
[tab]Thomas wandered the town, clearing his mind and letting instinct guide him. He finds himself by a small lake south of the main road. Strangely, no one is nearby at the moment. Thomas drops a finger into the lake, and a thin sheet of ice forms around it. Abruptly upon the ice, an image forms. It is of a tall man with the head of bear. As he gazes back at you from the ice, you hear a voice in your head. “I am Thiassi, Curator of Mulyr, vault of Mulcarn. You are one who seeks the return of the world to the still and cold time, the perfect vision of our lord. Towards these ends, there is an artifact we must have returned to Auric Ulvin, shell of the great one. The sons of the Godslayer have the heart of the Drifia somewhere in their lands, a trophy of their blasphemy. Seek this, it is obscured to our seers.
“One last thing, Thomas: a boon and a seal.” The bear roars, and a chill wind blows through the city. As the ice in the lake melts and the image of Thiassi fades, you feel the Ice Crystal you keep burn against your skin. You reach down and notice that it has left an image of a white hand on your chest that doesn’t fade.”
[This may allow you to gain some protection against fire, but also gives a mark of the white hand]
[tab]Munak walks around the manor where they had been given the job to guard the vessel. Twice, daring not linger longer without a set plan. There is still activity there; servants going in and out, though none you recognize. Before returning to the Inn to meet her companions, she stops by the market to pick up her war fans. The smith fills your ear with tales of the orders he’s taken for the design. As you turn to go, you feel a hand on your shoulder. She spins around, ready to defend herself; seeing the man holding her, she smiles, and says, “Oh, hi Uncle Haral!”
“Don’t you give me that. I thought you had left town! I haven’t seen my little niece for nearly two weeks, thinking you had gone back to your father’s farm.”
“I could not leave! There was an army on the road east.”
“Aye, and ye couldn’t tell your Uncle that you were still in town? My errands too much for you? Well, nevermind that, we’ve more important business. The Bannor rule the town now. Boatmen, Soldiermen, it’s all the same to us, of course, but they are bringing one more religion to the city. This city should belong to the Dragons, the beasts of power, not some impotent god held at bay by an ancient treaty! We’re going to sabotage this temple, tonight. And you’ll come with us, if you know what’s good for you. Meet by the lakeside inn at midnight, the owner there is a lizard as well. The temple site is just up the hill from there.”
[tab]Mipe is the first to return to the Inn, and, a bit weary from his adventures at the mage guild, takes a nap after supper is served. Shortly Mipe is awoken by a visitor in his corner of the room. He sees a female shape, and reaches out, only to have his hand batted away. The woman beckons him with a finger, then turns and climbs out the window, up to the roof. Mipe follows.
In the fading light of the sunset you recognize her as Shanna, a serving girl from the Inn you are staying at. Instead of the tattered but revealing dress she had been wearing, she is in pants and a tunic tied with a belt. “I’ve been following you. You’re a good thief—not as good as you think you are, but better than me,” she says, holding her left hand to show two fingers missing. “The Bannor don’t take well to thievin’. With the Lanun, it depends on who runs the port, Hannah gives control to one o’ her Pirate Captains, and they tend to have a lot of turnover in such jobs, if you know what I mean. If you’re careful who you flinch from, you’re fine, but now, the law’s the law is THE LAW, know what I mean? And the law don’t take well to thievin’, but I gotta get me enough money to get outta here, and thievin’ beats a girl’s other alternatives. I need you to teach me. I can tell there is something about you, even before I followed you. So, can you train me?” She smiles, almost innocently, “or should the guards learn there’s a thief staying here?”
[tab]Munak returns to the Inn to find the others. Mryddyn is there, wanting to discuss strategy for tracking down Corvanes. Munak tells him that there is still activity at the manor, but she couldn’t tell by whom. So Mryddyn relates his idea to assume the form of an owl and observe in the night. He hasn’t seen Mipe yet, but Munak suggest they wait. Mryddyn is eager to show his talent, so he takes the owl shape, seeing the sun is soon to vanish.
His clothes drop to the floor, and he hopes out of them, finding himself looking at Munak’s knees.
What was he going to do? Fly… somewhere… the moon is rising. You can see the tasty animals of the forest from the sky… you must get out, upon the breezes. Mryddyn fights to keep the influence of his new mind’s instincts. Out the window you fly, noting your friend Mipe on the roof, but there is another person there as well, so you don’t stop, but fly north over noble districts. Corvanes manor is guarded by two uniformed guards on near the road, but your sharp eyes make out an archer on the roof and two more hunters prowling the grounds between the gate and the house. You perch on a rooftop, fighting the urge to swoop down and find something to eat, and watch patiently. Through the window you see the tall pale elf who attends to Corvanes, leafing through a thick tome. After a time he puts it up, motions with his hands, and vanishes.